Making a world of difference for Foster + Partners
Winning a big chunk of the $45 billion development project 2022 World Cup in Qatar is one thing. Putting in place the resources that will deliver it is quite another. So when the world’s leading architectural practice, Foster + Partners, found themselves in the market for 200 highly skilled, contract and permanent candidates from across Europe and the Middle East, they looked to our particular expertise, local knowledge and global outlook to deliver quality in quantity.
- 200 hires (contract and permanent) successfully placed within the set timeline across Europe and the Middle East.
- 430+ additional hires made in the Middle East since the inception of the RPO model.
- £3 million in client savings delivered through direct attraction and process efficiencies.
- 92% direct attraction rate, significantly reducing reliance on third-party agencies.
- 10 dedicated recruiters embedded onsite across EMEA to support hiring needs.
What was the challenge?
Winning the bid for the Lusail Stadium, part of a $45 billion development package for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Foster + Partners faced a sudden increase in demand for talent attraction and global mobility expertise that they couldn’t manage directly.
They’d also had a previous experience with a provider that meant they had opted to manage all recruitment internally.
The challenge for them was to find an expert, reliable partner who had the knowledge and network essential to providing fully-scalable, international support with a particular focus across the Middle East.
Characteristics of our solution
We worked with Foster + Partners as an extension of their HR team to deliver an RPO solution that secured 200 high calibre contract and permanent candidates across Europe and the Middle East.
Having successfully worked with us in an existing Managed Service Programme (MSP), Foster + Partners were confident that we knew and understood their business culture, needs and markets.
So they engaged us to develop a Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) solution that could be integrated into the company’s existing systems.
We built in the key ability to flex resources to meet changing demands in hiring volume, and assigned 10 recruiters to work exclusively on the project onsite, alongside the client’s teams throughout the EMEA region.
Our recruiters are responsible for filling a variety of skills sets, including Architects, Security Engineers, Project Managers and Design Engineers.
Our customised programme operates to specific service level benchmarks: hires per week/month, time to hire and other global mobility specific service levels surrounding on-boarding, payroll and visas.
Outcomes and benefits
We designed and implemented a full-scale programme that works within the client’s proprietary talent management system and that has placed all 200 new hires within the set timeline.
Throughout, all metrics have been tracked through a technology system consistently monitored by our service delivery team, and reviewed with the client weekly/monthly, ensuring we meet and exceed client expectations wherever possible.
Projected cost savings
Delivering client savings estimated at £3 million
Number of placements and time to hire
Continuing to hire in excess of 430 contract and permanent individuals across Middle East since the inception of the RPO Model