How full-cycle RPO powers a shared-service centre launch in Portugal
Discover more on Gi Group Holding’s RPO Solutions here.
Discover more on Gi Group Holding’s RPO Solutions here.
In a rapidly evolving energy sector, companies grapple with shrinking talent pools, rising consumer demand, and the dual pressures of sustainability and digital transformation. To address these challenges, our client company—a world leader in gases, technologies and services for industry and healthcare—sought to establish its first Finance & HR Shared Services Center (SSC) in Portugal. The aim? High-quality, standardised, multilingual services for its clients and employees. This challenge was intensified by a limited timeframe and a crowded SSC market, making the stakes even higher. But with our full-cycle RPO solution, the company secured the talent to keep core operations strong while igniting transformative change. Here’s how:
The Challenge
Entering Portugal’s SSC market came with unique hurdles:
Intense competition: major players saturated the local SSC space, heightening demand for skilled finance and HR professionals.
Tough talent pool: the requirement for candidates fluent in German, Italian, French, Spanish, Swedish, and Norwegian complicated the search for qualified talent.
Rapid scaling: our client company needed immediate staffing solutions to meet tight deadlines and operational targets, crucial to the SSC’s success.
Our Approach
Our tailored solution helped the company deftly overcome these challenges and build a thriving SSC powered by full-cycle RPO:
Dedicated RPO project team
We brought a specialised team—complete with a seasoned project manager and two dedicated consultants—to handle recruitment from start to finish. This wasn’t just a hand-off; our team immersed themselves in the company’s culture and business needs, ensuring perfect alignment.
In-depth market mapping
From day one, we embarked on an extensive market mapping exercise for finance and HR roles, focusing on securing the perfect blend of technical skills and language fluency. Armed with data-driven insights, our local experts identified and engaged the right talent pool for every role.
End-to-end recruitment support
We assumed complete responsibility for the hiring process, from initial sourcing to the preliminary offer stage. This included rigorous candidate assessments and preliminary interviews to ensure candidates met our client’s high standards and operational requirements.
The Results
So, what does SSC success look like for the company? The results speak for themselves. Here’s what we achieved:
Fast-tracked recruitment
Our Full-Cycle RPO solution swiftly secured high-quality candidates for the SSC launch. We conducted over 1,375 preliminary interviews, proposing 1,010 candidates, 705 of whom progressed to client interviews. Ultimately, this process led to 387 job offers. In total, we secured 250 critical finance and HR hires.
Targeted expertise
Our deep understanding of Portugal’s talent landscape allowed us to tackle talent scarcity and the industry’s rapidly changing demands. We successfully filled roles in Accounts Payable, Order to Cash, Treasury Specialists, SAP Consultants, and Payroll, ensuring that our client attracted the top-tier, multilingual talent needed for success.
Impressive metrics
Engaging and responding quickly to top talent in a tough market is crucial to avoid drop-offs and ensure competitors don’t snatch them up. Our operational efficiency shone through in our metrics:
Time-to-acknowledge: 2 days | Time-to-submit: 10 days | Time-to-hire: 40 days
These figures—lightning-fast and well above industry standards—underscore our dedication to delivering results and ensuring our client stays ahead of the competition.
And what long-term benefits did our full-cycle RPO solution deliver? By managing the talent pipeline and leveraging local expertise, we empower our client to provide standardised, high-quality HR and finance services across Europe. While we handle recruitment, they can concentrate on business growth and drive transformative change.
Ready to see what a powerful RPO partnership can do for your organisation?
Get in touch with us to find out more about how Gi Group Holding can elevate your talent strategy.
