Case Study

Large Direct Hire Staffing Project of New R+D Department at Global Mining Equipment Manufacturer

Categories: Staffing, Transportation and Heavy Equipment

Project Snapshot

A global mining equipment company launched a new initiative to expand their research and development in support of four innovative equipment products new to the mining industry. The company’s objective was not only to maintain their top ranking in the global mining industry, but to rapidly increase their market share through competitive advantage.

Harsh market conditions, an acute shortage of technical talent with the specific skills needed, and the associated risk of delay to time-to-market objectives all contributed unique challenges to this project.

The client was referred to Sterling Engineering because of our reputation within the Equipment Design and Automation industries. Within 3 weeks, Sterling was hired as exclusive support to various departments and teams, and engaged over 80 engineers across multiple disciplines within 12 months.

Project Challenges

The need for highly specialized and experienced mechanical, electrical, software, and structural engineers to re-locate to the client’s southeastern Wisconsin headquarters.
The client’s rigorous interviewing process included panel interviews with the hiring teams, often resulting in extended personal time commitments for candidates during working hours. Some highly qualified candidates experienced process fatigue during the course of the first 30-60 days, which resulted in less-than-satisfactory fulfillment goals.
Sterling worked at the client level to improve candidate experience, facilitate more timely communication, and implement an in-depth pre-interview evaluation of technical expertise and cultural fit within the organization.
After 18 months of managing this project, the company was sold to one of the largest construction and mining equipment manufacturers in the world. Sterling supported the company’s new owners, ensuring a smooth transition during re-organization.

Sterling’s Solution

Sterling was tasked with managing a Rapid Response Direct Hire Program, providing necessary support to R+D, design, and manufacturing departments to meet their aggressive growth deadlines.
Sterling established an on-site presence and seamlessly integrated with senior management to gather all required information. Sterling’s teams met directly with all key individuals from departments being augmented, ensuring effective delivery of the right candidates for different roles.
Sterling assembled a specialized team of recruiters, researchers, technical interviewing specialists, and client liaisons to support the identification and recruitment of talent.
Sterling provided weekly and quarterly reports to ensure project management of schedules for interviews, offers, and onboarding would be successful.
Sterling pre-qualified the strengths and weaknesses of each candidate. After meeting a large number of candidates who met >70% of required criteria but were not hired, the program pivoted to include a contract staffing support team. The option to leverage this expertise built a diverse team of SME’s to integrate with compliment full-time employees.
Following the initial project deadline, the contract was expanded to 18 months, and over 100 engineers were placed between the client’s headquarters and multiple facilities across the US.

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