LaSalle Network

Challenge

Our client, a billion dollar global leader in the manufacturing industry, outsourced 60 percent of their call center to the Philippines in the fall of 2006. The lower cost of labor, however, was unable to compensate for the difficult language barrier and the different time zone, causing employee absenteeism. After 15 months, our client relocated their call center back to the northern suburbs and found themselves in need of skilled call center representatives in a short amount of time.

Although our client had an existing staffing contract with a national firm, that firm was failing to recruit and place high-caliber call center professionals. LaSalle was asked to provide better service and placements that would last. Unlike their national staffing partner, LaSalle delivered.

• Identify – Technical call center specialists to troubleshoot customer issues via phone and e-mail
• Qualify – Candidates with the technical expertise to troubleshoot customer product issues, but with the communication skills to facilitate high quality and consistent customer service
• Deliver – Five to 10 candidates to start in two weeks

Solutions

To address our client’s talent needs, LaSalle Network developed a specific sourcing and recruitment strategy to rebuild their depleted call center post-outsourcing.

The recruitment strategy consisted of the following:

• Cross-Unit Recruitment – LaSalle Network leveraged our team-based recruitment strategy to recruit and qualify candidates outside of their immediate business unit, facilitating LaSalle’s ability to effectively and efficiently present candidates with an out-of-the-box skill set. Our cross-unit recruiting efforts netted over 50 qualified candidates from three separate business units, including technology services, call center and administrative services
• Networking – LaSalle utilized our network to uncover passive candidates in entry level call center roles who had the technical savvy to excel in our client’s product-driven call center, paired with the excellent communication skills to maintain top-notch customer satisfaction
• Tailored Evaluation Process – To ensure delivery of highly qualified candidates who were excited about the call center manager opportunity, LaSalle Network created a tailored evaluation process that included specialized online testing and a writing sample

Results

LaSalle Network was able to successfully recruit and place eight call center specialists to start per month, delivering over 75 percent more hires than our national competitor. When our client’s call center showed a seasonal influx of customer issues, LaSalle Network remained reliable in delivering a high volume of qualified candidates. Unlike the national competitor, a LaSalle Network representative was present on the start day of each new hire and provided excellent post-placement service via periodic quality control calls and meetings. Our client continues to have this monthly need, and LaSalle has never failed to deliver candidates who prove an asset to our client’s bottom line.

Because of LaSalle’s success in rebuilding our client’s call center, they called upon our team to recruit and place two call center supervisors. LaSalle presented three high-caliber call center supervisors who went through three rounds of interviews, with two of the three starting with our client within three weeks.