Challenges that project recruitment can solve

In many business sectors it is wise to 'expect the unexpected'. If your talent acquisition function faces an extraordinary challenge, a project managed by a specialist recruitment partner will see you through the busy period.

A Project Recruitment service helps organisations solve urgent or mission-critical challenges that are beyond the ability of their own talent acquisition (TA) teams.

This is usually for one of two reasons - either because:

• They do not have the market knowledge and understanding to execute their recruitment plans effectively; or
• They do not have the resources to scale their own recruitment capabilities in line with the hiring requirements.

In such circumstances, a recruitment project can provide the consulting and research that allows a company to bridge any gaps that they may have in their understanding of the market.

Action is taken at short notice and frequently in significant numbers to help the company undertake sharp ramp-ups in hiring requirements and meet challenging deadlines. This is what distinguishes a “Project” from longer term services such as RPO and MSP.

By delivering the right talent on time to meet the agreed objectives, a project will also have the advantage of freeing TA functions up to focus on other value-added HR tasks.

Upon attainment of the project’s immediate objectives, there could be a further 'build and transfer' service that hands over a fully functioning recruitment model, complete with processes, policies and localised HR procedures.

Challenges project recruitment can solve

Here are some typical examples of the types of challenges that project recruitment can solve:

1. You need new skills such as digital change specialists, scrum masters, business analysts, data security specialists, Java developers and content editors to launch a new online service by a given deadline. Such professionals are in high demand in your sector: How will you get talent on board so that you can meet your strategic objectives?
2. You acquire two demanding high-profile customers in a country where you have no locally based talent acquisition resources – if you do not ramp up recruitment quickly, these new hard-won accounts will be at risk.
3. You need to acquire professionals who combine a specific set of qualifications (e.g. in biotechnology) with fluency in hard-to-source languages such as German and Russian.
4. Confidentiality restraints make it difficult for your in-house TA team to recruit new hires proactively and openly (e.g. because you do not want competitors to learn about your changed business strategy or an upcoming product launch).
5. Your world headquarters has decided to relocate European operations from the current location to a third country. Some existing staff are prepared to relocate but you need to replace many others who are not.
6. Your company has acquired a successful start-up and wishes to extend its geographical reach to four new countries within three months.
7. Your company would like to trial new services to determine whether a new business strategy will work. This means you need to hire and manage talent on a short-term basis with the possibility to extend if the new strategy proves successful.
8. There is a sudden surge in demand for one of your company’s financial services offerings. To meet this demand you need to recruit graduates to a fast-track qualification programme, because there is an acute shortage of suitably qualified talent.

Agility required

What is clear from all of these examples is that you will require an agile recruitment partner who can hit the ground running – with access to existing talent pools and the ability to research the market and identify suitable candidates at the drop of a hat.

This capability will have been built up over many years of conducting similar successful projects, tailored to the precise needs of a variety of clients, and supported through an international network of talent scouts.

Related: What are the pros and cons of project recruitment?