Client Challenge

Following the acquisition of a large competitor, a global pharmaceutical research and drug development company needed to reorganize its HR function from a shared services model to a decentralized HR function, including decentralizing recruiting.

The most difficult area to transition was R&D Talent Acquisition, where older processes were non-responsive to current business needs, and no direct-sourcing expertise existed.

Adding to the transitional difficulty was a long period of uncertain hiring demand. As the companies melded their workforces, hiring demand became unclear and unpredictable. DoubleStar was engaged to help the firm reinvent its recruiting strategy, processes, and methods to become more agile, more targeted, and more efficient.

Our Solution

DoubleStar assigned a team of 5-8 recruiters (depending upon demand levels) with R&D recruiting experience to handle the day-to-day global recruiting needs of the division. We installed a direct sourcing team to provide talent-market mapping and targeted cold-sourcing capabilities. We also installed a Consulting Project Leader in the US and a Recruiting Manager in the UK to help reengineer processes, build capabilities, and train the client’s staff.

We also advised the VP of R&D Recruitment on talent planning, recruitment best practices, and measuring results against industry benchmarks. We also provided ongoing process improvement, recruitment strategy, talent optimization and consulting services, as needed.

Business Impacts

This 6-month relationship grew into a 5-year partnership that enabled the client to save over $2 million in recruiting costs, make over 1,700 global hires a year, and provide an enhanced level of recruiting and talent market services to the business leaders.