RPO case study: volume hiring supports grocery service launch during the height of COVID-19.
Canadian-based grocery store chain places 350 skilled drivers with RPO to support the launch of a new eCommerce delivery service
| 3 min read |
supporting the roll-out of a new division
In 2019, a leading Canadian-based grocery store chain announced plans for an innovative online grocery home delivery service. To support a quick roll-out of the white-glove eCommerce offering, the client needed to hire hundreds of experienced delivery drivers with strong customer-service skills in a short period of time. With a new name and logo, however, the organization had limited brand awareness in the market. As the HR department consists of only a few employees, the division needed support recruiting for the large volume of new-hires.
responding to COVID-related demand with end-to-end recruiting
In January 2020, the food retailer turned to Randstad Sourceright as their recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) partner. With an intimate knowledge of the local Canadian market, Randstad Sourceright hit the ground running to meet the customer’s initial need, building job descriptions and running recruitment marketing campaigns on social sites and job boards. The RPO quickly identified and screened drivers to be interviewed and selected by the customer’s hiring managers in time for the first class to start just three months later in March 2020.
When COVID hit, however, demand for at-home grocery delivery services surged, as did the need for more drivers. With a foundation of trust established, the customer decided to turn the entire end-to-end recruiting process over to Randstad Sourceright — from sourcing through onboarding.
The RPO leveraged tools like text messaging technology to connect with thousands of candidates quickly, pipelining more than 12,000 candidates, and Facebook Messenger and Google Meets to conduct more than 1,800 virtual interviews. The RPO sourced and selected the candidates, completed background checks on each and facilitated all onboarding activities, then walked them in the door on the first day of work where they would finally meet their hiring manager.
exceeding goals for a fully staffed launch
The program went live in January 2020, and the first class of new recruits was filled by the end of March. To date, the RPO team has filled over 350 delivery positions with a fill rate of 92%.
Plus, the streamlined approach to sourcing only the best, most reliable talent resulted in an exceptionally low first day no-show rate of 2%, compared to an industry average of approximately 20%. Highly flexible and adaptable, the RPO team filled each recruitment class per the client’s precise volume and date requirements with an average time to fill of 20 days.
With plans to expand into five additional markets in Canada, the eCommerce food retailer will continue its partnership with Randstad Sourceright to support high-volume hiring across the country.