A future-focused technology company is disruptive by design. As a software company that aims to innovate, propose and implement new ideas, their focus is to change the way society uses technology to access different services.
This mindset is consistent across the organization and directly influences their talent acquisition strategy. New hires must reflect the brand mindset, valuing ideas and ingenuity over hierarchy.
The Challenge
As a growing global organization, expansion requires quickly understanding new communities and cultures. The available talent pool, benefits, salaries and recruiting messaging are unique to each market and location. With an expansion plan to double their headcount in Costa Rica and Mexico within a year, it became clear their internal HR team needed help handling the demand and lacked a defined process for talent acquisition.
Since the company’s product was a new concept and new service for many markets across Latin America, education was also necessary. Some local markets lacked a significant talent pool with experience in roles similar to what they needed. Each location required a variety of customer service representatives, team leads and learning and development positions.
To successfully launch in new markets, the technology company needed a talent acquisition approach that combined cost efficiency with speed and quality that was easily adaptable for markets with different dynamics.
The Solution
The client initially hired Cielo to assist with talent acquisition in Costa Rica and Mexico. Cielo and the client worked closely together to develop a strong strategy to attract the talent needed to support their fast-tracked growth in these countries.
The strategy focused mainly on specialized support, creating the right talent acquisition team to deliver the necessary talent to launch in new markets. The Cielo team started by learning how the company works and conducting on-site visits of existing support centers to better understand the community and what was expected from the TA team.
Overall, Cielo structured their team to operate collaboratively and efficiently with the client stakeholders. They also helped instill a strong sense of urgency and commitment to finding the best talent in different ways to provide value to the client’s business.
Tactically, Cielo’s Employer Brand team created advertisements for web, job boards and universities featuring the employee value proposition (EVP) developed during collaborative strategy sessions. Because the client organization doesn’t have recruitment marketing in-house, these efforts were especially important for connecting with top talent in different communities. This approach influenced additional hiring projects after the initial agreement, including one project to hire 120 roles across Peru, Panama and Dominican Republic.
Every tactic has also reflected Cielo’s “We Become You” principle. Every TA initiative meets the client’s business needs and reflects the best of the company’s culture and values. This “one team” mentality enables a trusting, collaborative approach to solving the client’s talent challenges, with a shared commitment to continuous improvement.
Sourcing Strategies for Costa Rica
To find and connect with top talent in the initial markets within Costa Rica and Mexico, the team developed a detailed sourcing strategy.
Specific to Costa Rica, the team mapped universities and 12 internship agencies to build relationships and more easily connect with students and graduates entering the job market. Beyond connecting with candidates, these relationships also led to a broader talent pool, as many candidates were willing to provide referrals or share job postings with their contacts even if they weren’t interested in applying themselves.
Other tactics included active sourcing and flyers on LinkedIn, working with the client’s marketing team to share images that would attract attention to social posts. Other social media tactics included joining groups on Facebook and LinkedIn to share promotional posts.
The Results
Two years after launch, the collaborative team between the client and Cielo has grown to encompass talent acquisition for more than five countries. Highlighted results from the partnership so far include:
• 490 total hires in Costa Rica since program launch (February 2018)
• Costa Rica time to fill: 32 days, far exceeding client expectations
• 360 total hires in Mexico since program launch (September 2018)
• Mexico time to fill: 25 days
• Quality of candidate pool: between 81% and 98%
What’s Next
The partnership’s initial focus was on growth into new markets. After two years, the LATAM markets for the client have developed to the point that TA strategies have shifted to focus on filling roles resulting from attrition.
The team maintains a focus on quality, growing the partnership to include additional LATAM countries like Brazil, Argentina, El Salvador, Peru, Panama and Dominican Republic. Through a collaborative, one-team mentality, the partnership is set up to continue driving value and maintaining the client’s position as a leading global innovator.
