Case study

Global e-commerce business

Leveraging our South African-based embedded solution to enhance candidate experience and reduce recruitment costs.

The problem

Our client, a rapidly expanding e-commerce company, faced a critical challenge. They needed to rethink their recruitment processes to increase their hiring volumes – a key element of their business growth strategy.

But with a shortage of hires and fast-approaching deadlines, they found themselves under pressure to hit hiring plans.

Our client needed to find a solution, fast.

The brief

It was simple.

Identify and attract top talent across Europe, ensure that the right candidates were hired to meet key growth targets, and build a candidate experience that engaged and excited candidates from the very first touchpoint.

The solution

We brought a pioneering solution to the table: a recruitment strategy that harnessed our incredible team based in South Africa. We embedded a dedicated team of experts into our client’s internal talent acquisition team, ensuring seamless collaboration and delivery. Our Cape Town-based team delivered an exceptional candidate experience that enabled rapid hiring of great candidates into roles.

Why outsource to Africa?

Our South African-based embedded talent solutions create brilliant outcomes for our clients.

  • Africa offers a growing pool of highly skilled professionals across specialist industries, bringing fresh perspectives and broad networks to deliver outstanding results for our clients.

  • Leveraging African talent provides significant cost savings compared to traditional outsourcing markets. This means clients can optimise their recruitment budgets without compromising on quality.

    To put it another way, our clients get a lot more bang for their buck.

  • With overlapping time zones between Africa and key regions like Europe, the Middle East, and parts of the US, collaboration is seamless, ensuring quick response times and efficient project delivery.

  • Our South Africa-based delivery hubs are home to some of our most experienced talent analytics and insights experts.

    Clients can access highly detailed insights and trends around their hiring plans, creating more effective and accurate decision making.

  • Our African-based talent solutions emphasise an employer brand-aligned and culturally aware approach to candidate engagement, leading to a smoother, more positive candidate experience that strengthens your employer brand and attracts top talent globally. Just ask any of our clients!

  • We’re a strong believer that DE&I starts with us. That’s why our team is made up for 85% females, and over 50% of our workforce are from ethnic minority backgrounds.

    Having a team that has been built to reflect the world we live in means that DE&I is not just a buzzword at aston holmes. It’s a fundamental principal at the heart of our culture.

The plan

We developed a recruitment strategy that leveraged our pioneering South African delivery hubs.

We embedded a dedicated team of two specialists – a senior recruiter and a mid-level expert – into our client’s internal talent acquisition team, to ensure seamless collaboration and delivery.

By leveraging our South African talent capabilities, we provided access to a highly diverse and globally competitive talent base.

We focused on building strong and diverse talent pipelines while addressing our client’s urgent hiring needs…with huge success.

We identified and connected with top-tier candidates who fit our client’s requirements, delivering speed, quality, and diversity that exceeded expectations.

We provided in-depth market insights and data, which gave our client a better understanding of key markets and informed hiring strategies.

We rebuilt our client’s entire approach to talent MI and reporting to create more timely, detailed insights that improve decision making.

The results

By leveraging our pioneering South African-based delivery hubs, we not only addressed our client’s urgent needs, but built a sustainable, cost-effective solution that delivered against the company’s growth strategy and surpassed all hiring plans.

Highlights include:

  • Strong pipelines, fast hires

    We built robust candidate pipelines and secured numerous hires within the tight deadline.

  • Major cost savings

    Through our solution, we saved our client in excess of €300,000 in agency fees within 12 months.

  • Enhanced diversity

    Our South African delivery hubs contribute to a more diverse workforce, aligning with our client's talent goals.

  • Improved candidate experience

    By immersing our team in our client's employer brand, we created an authentic, elevated candidate experience.

  • Expanded partnership

    What started as a three-month engagement with a team of 2 experts grew into a full-year collaboration with a wider scope.

  • Flexibility and scalability

    We developed a flexible and scalable recruitment solution that can react more quickly to business requirements.

“I’m thrilled about the progress we’ve made since teaming up with aston holmes. The team has been exceptional and and their seamless integration into our internal system has been a major advantage.”

– Head of Talent Acquisition

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