Category: Talent Acquisition Strategy

How We Delivered a Specialized Hiring Project to Support a Mid-Sized Organization’s Growth

Posted on by akessler
How We Delivered a Specialized Hiring Project to Support a Mid-Sized Organization’s Growth

How We Delivered a Specialized Hiring Project to Support a Mid-Sized Organization’s Growth

PeopleScout’s specialized hiring project enabled a mid-sized automotive reconditioning provider to scale from 15 to 330+ hires per month within four months, transforming a three-month pilot into a two-year partnership supporting 1,000 annual hires.

2 week implementation
22 x increase in hiring volume in just four months
3 month hiring project expanded into a comprehensive RPO engagement

Situation

A provider of automotive reconditioning services exemplifies the talent acquisition challenges that mid-sized, specialized service companies face when competing for skilled workers in tight labor markets. The organization needed to dramatically improve their recruitment process and speed-to-hire for their skilled hourly workers, including highly specialized industrial painters—roles that require specific technical expertise and are in limited supply. Like many growing mid-market companies, the organization lacked the internal resources and specialized recruitment capabilities needed to effectively compete for this scarce talent.

The scope of their challenge became clear through their ambitious growth trajectory: they needed to scale from just 15 hires per month to over 330 hires within a four-month period. This increase in hiring volume that would be impossible to achieve through their existing recruitment approaches, so the organization engaged PeopleScout for a specialized hiring project.

Solution

Our approach centered transforming the client’s talent acquisition through strategic expansion and dedicated resources. We began with a focused pilot program utilizing a team of five recruiters, but the success of this initial phase enabled us to expand the account team to 16 within just two weeks, including one recruiting manager, 10 recruiters, five coordinators, plus marketing, analyst, and global support resources. This scalable model demonstrates the flexibility and responsiveness that specialized hiring projects can provide to mid-sized organizations.

In addition to recruitment, we provided comprehensive talent advisory services including deep-dive market analysis across the country, full persona development for all positions in scope, complete job description rewrites, and strategic guidance tailored to their industry. Our technology implementation included launching an updated Power BI Reporting & Analytics Suite while leveraging their existing Workday system with our expert recommendations for optimization. The project team deployed multifaceted sourcing strategies including automated sourcing software, marketing-optimized sourcing scripts, and regional and national career days specifically designed to attract skilled hourly workers and industrial painters.

Key Success Factors

  • Specialized Hiring Project Model: Dedicated, time-bound approach perfect for rapid scaling needs
  • Lightning-Fast Team Deployment: 16 person account team onboarded in 2 weeks
  • Scalable Resources: Team expansion from 5 to 16 within 30 days to meet demand
  • Industry Expertise: Deep understanding of automotive and skilled trades recruitment
  • Technology Integration: Seamless integration with existing Workday system plus enhanced analytics
  • Comprehensive Support: Full spectrum from talent advisory to marketing to global compliance

Results

The specialized hiring project delivered transformational results that exceeded all expectations, enabling the client to achieve their ambitious scaling goals of growing from 15 to 330+ hires within just four months. This remarkable 22x increase in hiring volume was accomplished while maintaining quality standards for their specialized skilled hourly and industrial painter positions—roles that are notoriously difficult to source and hire at scale.

The impact extended far beyond the immediate hiring surge, with the initial three-month project expanding into a comprehensive two-year engagement that now supports 1,000 annual hires across their organization. The combination of our scalable team model, technology integration, and comprehensive support services has positioned the client to continue their growth trajectory with confidence, proving that modular recruitment solutions are ideal for mid-sized companies facing rapid expansion challenges in competitive talent markets.

At a Glance

  • COMPANY
    Mid-sized automotive reconditioning provider
  • INDUSTRY
    Automotive
  • PEOPLESCOUT SOLUTIONS
    Recruitment Process Outsourcing, Amplifiers
Let’s Connect

Accelerating Growth Through Strategic Talent Solutions and Industry Expertise

Posted on by akessler
Accelerating Growth Through Strategic Talent Solutions and Industry Expertise

Accelerating Growth Through Strategic Talent Solutions and Industry Expertise

PeopleScout’s project RPO solution enabled a mid-sized automotive service provider to achieve a 230% increase in top-of-funnel candidates, delivering critical revenue-generating talent across national markets within two weeks.

230 % increase in top-of-funnel candidates
9 % increase in click-through rates on applications

within just the first month

3 month Project RPO engagement

Situation

A mid-sized automotive service provider found themselves at a critical growth inflection point that their existing talent acquisition capabilities couldn’t support. The organization’s business model centers around placing highly knowledgeable Tire Service Advisors—professionals with deep expertise across a broad range of automotive tire products—directly inside auto dealerships where they provide customers with essential guidance and product information. These roles are absolutely critical to the organization’s revenue generation, making successful hiring not just an operational necessity but a direct driver of business success.

The organization was experiencing an explosion in demand from dealers across the country, but their traditional hiring approaches were failing to meet the volume and speed requirements of this rapid expansion. Time was of the essence, as unfilled positions directly translated to missed revenue opportunities and strained relationships with dealer partners. Fortunately, the organization had a valuable connection through their sister company, which had successfully partnered with PeopleScout to solve similar talent acquisition challenges and provided a strong referral that opened the door for our partnership.

Solution

Our approach began with PeopleScout leadership and client delivery teams meeting directly with the client’s leadership to understand their unique challenges. We quickly developed a targeted sourcing, screening, and reporting model that would address both their immediate hiring needs and their national expansion requirements. The solution was powered by a dedicated project team specifically assembled to support their critical mid-sized organization recruiting needs across the United States over an intensive three-month engagement period.

The strategy blended advanced recruitment marketing techniques with streamlined recruitment process execution, creating a comprehensive approach that would dramatically increase their talent pipeline while maintaining the quality standards essential for their customer-facing roles. Our deep understanding of the automotive industry, combined with our proven project-based delivery model, enabled us to move quickly from strategy to implementation, ensuring that the client could capitalize on their growth opportunities without delay.

Key Success Factors

  • Industry Expertise: Deep knowledge of automotive sector and customer-facing service roles
  • Rapid Implementation: Quick transition from strategy development to full execution
  • Integrated Approach: Combined recruitment marketing and process optimization
  • Dedicated Resources: Project team fully focused on client’s critical hiring needs
  • Proven Partnership Model: Shown through our successful partnership with sister company
  • National Scalability: Solution designed to support hiring across multiple states

Results

The impact was both immediate and substantial, with our project team achieving a remarkable 230% increase in top-of-funnel candidates, directly addressing their pipeline challenges with qualified Tire Service Advisor candidates. This dramatic improvement in candidate volume translated into a more than 9% increase in the click-through rate on applications within just the first month, demonstrating that our recruitment marketing strategy was not only reaching more candidates but attracting genuinely interested and qualified professionals. The quality of our execution was proven by our ability to deliver the first successful hires within just two weeks of project go-live, ensuring that the organization could begin capitalizing on their growth opportunities immediately.

Our dedicated project approach proved that rapid scaling doesn’t require small to mid-sized organizations to sacrifice quality. As one client leader noted,

“PeopleScout’s energy, willingness to partner, and deep knowledge of our industry made this an incredibly successful partnership and has supported our business with the critical hires necessary for our growth and success.”

At a Glance

  • COMPANY
    Mid-sized automotive service provider
  • INDUSTRY
    Automotive
  • PEOPLESCOUT SOLUTIONS
    Recruitment Process Outsourcing, Amplifiers
Let’s Connect

The UK’s Workforce Balancing Act: Ageing Populations and Emerging Roles

Posted on by lloftus

By James Chorley, Talent Solutions Director, RPO

I recently wrote about what our children will do in the future, but what about us?! We all know about the technological disruption that has exploded onto the scene. We’ve seen the data on the number of inactive people at working age, but I didn’t fully appreciate the unprecedented demographic change we are about to see.

While much attention has been given to the rise of automation, artificial intelligence (AI), and the creation of “jobs that don’t exist yet,” an equally pressing challenge looms in the background: the UK’s declining birthrate and ageing population.

Together, these forces are reshaping the labour market, creating an urgent need for new skills and a more agile approach to workforce development.

This article explores the critical skills shortages the UK faces today and anticipates the skills required for the future. It also examines how the intertwining challenges of an ageing workforce and emerging roles demand nothing less than a revolution in the way we think about education, training, and employment.

The Demographic Imperative: Fewer Hands, Greater Need

The demographic data is stark. The fertility rate in England and Wales dropped to a record low of 1.44 children per woman in 2023, far below the replacement level of 2.1. Meanwhile, people are living longer, leading to a rapidly ageing population. By 2032, the number of children in the UK is projected to decline by 6.4%, while the population of pensionable age will grow by nearly 14%. The number of people aged 85 and over will almost double by mid-2047.

This demographic shift has profound implications for the workforce. A smaller proportion of younger workers will be available to support an increasing number of retirees, creating economic and social strain. The old-age dependency ratio—the number of working-age people supporting each retiree—is set to climb significantly. While more older workers are staying in the labour market (with record employment levels for those aged 65 and over), this is not enough to offset the broader decline in workforce numbers.

For the UK, this isn’t just an economic inconvenience; it’s a national necessity to address skill shortages and reimagine workforce participation across all age groups.

The Current Crisis: Skills in Critical Shortage

Even without demographic pressures, the UK is already grappling with widespread skills gaps. Almost 70% of businesses reported recruitment difficulties, with chronic shortages in high-growth sectors like digital technology, advanced manufacturing, health and social care, education, and construction.

Specific Skills in Severe Shortage:

These shortages are not just a recruitment issue; they also reveal a deeper problem within the existing workforce. Over 1.7 million employees were reported as not being fully proficient in their roles.

The Horizon: Skills That Don’t Exist Yet

The rise of automation and emerging technologies isn’t just transforming jobs—it’s creating entirely new ones. From AI specialists to sustainability experts, future roles will demand a fusion of technical expertise and human-centric skills.

Emerging Roles:

  • AI and Machine Learning Specialists
  • Cybersecurity Analysts
  • Sustainability and Environmental Specialists
  • Data Analysts and Data Scientists
  • Robotics Engineers
  • Blockchain Developers

Transforming Traditional Roles:

  • Healthcare professionals must adapt to digital patient management.
  • Teachers will need to integrate technology into learning.
  • Manufacturing workers will oversee automated systems.

The common thread across these roles is the demand for adaptability, advanced technical knowledge, and the ability to learn continuously.

The Foundational Enablers: Essential Cross-Cutting Skills

As automation takes over routine tasks, uniquely human skills will become the labour market’s most valuable currency. The skills most in demand by 2035 include:

  • Digital Literacy: A baseline requirement for all workers.
  • Critical Thinking: Essential for solving complex, non-routine problems.
  • Adaptability and Lifelong Learning: Workers must expect 39% of their skills to become outdated by 2030.
  • Emotional Intelligence: Empathy, communication, and teamwork will distinguish human workers from machines.

Strategies for a Resilient Workforce

To address these challenges, Talent and TA leaders must adopt systemic solutions to future proof Talent within their sectors:

  • Agile Education and Training: From shorter, modular apprenticeships to investment in STEM education, training must evolve to keep pace with technological advancements.
  • Lifelong Learning: Employers must reverse the trend of declining investment in training, offering continuous upskilling opportunities.
  • Holistic Workforce Support: Flexible work environments and improved careers guidance can help attract underrepresented groups and retain older workers.
  • Strategic Sponsorship: Simplified worker visa regimes can fill immediate gaps while longer-term solutions take shape.

Conclusion: Thinking Differently About the Workforce

Solving the UK’s workforce challenges means rethinking who we hire, how we train, and what we value in the labour market. As skill shortages deepen and demographic pressures mount, we must start thinking differently about the jobs that will remain in severe shortage over the coming decades.

Embrace Older Generations

Older workers represent an untapped reservoir of experience and talent. By creating flexible work environments, addressing age discrimination, and investing in training for older generations, businesses can benefit from their expertise and keep them active in the workforce.

Accelerate Apprenticeships for All Ages

The traditional model of apprenticeships must evolve. Short, sharp apprenticeships designed for workers of all ages and experiences can rapidly fill skill gaps in critical areas like digital, green energy, and advanced manufacturing. These programs should be modular, flexible, and responsive to emerging technologies.

Foster Lifelong Learning

The future workforce must be equipped to adapt continuously. Employers, educators, and policymakers must work together to make lifelong learning accessible, affordable, and relevant. Programs like Skills Bootcamps offer a promising model for accelerated training in high-demand fields.

The UK’s ability to thrive in the face of demographic decline and technological disruption hinges on its willingness to embrace bold, creative solutions. By fostering a culture of inclusion, agility, and continuous learning, we can build a resilient workforce that bridges generations, adapts to new challenges, and excels in emerging roles.

The balancing act will not be easy, but the rewards—economic growth, social cohesion, and future prosperity—are well worth the effort. It’s time to act, rethink, and reimagine what the workforce can be.

What is a Staffing Agency? 7 Top Differences Between RPO and Staffing Agencies

Posted on by akessler

What is a staffing agency? Organizations are facing unprecedented hiring challenges that traditional staffing agencies simply weren’t designed to solve. Between remote work, skills shortages in critical roles, and the need to compete with enterprise employers for top talent, growing companies need strategic partners, not just résumé and CV providers.

So, what is the difference between a staffing agency and an RPO solutions provider? In this, article we’ll cover the major differences between RPO and staffing agencies and how to know what’s best for your talent acquisition program.

RPO vs Staffing Agencies: What is a Staffing Agency and Which Recruitment Model is Right for You?

What is a Staffing Agency

Recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) is a type of business process outsourcing in which an employer transfers delivery of some or all portions of the recruitment process to an external service provider. RPO is a long-term partnership or project-based solution that helps you evolve your talent acquisition strategy to attract and retain high-quality talent to meet your business goals. Outsourcing through an RPO lets you scale up or down during high and low volume periods. RPO recruitment companies can cover everything from high-volume hiring to niche roles and can be regional or cover your global hiring requirements. 

Staffing Agencies operate on a transactional model, focusing on filling individual job requisitions. They maintain their own brand, work with multiple clients simultaneously on similar roles, and typically hand off candidates once initial screening is complete. 

For companies, particularly small to mid-sized organizations, this distinction matters more than ever. Here’s why. 

7 Critical Differences Between RPO vs Staffing Agency

1. Strategic Partnership

RPO Approach: Your RPO team acts as an extension of your in-house team and is your strategic partner in creating a talent acquisition program. RPO recruiters may sit on-site, work remotely, work offshore or a combination, and they’ll usually take on your company name and email domain in their communications. An RPO partner will come to understand your business deeply, which means they are best suited to help you evolve your talent acquisition program to meet your needs now and scale into the future, maintaining institutional knowledge and process consistency. 

Staffing Agency Approach: Agency recruiters typically act as a finder—sourcing, pre-screening and introducing candidates to the client (often the hiring manager) who takes it from there. Agency recruiters keep their own company email and brand when interacting with candidates.  

This works for one-off hires but breaks down when you’re scaling rapidly. Growing companies need partners who understand your long-term evolution and can anticipate your needs.

2. Process Improvements

RPO Approach: RPO partners conduct comprehensive process audits, identify inefficiencies, and implement scalable improvements. Not only does this reduce time-to-fill, but it also improves the candidate experience. A process evaluation will also include your talent technology. Your RPO partner will assess any gaps, make recommendations for new solutions and support the implementation process. 

Staffing Agency Approach: For a staffing agency, the hire-by-hire nature of their work means they’re likely not looking for ways to improve your overall hiring processes. They maintain their own workflows, which can create disconnects and inconsistencies as you grow, impacting the candidate experience and your employer brand.

3. Talent Pooling

RPO Approach: One huge advantage of the long-term relationship you build with an RPO partner is taking advantage of their ability to create talent pools. Having a pool of active and passive candidates speeds up time-to-hire, because when new roles open, you’re not starting from zero. 

Staffing Agency Approach: Agencies focus on finding candidates for a specific vacancy. It tends to be a reactive model, in which they work from requisition to requisition. Agency recruiters maintain a pool of candidates for their multiple clients, so these candidates are not necessarily found with your company in mind. 

4. Quality + Cultural Fit

RPO Approach: Leading RPO providers offer comprehensive talent assessment solutions, using behavioral interviews, skills evaluations and cultural fit assessments. This is particularly important for small to mid-sized companies as the consequences of a bad hire are far more significant and visible than at large enterprises. 

Staffing Agency Approach: Agencies focus primarily on skills and experience matching. Cultural fit assessment, when it happens, is typically limited to basic screening questions. They generally won’t be responsible for administering assessment solutions or advise on how to improve them. 

5. Talent Advisory

RPO Approach: RPO partners bring added value through their expertise in talent advisory, including employer branding, recruitment marketing, candidate communications, assessment services, labor market insights, workforce planning and talent acquisition strategy. These capabilities are vital for positioning your organization to efficiently attract, recruit and retain top talent in today’s competitive hiring landscape. 

Staffing Agency Approach: Agencies typically post jobs on their preferred job boards and tap their existing networks. Employer branding and recruitment marketing remain your responsibility—assuming you have the expertise internally. 

6. Technology Consulting

RPO Approach: RPO providers offer technology consulting, and help you understand how you can leverage AI-powered sourcing, advanced analytics, and tech integration to improve your recruitment outcomes. Some RPO providers offer some kind of recruitment technology component, whether it’s a propriety system, like PeopleScout’s Affinix® total talent suite, or expertise in a variety of talent technology systems. They’ll be comfortable working with your existing systems and can recommend solutions that scale with your growth. 

Staffing Agency Approach: Agencies use their own technology stack, which may not integrate with your systems. Limited technology means you miss out on advanced sourcing tools and market intelligence platforms. 

7. Reporting and Analytics

RPO Approach: RPO providers take ownership of recruitment outcomes. They’ll work with you to define metrics, KPIs and SLAs, and report on them on a regular basis. RPO dashboards provide visibility into time-to-hire, cost-per-hire, source-of-hire, candidate or hiring manager satisfaction and retention levels. In addition, leading RPO partners bring labor market insights to help you understand the available talent pool in the locations in which you’re hiring and recommendations on how to adjust your strategy. 

Staffing Agency Approach: Agency accountability typically ends when they present candidates. Limited reporting means you can’t optimize your overall hiring strategy or demonstrate ROI to leadership. 

rpo staffing

The Mid-Market Reality: Why Staffing Agencies Fall Short 

The challenges facing small to mid-sized companies go far beyond what traditional staffing agencies were designed to handle: 

  • Remote/Hybrid Talent Competition: You’re no longer competing just with local companies—you’re competing globally for remote talent. This requires sophisticated sourcing strategies and employer branding. 
  • Skills Shortage Crisis: Critical roles in technology, healthcare, and engineering have candidate shortages of around 40%. Finding qualified candidates requires proactive pipeline development, not reactive posting. 
  • Candidate Experience Expectations: Top talent expects streamlined, technology-enabled hiring processes. Clunky, agency-mediated experiences drive candidates to your competitors. 
  • Rapid Scaling Requirements: Whether you’re preparing for Series B funding or geographic expansion, you need recruitment partners who can scale quickly without compromising quality. 

The Bottom Line 

The talent market rewards strategic thinking over transactional hiring. Organizations, particularly mid-sized companies, that treat recruitment as a competitive advantage—through RPO partnerships, technology integration, and process optimization—will outpace those still relying on traditional staffing approaches. 

The question isn’t whether you need recruitment support—it’s whether you need a vendor or a strategic partner. That distinction often determines who wins the best candidates and scales most successfully. 

Recruitment Marketing Analytics: From Gut Instinct to Data Intelligence  

Posted on by akessler

The emergence of data-driven recruitment has fundamentally transformed how forward-thinking organizations approach talent acquisition. Recruitment marketing analytics isn’t just about tracking basic metrics like application volumes or cost-per-hire—it’s about developing deep insights into candidate behavior, optimizing every stage of the talent journey, and making strategic decisions backed by concrete evidence rather than assumptions. 

Leveraging the data generated through recruitment marketing represents more than just operational improvement—it’s a strategic evolution that enables talent acquisition teams to operate with the sophistication and accountability of modern marketing departments.  

Recruitment Marketing Analytics Fundamentals 

Modern CRM systems provide critical insights through talent pool composition analytics, engagement metrics, campaign performance measurement and conversion measurement across the candidate journey. But a recruitment analytics platform goes deeper, offering a single source of truth for understanding your end-to-end recruitment process. 

Talent acquisition leaders are increasingly adopting sophisticated data-driven approaches to optimize strategies, allocate resources effectively and demonstrate clear ROI to organizational stakeholders. Look for an analytics platform with interactive dashboards that visually monitor trends and identify opportunities, connecting recruitment analytics with talent market intelligence. 

Key Performance Indicators Across the Candidate Journey 

Awareness: 

  • Career site metrics: Unique visitors, source attribution, and content engagement 
  • Social media engagement: Follower growth, share of voice, and engagement rates 

Consideration: 

  • Talent community growth: New registrations and nurture campaign engagement 
  • Application intent: Job description views, application starts, and abandoned rates 
  • Engagement quality: Repeat visits and time spent exploring opportunities 

Application: 

  • Conversion metrics: Application completion rates and cost-per-application 
  • Candidate quality: Skills match percentage and diversity of applicant pool 
  • Efficiency: Time to qualified candidate and recruitment marketing cost-per-hire 

Cross-Funnel Metrics: 

  • Candidate experience: Satisfaction surveys at various touchpoints 
  • Market responsiveness: Time-to-fill by position and location 

Advanced Analytics 

Organizations that move beyond basic reporting can unlock deeper insights to transform recruitment marketing effectiveness. 

  • Cohort Analysis: Track candidate groups over time to identify behavior patterns and evaluate the long-term impact of marketing initiatives. 
  • Funnel Analysis: Identify conversion bottlenecks, compare performance across candidate segments, and evaluate stage-by-stage conversion efficiency to optimize the candidate journey. 
  • Channel Effectiveness Analysis: Compare cross-channel performance, calculate return on investment by channel, and find the optimal channel mix for improved budget allocation. 

Predictive Analytics and AI Applications 

Predictive analytics leverages artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to highlight insights, anomalies and predictions, including: 

  • Candidate conversion predictions
  • Channel performance forecasting 
  • Hiring timeline optimization 
  • Sourcing strategy recommendations 
  • Budget allocation optimization 

These capabilities help talent teams understand behaviors of top talent and predict factors such as cultural fit, willingness to change companies and future tenure potential—helping to support confident recruitment marketing budgets. 

Building a Culture of Data-Driven Decision Making 

Successfully implementing recruitment marketing analytics requires more than just sophisticated analytics tools—it demands a fundamental shift in how talent acquisition teams approach strategy development and performance evaluation. This cultural transformation involves moving from reactive, intuition-based decisions to proactive, evidence-based strategies. 

The most successful organizations establish regular data review cycles where recruitment teams analyze performance metrics, identify trends, and adjust strategies accordingly. They create accountability frameworks that tie recruitment marketing decisions to measurable outcomes, and they invest in developing analytical capabilities across their talent acquisition teams. 

Equally important is establishing clear data governance practices that ensure accuracy, consistency, and actionable insights. This includes standardizing data collection methods, implementing quality control processes, and creating accessible dashboards that enable real-time monitoring and decision-making. 

Recruitment Marketing Analytics as a Revenue Driver 

Data-driven recruitment marketing transforms talent acquisition from a cost center focused on filling positions to a strategic function that drives measurable business value. When recruitment teams can demonstrate clear connections between their marketing investments and outcomes like improved candidate quality, faster time-to-hire, and enhanced employer brand perception, they gain credibility and resources to execute increasingly sophisticated strategies. 

By adopting recruitment marketing analytics, organizations can optimize recruitment marketing budgets, improve candidate quality, reduce time-to-hire and demonstrate clear ROI to leadership—creating sustainable competitive advantages in the global talent marketplace. The future belongs to those who can transform data into actionable insights and use those insights to build more effective, efficient and candidate-centric recruitment experiences. 

Early Careers Recruitment Strategy: Enhancing Candidate Experience & Skills Assessment

Posted on by akessler

Early Careers Recruitment Strategy: Enhancing Candidate Experience & Skills Assessment

How to attract, assess and retain Gen Z talent effectively

Generation Z candidates demand authentic employer brands, meaningful work experiences, and transparent values that align with their social consciousness. But this generational shift is also creating unprecedented opportunity for organizations: strategic early careers recruitment, compelling employer value propositions, and transformative assessment experiences that turn talent competition into sustainable advantage.

This ebook, Early Careers Recruitment Strategy: Enhancing Candidate Experience & Skills Assessment, is your roadmap to building a magnetic Gen Z talent attraction strategy now and into the future.

In this ebook, you’ll discover:

  • What’s driving the shift from qualification-based to skills-based early careers recruitment
  • Why your current candidate experience is capturing only a fraction of available Gen Z talent
  • Emerging strategies for building authentic employer brands that resonate with digital natives
  • Techniques to balance AI-powered efficiency with meaningful human connection in assessment
  • Data-driven approaches to creating inclusive, bias-free selection processes
  • Proven frameworks for transforming candidate dropout into strategic self-selection

Download your copy today and position your organization at the forefront of early careers recruitment innovation for years to come.

Beyond the Beaten Pathway: Creative Assessment for TMP Worldwide’s Emerging Talent Search

Posted on by akessler
Beyond the Beaten Pathway: Creative Assessment for TMP Worldwide's Emerging Talent Search

Graduate Assessment

Beyond the Beaten Pathway: Creative Assessment for TMP Worldwide’s Emerging Talent Search

Discover how PeopleScout designed an innovative graduate assessment process for TMP Worldwide’s new development programme. Our reciprocal choice model, Gen AI-resilient tools, and bespoke selection stages that achieved 100% offer acceptance while identifying future leaders who aligned with company values.

100 % attendance rate for the assessment centre
100 % offer acceptance rate
Gen AI resilient assessment process
Gen AI resilient assessment process

Situation

TMP Worldwide—a transformative, multi-award-winning advertising agency that dominates UK media buying, employer branding, recruitment marketing, and resourcing—had big plans. They’d created a brand-new two-year graduate development programme designed to cultivate their next generation of leaders. The catch? Just three coveted spots were available.

While TMPW had successfully designed and delivered numerous graduate assessment processes for their clients, this was the first time TMPW was running a scheme of their own. Unlike a typical graduate scheme with rigid degree requirements or university hierarchies, TMPW’s Graduate Pathway was designed to find graduates with a different mindset who could maximise every learning opportunity and emerge as genuine trailblazers.

They were working with shorter-than-usual timescales and needed maximum return on investment. The challenge was on to design and deliver a bespoke, forward-focused and cost-efficient early careers assessment process to unearth three brilliant graduates.

With no historical data to lean on and an evolving early careers landscape, the process had to be flexible enough to scale up or down based on unknown application volumes—all without affecting costs or timelines. Plus, they needed to stay ahead of the curve with Gen-AI-aware design features that would protect the process from unwanted disruption from candidates potentially using Gen AI to exaggerate or misrepresent their skills.

Solution

PeopleScout’s Assessment Psychologists crafted a bespoke, end-to-end selection process that brought TMPW’s unique proposition to life. This wasn’t about adapting existing frameworks—this was industry-first thinking that gave candidates multiple opportunities to showcase their strengths through an engaging, informative experience.

We started from scratch, applying best practice design principles with a creative twist. We began with research to capture the expertise and perspectives of key Graduate Pathway stakeholders to build a values-led assessment framework that truly embodied TMPW’s culture.

The Reciprocal Choice Revolution

Here’s where our different mindset really showed. Instead of the traditional one-way selection approach, we developed an innovative reciprocal choice model based on TMP’s values and candidates’ evolving expectations. This creative solution emphasised mutual fit over one-sided evaluation, embedding informed candidate choice throughout the process and prioritising transparent, authentic two-way communication between candidate and company.

We integrated realistic job preview (RJP) elements at every stage, ensuring candidates could make genuinely informed decisions about their future with TMP.

We recognised the potential for Gen-AI-enabled applicants to impact the accuracy of hiring decisions and were transparent with candidates about AI usage and issued training and guidance to recruiters.

Three Stages of Discovery

Our creative approach unfolded across four carefully designed stages, each providing deeper insights into both the programme and TMPW while enabling candidates to self-assess their alignment with the company.

Stage 1: Killer Questions

We kicked off with strategically crafted questions based on realistic job previews and informed choice principles. This wasn’t about catching people out—it was about helping the right candidates identify themselves early.

Stage 2: Gen AI-Resilient Sift

Our Gen AI-resilient sift tool assessed priority criteria from the framework, using autoscored situational and preference questions specifically designed to limit Gen AI disruption. This ensured we were evaluating genuine responses and different thinking styles.

Stage 3: Asynchronous Video Interview

We invited the highest-scoring candidates to pre-record a video interview. Those who gave personalised, unique responses earned their place at our immersive assessment centre at TMPW’s London headquarters.

Stage 4: Immersive, Work-Sampling Assessment Centre

This final stage provided realistic work samples and genuine previews of life at TMPW and the nature of role, testing holistic match and ensuring successful candidates could make fully informed decisions when it came to accepting offers—fulfilling our goal to make the right hires the first time and every time.

Results

Interest in the pathway was huge, and our creative solution delivered exactly what TMPW needed. With automated sifting, asynchronous video interviews, and extensive self-assessment opportunities, we identified candidates who were both exceptionally talented and genuinely motivated to succeed at TMPW.

TMPW were overwhelmingly happy with what we managed to achieve, including:

  • Maintaining a highly diverse candidate pool through to the assessment centre.
  • Highly eligible assessment centre candidates who scored highly across the full set of assessment criteria during the exercises and interviews.
  • Cost-effective use of only bespoke-designed assessments with no cost-per-use or licence costs, as well as the ability to scale up without increasing costs.
  • 100% attendance rate for the assessment centre.
  • 100% offer acceptance rate.
  • Positive feedback on the assessment experience from candidates.
  • The identification of strong future leaders who aligned with TMP’s company values and unique culture.

This industry-first approach didn’t just fill three graduate positions—it created a blueprint for identifying and attracting different thinkers who’ll drive competitive advantage for TMPW and their clients for years to come.

Candidate Feedback:

  • “I enjoyed how immersive and hand-on the process was. There were lots of different styles of tasks.”
  • “The process was very creative and unique.”

At a Glance

  • COMPANY
    TMP Worldwide UK
  • INDUSTRY
    Consulting
  • About TMP Worldwide
    TMP Worldwide UK is a leading recruitment marketing agency, specialising in connecting top talent with employers through innovative and data-driven solutions. With decades of experience in the talent acquisition space, TMP Worldwide UK helps employers to attract, engage, and retain the best candidates. Focused on driving measurable results through strategic employer branding, recruitment advertising, and recruitment technology, TMP Worldwide UK helps organisations to outthink their competitors and build stronger, more diverse workforces. For more information, please visit www.tmpw.co.uk. TMP Worldwide UK is part of PeopleScout, a TrueBlue (NYSE: TBI) company, a global talent solutions leader that provides unmatched scalability to meet the hiring needs of organisations of all sizes.
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The Great Skills Hunt: How RPO Boosted European Recruitment for Global Manufacturer

Posted on by akessler
The Great Skills Hunt: How RPO Boosted European Recruitment for Global Manufacturer

Multi-Country RPO

The Great Skills Hunt: How RPO Boosted European Recruitment for Global Manufacturer

Discover how RPO in Europe transformed global manufacturing recruitment: 590+ specialized hires across 16 countries, 43% faster time-to-hire, and 4.5 years of strategic partnership growth.

43 % reduction in time-to-hire
18 % increase in offer acceptance rate (up from 74% to 92%)
4.5 + year partnership

Situation

A leading global manufacturer initially engaged with PeopleScout for a multi-country RPO solution to make 150 hires for over 30 of their sites across 16 countries, including Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Poland, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.

The talent they sought develops and builds equipment for businesses across food processing, chemicals, air and water treatment, mining, pharmaceuticals, marine, construction and other critical industrial applications. These aren’t just engineers—they’re the highly specialized, creative minds who solve complex industrial design challenges that keep the world running.

Solution

Upon surpassing the initial goal of 150 hires by filling 245 hires across 30 sites in the first 12 months, the client continued to engage PeopleScout as their RPO partner in Europe. We have filled over 590 requisitions across business functions in over four years—and still counting.

Our diverse, multilingual delivery teams across the UK and Poland source, screen and evaluate candidates in nine languages: English, Swedish, German, French, Italian, Polish, Hungarian, Portuguese and Spanish.

Strategic partnership beyond recruitment

Beyond our end-to-end RPO solution, we became true strategic partners:

  • Market Intelligence: Delivered comprehensive market mapping and insights that informed their expansion strategy
  • Leadership Excellence: Deployed our Apex professional hiring solution for senior leadership recruitment
  • Local Expertise: Supported new manufacturing site development, including hiring experts for specialised manufacturing lines in Poland
  • Scalable Growth: Hired over 100 customer support professionals across EMEA to strengthen their brand promise
  • Internal Capability Building: Developed regional recruitment newsletter tools and processes to enhance their internal recruiters’ effectiveness
  • Inclusive Excellence: Delivered DE&I recruitment training for their EMEA HR team, embedding inclusion throughout their recruitment process
  • Record-Breaking Performance: Achieved a milestone 70 hires in Polish facilities in just one year

Results

What began as a tactical hiring challenge evolved into a comprehensive talent advantage. We became an extension of their talent strategy, enabling rapid expansion while maintaining the quality standards that define their market leadership.

The numbers at a glance:

  • 590+ placements delivered over 4.5 years across 30+ sites
  • 245 hires in the first 12 months alone – 63% above the original target
  • 43% reduction in time-to-hire (cutting nearly 60 days from intake to offer acceptance)
  • Quality transformation: Shortlist-to-interview ratio improved from 3.6:1 to 1.2:1
  • Candidate fit excellence: Offer acceptance rate increased by 18% (from 74% to 92%)
  • Data-driven strategy: Labor market insights informed hiring strategy for nine key roles in global commercial management expansion

Four and a half years later, our partnership continues to evolve. Our scalable, agile solutions adapt to their changing needs, whether that’s supporting new market entry, scaling manufacturing capabilities, or attracting the next generation of engineering excellence.

At a Glance

  • COMPANY
    Global Manufacturer
  • PEOPLESCOUT SOLUTIONS
    Recruitment Process Outsourcing
  • LOCATIONS
    16 countries, including Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Poland, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom
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Scaling Smart: How Project RPO Transformed European Recruitment

Posted on by akessler
Scaling Smart: How Project RPO Transformed European Recruitment

Project RPO

Scaling Smart: How Project RPO Transformed European Recruitment

A sustainability consulting firm turned to PeopleScout for multi-country project RPO in Europe and beyond.

10 countries
55 day time-to-offer
2.5:1 presentation-to-interview ratio

Situation

A sustainability consultancy operating across Europe needed end-to-end recruitment support. They were hunting for hard-to-fill positions that required serious sourcing expertise and multilingual capabilities.

As a consultancy, their business volumes fluctuated dramatically. They needed a solution that could scale up when projects boomed and scale down when things quieted—all while maintaining consistent service quality. Because when you’re a consultancy, your people are your product, and agility isn’t just nice to have, it’s business critical.

The organization turned to PeopleScout looking for a provider who could work seamlessly alongside their existing talent acquisition team throughout Europe. They wanted a partner who could bring sourcing experience for those tricky roles, language skills and talent advisory services that would give them a competitive edge.

Solution

We landed on something that would transform their entire recruitment approach: a team of Recruiters on Demand (RODs) who would partner with the client’s existing team, work directly with their systems, and support in a sourcing and screening capacity that could flex with their business needs.

They needed to amplify their capabilities with specialists who brought different skillsets and a different mindset to hard-to-fill roles.

Building the Partnership Framework

To make sure we were making the right hires the first time and every time, we partnered with the client to create a comprehensive playbook, a living, breathing guide that ensured every new ROD could hit the ground running.

We implemented buddy systems that got people up to speed fast. The approach was so effective that as our RODs demonstrated success, some started to own requisitions end to end.

The EMEA Expansion

Our creative solution grew to six RODs at the height of the European recruitment operation, including crucial German-speaking capability. The team delivered remotely from Poland, supporting recruitment across Romania, France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Portugal, Poland, and the UK—a truly pan-European effort that created competitive advantage across multiple markets.

Ultimately, the team filled over 150 positions spanning Finance and HR through to Environmental Consultants and Specialists. Each role required industry-first thinking and specialised sourcing techniques that our ROD team brought to the table.

Alongside the ROD specialists, we provided a dedicated account team consisting of an Account Director and Relationship Manager who conducted quarterly and annual business reviews, creating an environment for continuous improvement, genuine partnership, and thought leadership in action.

Conquering North America

The success in Europe was so compelling that the solution was extended, deploying two additional RODs to cover North America. Our team continued to work remotely from Poland, adjusting to U.S. hours to accommodate the work—proving that great talent solutions know no boundaries.

This expansion demonstrated the scalability of our creative approach and how the right people with the right mindset can deliver results regardless of geography or time zones.

Results

The numbers tell the story of a partnership that delivered exactly what the client needed:

  • End-to-end excellence: Requisitions worked from start to finish with an impressive 55-day time-to-offer
  • Quality that counts: 2.5:1 presentation-to-interview ratio, proving the exceptional quality of candidates being sourced, screened, and the team’s deep understanding of the business
  • Seamless integration: PeopleScout’s ROD team worked so effectively with the client’s talent acquisition team that they became an extension of the client’s capabilities
  • Scalable success: Solution flexed from 2 to 6 heads in Europe and successfully expanded to North America
  • Multilingual mastery: German-speaking capability opened doors across key European markets

At a Glance

  • COMPANY
    Sustainability Consultancy
  • INDUSTRY
    Business Services
  • PEOPLESCOUT SOLUTIONS
    Recruitment Process Outsourcing
  • LOCATIONS
    Romania, France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Portugal, Poland, the UK and the U.S.
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