Getting the right people in place ... in half the time

A lengthy and time-consuming recruitment process was a sore spot for a client in Southern Africa. The client invited Exceed’s help to review of their recruitment process, resulting in a 59% reduction in recruitment lead time.

Finding the right person for the right job is not only a lengthy process; it is critical to the success of any organisation. When Exceed started working with the client’s Human Resources department, the average recruitment time was 125 calendar days. In an environment where productive time is a key measurement for performance, this was not acceptable.

As the team embarked on this process, they set themselves two key result targets: reduced recruitment time and increased satisfaction rates from their internal clients. The overall mission was to get the right people in the right place at the right time and with the right competencies.

The Exceed team realised breakthrough performance by applying a two-pronged approach, focusing on both the human factor and the business process.

The first focus area was to create a culture of sustainable excellence through performance coaching, promoting behaviour and culture change, and providing training. The resulting change in the client’s Human Resources department was felt and noticed throughout the organisation and has lead to an increased internal client satisfaction rating.

The focus on the people element was complemented with a heavy focus on business process improvement. An analysis of the recruitment process combined with identification of measurable, focused KPIs, and the adoption of Exceed’s PACE model quickly created significant results.

A Six Sigma assessment which commenced six months into the start of the project showed an average recruitment time of 51 customer calendar days, a savings of 59.2% over the average lead time prior to project implementation.

In a time-based environment, non-productive time is costly, and a savings of 74 days off the average recruitment time has a significant positive impact on productivity.