Client Challenge

The HR team for one of the world’s top biopharmaceutical companies was having difficulty balancing increased demand for recruiting with their already heavy workloads. As a result, hiring managers were going to multiple agencies to service their staffing needs. As expenses grew, the client decided a more controlled and cost-effective approach was necessary.

The company selected DoubleStar to co-design and execute a pilot RPO to determine how it might work in their environment.

Our Solution

After reviewing a number of service providers, the client selected DoubleStar to conduct an RPO pilot in one of their most challenging areas: R&D. DoubleStar worked closely with the Senior Director for R&D Recruiting to plan, structure, and implement a 12-month project with a specific focus on difficult-to-fill R&D positions.

The project was implemented in three phases:

Phase I – Planning and Initial Rollout

• DoubleStar worked in partnership with our client to understand current hiring needs and likely future demand to size the project.
• Based on the positions assigned to DoubleStar, a project team was deployed with strong experience recruiting for biotechnology organizations.
• DoubleStar helped fine-tune recruitment processes, such as improving utilization of an applicant-tracking system and implementing new sourcing and screening techniques to identify viable candidates more quickly and accurately.
• DoubleStar introduced recruitment metrics that helped the organization better understand recruiting effectiveness.

Phase II – Assuming Day-to-Day Recruiting Responsibilities

• The client moved the entire recruiting process to DoubleStar, including directly interfacing with Hiring Managers without HR involvement.
• The client and DoubleStar assigned project leaders to manage the recruiting relationship and ensure all service-level agreements were met.
• Fine-tuning opportunities were identified and changes made to enhance process effectiveness.

Phase III – Transition from Pilot to Steady State

• Once demand levels became more predictable, DoubleStar adjusted the project team to a more flexible model to accommodate fluctuating needs.
• DoubleStar assigned a permanent project team to support a long-term recruiting solution.
• Other areas of the company were added.
• Formal project milestones were established, and periodic reporting/metrics were implemented.

Business Impacts

Following a successful RPO pilot, the client is fully engaged in a long-term RPO relationship, and other divisions have come on board. Benefits include:

• Cost-per-hire reduction by more than $5,000 per hire in R&D
• Elimination of at least $250,000 in annual agency spend
• Creation of a centralized, efficient, and coordinated recruitment effort for R&D
• Achievement of positive client satisfaction survey results indicating the pilot was a success
• Development of a database of R&D candidates for future use
• Provision of a scalable recruitment solution that can expand or contract depending on the client’s business needs