Case Study | Delivering over a thousand staff worldwide for a major Government Department

In 2016, Green Park were presented with a new recruitment challenge: to provide hundreds of contracting staff in locations worldwide. The client was a large Government Department and roles were varied, including senior-level and highly specialised posts. Four years later, the Department had recruited over a thousand people – from accountants to chief executives – to meet its talent needs.

• Over 1,400 interim staff recruited and onboarded around the world
• Appointments made in over 15 countries across Europe, Asia and South America , including critical high-level posts and niche roles
• Consultative support provided on challenges ranging from the emergence of IR35 to navigating local HR issues
• Cost savings achieved, contributing to client’s efficiency agenda

The Challenge

In 2016, Green Park won a contract to support a key Government Department with its recruiting needs through a formal tender process. The business was awarded the contract over a number of larger and established suppliers due to its diverse and extensive networks, innovative and flexible approach, public sector knowledge and 20-year track record of delivering appointments across government. With a value of £225 million, the four-year contract required Green Park to supply interim and specialist resource for a huge variety of roles worldwide, including niche and senior-level appointments. Positions could be as varied as financial services experts who could split their time between Singapore and Malaysia through to the full suite of professional services such as Digital, HR and Finance. The client was therefore looking for a partner who could help navigate local HR issues, work to create efficiencies and most importantly, recruit across a wide range of disciplines.

Our Project

The Department’s needs were complex and it was vital that Green Park understood them fully. We therefore worked as a partner, providing a service that was consultative, agile and co-designed with the client. Throughout the contract, we drew on Green Park’s broad experience with central government Departments, agencies and non-departmental public bodies to understand the complexity and challenges that our client faced.

The first task was to inject rigour into processes and contract management through an innovative contract structure, and the design and build of a bespoke project management system and reporting regime. Created in partnership with our Total Workforce Acquisition Partner, Lumesse, the system was tailored to the needs of a complex and diverse stakeholder group.

With this in place, we leveraged Green Park’s extensive interim management networks to identify talent swiftly and accurately and meet high demand in function areas such as digital. In order to meet the global demand and respond accordingly to economic factors such as IR35, Green Park People Solutions made the decision to develop their offering beyond traditional contingent recruitment services to offer a more outcomes-based service. Between October 2017 and October 2018, the People Solutions Practice scaled its team, recruiting additional staff including specialist consultants and operations & project co-ordinators. Together, they provided hands-on support for line managers and contractors via on-site workshops, FAQs and cross-department advice calls. At the same time, Green Park created a microsite specifically to facilitate rapid on-boarding.

The Results

Over the course of the contract, Green Park recruited over 1,400 interim staff around the world on behalf of their public sector client. They included everyone from developers and HR business partners, through to trade negotiators and investment specialists. The team also delivered a number of critical high-profile Department appointments including a Deputy Director of HR, a Director of Investment and a Chief Executive for an industry body. High quality candidates were also found for functions including IT, HR, Finance, Marketing, Communications and Commercial (Procurement).

At the same time, more rigorous, streamlined processes reduced costs, supporting the client’s drive for efficiency. With greater visibility of spend, the client was able to manage finances more effectively.

The success of such initiatives led to the extension of the contract for another year, plus further work with other Government Departments. Green Park was also asked to work on additional Government projects including major events in South America, the Middle East and Kazakhstan.

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