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English
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Worldwide

When Science does the Recruiting

By Jakob Westh, Client Director
Region: Denmark/Scandinavia

Sector focus: Public Sector

ALL OUR ASSIGNMENTS ARE IMPORTANT, BUT YOU RARELY GET AN ASSIGNMENT THAT IS A “MATTER OF NATIONAL SECURITY.” THAT’S WHAT THIS ONE WAS. THE ORGANISATION HAD A DOUBLE CHALLENGE: FIRST, THEY FACED A MASSIVE RECRUITMENT AND ONBOARDING TASK BECAUSE THEY NEEDED MORE THAN 100 NEW EMPLOYEES IN A VERY SHORT TIME. SECOND, THEY WANTED TO PROFESSIONALISE THEIR RECRUITMENT PROCESSES AS THEIR MOST IMPORTANT ASSET IS THEIR EMPLOYEES.
IT WAS MERCURI URVAL’S JOB TO SCOPE AND DEVELOP A NEW SCIENCE-BASED RECRUITMENT CONCEPT TOGETHER WITH THEIR INTERNAL HR TEAM AND THEN TRAIN THE ORGANISATION IN USING IT. OUR GOAL WAS TO BUILD THE ORGANISATIONAL CAPABILITIES AND AT THE SAME TIME SUPPORT THEM IN RECRUITING MORE THAN 100 NEW EMPLOYEES; IN A SENSE, WE HELPED THEM FIND THE RIGHT PEOPLE BOTH AT THAT SPECIFIC MOMENT AND IN THE FUTURE.
WE PERFORMED A THOROUGH ANALYSIS OF THE ORGANISATION INITIALLY TO GET A DEEP INSIGHT INTO THEIR SPECIFIC NEEDS. IT SHOWED THAT THEY NEEDED HELP TO DEVELOP AN EFFICIENT, PRECISE RECRUITMENT PROCESS THAT COULD STICK IN A HECTIC AND VERY OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENT.
THE NEXT STEP WAS TO DEVELOP THE SPECIFIC RECRUITMENT PROCESS WITH THE RELEVANT STAKEHOLDERS IN THE ORGANISATION. INVOLVING MANY STAKEHOLDERS IN DEVELOPMENT WAS NECESSARY BECAUSE THE RESULT WOULD SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACT THE ENTIRE ORGANISATION — AND WHEN IT’S ABOUT CHANGING BEHAVIOUR, IT’S IMPORTANT TO HAVE EVERYBODY ON BOARD FROM THE BEGINNING.
THE THIRD STEP WAS TO TRAIN ALL THE HIRING MANAGERS AND HR PARTNERS IN THE NEW WAY OF SCIENCE-BASED RECRUITING. BECAUSE OF THE VERY OPERATIONAL ORGANISATION, WE INTRODUCED THE NEW RECRUITMENT CONCEPT IN THREE THREE-HOUR WORKSHOPS. THE WORKSHOPS WERE A MIX OF INFORMATION, INSPIRATION, AND CONCRETE TRAINING.
THE FINAL STEP WAS WHEN WE AS A TEAM OF 8 CONSULTANTS PARTICIPATED IN THE APP. 300 INTERVIEWS TARGETED THE 100 OPEN POSITIONS AND THEREBY, WE HAD A ‘SIDEKICK TRAINING’ AS WELL. ALL IN ALL, IT LEFT THE ORGANISATION WITH THREE RESULTS: 100 NEW EMPLOYEES, A NEW WAY OF RECRUITING AND A WELL-TRAINED ORGANISATION PREPARED FOR THE FUTURE RECRUITMENT PROCESSES.
THE FOUR STEPS MADE US WORK AROUND THE CLOCK FOR TWO MONTHS TO UNDERSTAND THEIR NEEDS, DEVELOP THE CONCEPT, AND TRAIN THEIR LEADERS AND HR PARTNERS. HOWEVER, THE BIG CHALLENGE WAS STILL AHEAD OF US. WE NEEDED HELP THE ORGANISATION USE THE NEW RECRUITMENT CONCEPT TO RECRUIT THE 100 NEW EMPLOYEES.
WE MADE A PROJECT TEAM IN MERCURI URVAL OF EIGHT CONSULTANTS AND ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORTERS, AND OUR PROJECT LEADERS SPENT ALMOST ALL THEIR TIME IN THE OFFICES OF OUR CLIENT FOR TWO MONTHS. TO RECRUIT 100 NEW EMPLOYEES INVOLVED APPROXIMATELY 400 STAKEHOLDERS IN THE ORGANISATION OVER THREE MONTHS, NECESSITATING EXTREMELY TIGHT PROJECT MANAGEMENT OF EVERY SINGLE RECRUITMENT OF THE 100 NEEDED PROFILES.

Along with this very concrete project management delivery, we took the lessons learned very seriously. We used these 100 recruitment processes to secure that the stakeholders used the new science-based concept and at the same time selected the best candidates. This case shows the unique power of MU. We are sciencebased advisors in an extensive range of different areas — both when it comes to analysis, development processes, training, and executing large scale recruitments. That was especially important for this client, with such an essential job in helping to protect the safety and security of our country.

Jakob Westh, Partner & Director
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