The Recruitment Challenge:
After engaging successfully with g2 at a previous company, the HR Director of a large US client approached g2 to work in partnership on a UK recruitment campaign.

The client were in the process of bidding for a major government contract valued at £13 billion and required help to develop a robust talent acquisition plan for the UK market.

This plan would require the client hiring over 300 positions over 4 years across a number of disciplines including IT, Finance, Operations, Quality and Senior Appointments.

The g2 Solution
g2 developed a recruitment plan for 2014-2018 that mapped out the real cost, advised on UK salaries and built a pool of the best candidates in advance of the contract win to ensure our client could deliver immediately if they won the work.

A dedicated team of 3 consultants and a resource were chosen to work exclusively on the diverse and rare skill sets required to deliver the clients unique IT based solution, looking first for permanent and providing contractors if this was not an option.

Pivotal to the solution was the depth and breadth of g2’s database, as well as the considerable advertising campaign to reach additional people, a cost that was built into the fees.

The Result
Through a combination of market knowledge, dedicated resource and a strict selection process, g2 placed 60 staff in a short space of time.

Only one candidate turned down the offer during this intense spell, highlighting the benefits of rigorous candidate management and the methodical approach employed by g2.

This was achieved through well managed communication between HR, hiring managers and our consultants and ensured excellent staff retention during a critical phase of the contract.

As a result, the client have made g2 the recruitment partner of choice, a position held to this day.

By quickly getting to grips with the real challenges the client faced, an exceptional quality of service and was received by our client and the client was able to focus on delivering the contract for the MOD.

The Challenge
Develop a cross platform B2C mobile application for a smart metering system, written in Xamarin. This would need to be built and running in a Beta format within a 12 month timeframe. Language was critical factor, as all of the key stakeholders spoke Dutch and the supporting documentation was in Dutch.

Consultancy Option
Hand the requirement to a software house/App Developer and allow them to build the App offsite, using their “in-house” development team. This would be built by them and ultimately owned by them, with it being on licence to Sibelga. Updates would be monthly and charges based on deliverables.

Recruitment Option
Hire a freelance Xamarin Developer with knowledge of the specific sector and experience of building a similar product. Own the product and control the
release and update of the product with greater flexibility.

The Solution
With the tight deadline and need for close control, Sibelga opted to go with a remote worker based
out of Amsterdam and run the project themselves.

With an office in Amsterdam, g2 immediately started contacting the Xamarin Developers in itsnetwork, whilst simultaneously looking for
candidates in Brussels. With language skills being so important and the shortage of Dutch speaking Belgian candidates a problem, g2 ended up sourcing
a Dutch native.

By splitting his time between the office in Brussels and working from home, this removed the A1 risk
over a 12 month period. This also enabled Sibelga to have immediate control over what work was delivered and when, rather than wait for the
Software House to complete work to fixed milestones.

With the project on going and the developer delivering high quality work, g2 have fulfilled their role of providing top remote working talent for a project that could have caused Sibelga a real headache.

The Challenge
After speaking with the client at an event, g2 contacted the HR manager and quickly understood that their need to hire multiple Embedded Software engineers over 6 12 months was going to be a big ask.

Initially the goal was to hire permanent staff, but with the client based in the isolated Canton of Graubünden in East Switzerland, a critical need for German speakers and with the work scheduled to last only 12 18 months, this was proving difficult.

So difficult in fact that they had already been looking for nearly a year and worked with both local and international agencies without success.

The Solution
g2 approached the requirements in 2 ways; Headhunting permanent candidates from competitors where German was the business language and tapping up our
network of German speaking interim staff from all over the world.

By having 2 consultants and a resourcer scour our immediate network, vast database and online talent tools, g2 were able to find previously uncontacted people that were suitable for the roles. The fact that our staff speak German was very helpful when it came to explaining the roles and testing the language skills of the candidates, but what really made the difference was being able to propose freelancers.

Finding people at competitive rates with exactly the right skills was one thing, but being able to facilitate and manage fully compliant work contracts within SECO
regulations was invaluable.

The Result
Over an initial 3 month period, g2 provided 4 software engineers, making a big impact as a new supplier. The quality of the candidates was such that they quickly added value to our clients team, and with them being fluent in German they fitted in well in the working environment.

By thoroughly vetting each candidate before proposing them, g2 could be certain that both the working arrangement and location were not going to cause problems.

The processes and methods g2 employed were so effective, our services were introduced to other managers in the business, with both Cyber Security and Regulatory Affairs departments quickly benefitting from g2’s service by making successful hires soon afterwards.

The freelancers added further value during the Pandemic, primarily because they have considerable experience of working remotely and their productivity has seen little impact when working from home.