RPO case study: Bose amps up niche tech talent fast, adding 75 software engineers in 9 months.
Audio solutions leader exceeds hiring goals despite talent-scarce tech market
client
Bose, a global, U.S.-based audio solutions companychallenges
To meet growing demands in a highly competitive technical market, Bose needed to add 60 software engineers within nine months to staff its automotive division.solution
A project-based recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) program and talent marketing campaign were implemented globally to fill highly specialized technical roles.key results
In just six months, the company filled over 75 in-demand technical positions, exceeding its goal of 60 candidates. Interview-to-offer rates were 30 days, 15 days lower than expected, and new-hire satisfaction scores averaged 4.4 out of 5.
innovation drives speedy search for niche tech talent
Hiring 60 niche software engineers in nine short months is no small task in a competitive talent market with high demand for specialized skills. At world-leading audio solutions company Bose, the spirit of invention is always on. With a surge of new business for its audio innovation, the company needed to scale its software engineering team rapidly to support its automotive division. Customer expectations were high and quick delivery was paramount. There was no time to waste.
Yet talent scarcity posed enormous challenges. In a market dominated by digital transformation, the demand for hard-to-find technology skills was soaring. Hiring a high volume of specialized talent within such a short timeframe would require additional resources.
fast, agile global recruiting — the right people right away
To ensure the agility it needed, Bose chose project-based recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) to quickly attract, evaluate and hire the right people to fill these business-critical roles. Bose quickly deployed Randstad Sourceright’s project RPO team for support. Having worked with the global talent leader for many years on numerous RPO and managed service provider (MSP) projects, Bose felt comfortable relying on the provider’s recruitment expertise and project governance to manage the business successfully.
Project-based RPO is a recruitment process outsourcing model that helps organizations quickly respond to short-term, high-volume recruitment needs on a project basis, so companies can achieve emerging goals without disrupting day-to-day hiring. Bose’s program includes HR technology, market insights and talent marketing campaigns to source, screen and hire the right people right away.
“From the initial consultation, Randstad has demonstrated an in-depth understanding of our requirements and a keen eye for identifying top talent in the engineering field. Their proactive approach, streamlined processes, and effective communication ensured a smooth and efficient hiring experience,” a global staffing manager at Bose said.
As Bose’s RPO partner, Randstad Sourceright quickly deployed an experienced recruitment delivery team to oversee technical recruitment and sourcing. With specialists in place, the program managed the entire hiring process, from requisition approval to verbal offer acceptance. At the outset, the RPO team created a comprehensive project plan to ensure seamless delivery. This included gathering market intelligence to drive data-driven decisions, establishing timelines, milestones and metrics, and identifying KPIs to evaluate performance.
Using Randstad’s market intelligence platform, Randstad Market Insights, the RPO evaluated total and qualified candidates, candidates open to new opportunities and response rates of directly sourced candidates in addition to providing salary and talent insights. In this case, all data pointed to candidate scarcity, which helped Bose confirm its need to be more flexible and agile to achieve hiring targets.
The RPO team sourced and recruited talent that included software engineers, DSP engineers, project managers, and mechanical and electrical engineers. In addition to attracting talent from competitors, the team used a variety of digital tools, including LinkedIn, hireEZ and Lightcast, which allowed the program to tap into a deeper talent market and increase candidate flow. Throughout the process, the team managed the candidate experience using Bose’s applicant tracking system.
“The Randstad team's ability to attract, assess, and present candidates who possessed the precise technical skills, experience and cultural fit we desired was truly impressive. Their dedication to sourcing and vetting candidates resulted in a strong pool of qualified individuals, making our decision-making process easier and more effective,” the Bose global staffing manager shared.
To optimize communication and collaboration between Bose and Randstad Sourceright, the RPO team held weekly meetings with stakeholders and monthly meetings with executives to track KPI progress, plans and strategies. The team also continuously identified and drove opportunities to improve hiring workflow, candidate experience and time to hire, in addition to creating a customized sourcing playbook to expand Bose’s candidate pipeline and talent market.
While Bose’s immediate needs were short-term, its talent strategies are distinctly long-term. The company is committed to delivering an exceptional experience at every touch point in the talent journey, beginning with the application process, interviewing and onboarding. To ensure a positive experience, the program continuously created efficiency for candidates and hiring managers alike.
powering innovation and exceeding goals
Through its agile project-based RPO, Bose filled more than 75 niche tech positions for its automotive division within the project timeline, exceeding hiring targets while helping the company grow specialized technical skills for urgent needs and continued innovation.
Despite the highly competitive technical market, Bose exceeded all of its goals. It achieved a 66% submit-to-interview ratio and 30 days from interview to offer, 15 days lower than expected. It also achieved a 42% hiring manager interview-to-offer ratio, far exceeding its goal of 20%, and an 87% offer acceptance ratio.
Filling positions in the U.S., China and Poland, client satisfaction scores averaged at 4.4 out of 5. Given the program’s success, Bose extended its RPO by six months to support its internal talent acquisition team with additional hiring projects.
"We are very happy with the results delivered by the Randstad RPO team throughout our recent automotive hiring project. Their expertise and commitment to excellence have enabled us to successfully hire over 75 highly skilled software engineers, surpassing our expectations,” the global staffing manager at Bose said.