Solving short-term hiring challenges and building a long-term talent pipeline for a global leader in ecommerce implementation.
The Challenge
Portaltech Reply uses market-leading Hybris technology to support the needs of some of the world’s most successful multi-channel retailers. But the growth of multi-channel retail, and the growing demand for Hybris technology, had left Portaltech with a heavy weighting towards senior talent. And their experience and capability in an area of talent shortage had led to unsustainable workforce costs.
Recognising that their business had become top-heavier than they would have liked, Portaltech Reply wanted to build out the base of their organisational pyramid to bring in the next generation of talent. Creating their own high-quality talent pipeline by introducing a graduate scheme was a potential solution, but the time it took to train new employees was problematic.
The Solution
We suggested a range of solutions to meet both the short and longer-term challenges faced by Portaltech Reply.
Firstly, the team set themselves the task of securing highly competent Hybris professionals to meet the pressing need within the client’s business. Using OneDay™ – our unique solution that attracts and processes candidates rapidly – to streamline the selection process, we attracted Hybris talent from around the globe with a minimum of fuss.
However, to deliver the sustainable growth Portaltech Reply were looking for, we introduced a strategy to reduce dependence on contingent workers and develop a pipeline of permanent staff. At the heart of this strategy was our unique FutureScale™ product.
FutureScale™ identifies professionals with an average of 6-18 months’ commercial experience – in this case Java programming. Employed on our payroll for the first 6-12 months, the selected individuals benefit from an intensive, accredited training programme delivered by SAP. These project-ready individuals worked onsite with Portaltech Reply, but we maintained responsibility for reviewing their progress until the company chose whether to take them on permanently.
This offered the ideal, best-of-both-worlds solution – we were able to cross-train a skilled team who worked closely with existing Portaltech employees, but without unsustainable workforce costs.
The Results
- We ran 16 OneDay™ sessions, brining Hybris talent from around the world – 25 were hired.
- We implemented our skills development plan (FutureScale™) – building a long-term pipeline.
- FutureScale™ enabled 10 people to pass through the programme – onsite at Portaltech Reply.
- We implemented an on-boarding and HR support (CareCon™) process for monthly assessments.
Testimonial
Consultant, SoleraAs an experienced digital professional, I’ve been through many application processes, and have certainly reached a point where the ease and efficiency of the process has a big impact on my willingness to accept a job offer. I have to say that the OneDay™ created a completely new experience, and the impression it gave me of the organisation played a big part in convincing me that Solera was the place I wanted to work. Despite the competing offers I received from other brands, Solera stood out.
We have a unique proposition in the e-commerce market, but in sustaining our Premium Elite Hybris partnership, we have ended up with a skewed workforce. We have a great team, full of ‘Rockstar’ talent who make us standout. But we can’t rely on these people forever, and so urgently needed to start building out the base of our organisation. “FutureScale™ offers us greater flexibility in meeting the demand for skills and gives us great confidence for the future, giving us exclusive access to a whole new talent pool. Arrows Group have truly provided an end-to-end solution; without their work, we would simply not have the bandwidth to secure this skills pipeline.
