Case Study – Vendor Management

Case Study – Vendor Management Company Northeast Electronics is a designer and manufacturer of complex electronic products for the consumer market. An international business headquartered in the US with both R&D and manufacturing capability in New England. Revenues were in excess of $500m with headcount of around 1,000, a high proportion of which were skilled engineers. Situation Rapid growth of the business had led to high demand for talent, particularly engineers. Hiring needs were 100-150 per year with an aim of increasing engineering headcount by approximately 50% over two years. HR did not have the scale to cope with demand from the hiring managers which had led to a hiring deficit of around 80 heads. This was during a period of national high demand for engineering skills and limited qualified candidates; there was an urgent need for fast, efficient handling of all candidates to ensure that the client stayed competitive. Candidates were being sourced using large numbers of specialist agencies. Although HR was happy with this approach compared to direct candidate attraction, agencies were not being effectively briefed or managed as HR lacked the necessary time and expertise. This was compounded by suppliers who were often inaccurate with candidate submissions, so hiring managers were swamped with direct submissions that were usually inappropriate. Furthermore, suppliers bypassing HR led to inflated costs, inconsistent terms and conflicts over candidate ownership. Desired Outcome Northeast Electronics would like to see a highly successful outcome with the headcount deficit being achieved and all hiring targets being met and exceeded, running at more than 10% ahead of projections year on year. What solution can you suggest?