Service Continuity with 100% Fulfilment of Oversupply for Leading Communications Provider
Company Background
Our client is one of the world’s oldest and most successful communications companies, supplying homes and businesses in the UK & Ireland. The company, with circa 29,000 UK-based employees, is a major contributor to the national economy, supporting around 1% of all UK employment, both directly and indirectly through its supply chain.
A vital player in the UK’s communications infrastructure, the company is committed to business and technology growth through innovation.
Client
Contact
Sector
Staffing Type
Recruitment Challenge
For our client, we already supply a headcount of around 500 workers across distribution centres in Lutterworth and Northallerton, as well as across satellite sites and driving hubs across the UK. Demand continually fluctuates according to project and service requirements, requiring careful management to ensure appropriate staff coverage.
When demand was set to increase, due to external changes and restrictions, the client initiated immediate changes to protect and maintain customer service levels. Our Account Management Team were asked to factor in a 10% oversupply of temporary staff to cover for staff sickness and absenteeism.
Recruitment Solution
Dedicated on-site staff ensured that fulfilment was met in each location. Local specialists were assigned to finding temporary staff for Forward Stock Location ‘hotspots,’ where sourcing workers was proving a particular challenge.
To enhance visibility, a daily fulfilment tracker was managed by the National Account Manager and continually updated by central and branch network teams, ensuring the client could see the progress with ease. Our Central Account Managers became part of the clients’ response team, exchanging vital information on the availability of temporary workers via a daily phone call. Recruiters understood the responsibility to backfill absent staff to avoid drops in productivity.
Recruitment Journey
Individual locations responded differently, so we adopted a flexible, tailored approach to ensure recruitment was met. In Lutterworth, the branch management executives managed health and safety concerns by standing down workers who posed a potential problem for the workforce, ensuring that all staff members were fit to work on the day.
Whereas, Northallerton posed the opposite challenge, with absenteeism rising. The objective in this instance was to recommend, when appropriate, that it was safe to come to work. Where staff did not return, our team increased their recruitment activity to backfill remaining gaps.
Our contract renewal and expansion are the result of the excellent standards of work achieved in service delivery, dedication and commitment over many years.
Director of Accounts - Blue Arrow
The Results
Through the professional expertise and responsiveness of the on-site teams, we managed to supply our client with the headcount they needed, as well as offer our support during a difficult time.
We achieved:
- 100% fulfilment for the 10% oversupply
- 98-99% delivery rate maintained
- Low attrition rates of 3-4%
Following these successes, our partnership continues as we were asked to manage the recruitment of the client’s call centre workers, almost doubling the scale of talent supply and support for the client.
