Cable TV Channel

Outcome in Brief

• All positions were staffed within six weeks, 45 days ahead of schedule
• Launch of new channel was successful as a result of Headway being the sole recruitment partner

Challenge

The client’s television production company exclusively sold jewelry products on international television. The company was operating various cable TV channels in Germany and Hong Kong, but had not yet entered the U.S. market. They wanted to launch a U.S. cable television channel and stay focused on their core expertise; marketing jewelry on TV. At the same time, the client realized they lacked sufficient recruiting expertise, and would not be able to launch the channel without a recruiting partner.

Results

The entire staff required for the cable TV channel was hired six weeks ahead of schedule, and in half the time expected by the client, with Headway assuming twice the responsibility for hires that was originally contracted. The on-boarding process successfully occurred, and the cable channel was launched on time and has become one of the most successful retail cable channels ever.

The Critical Role of Headway’s CORE (Center for Operational and Recruitment Excellence)

Since the company had never operated a cable television channel in the United States, a unique recruitment process model with national sourcing capabilities was required in order to fill the client’s critical and diverse job orders.

Headway’s CORE was utilized and became an instrumental component in delivering a results oriented recruitment solution for the client. With a proprietary database of more than 2,000,000 candidates, Headway provided the client next generation recruiting processes, as well as advanced e-Recruiting technologies and systems that sourced, screened, and secured candidates in a more timely and efficient manner.

As a result of understanding the specialized capabilities of Headway’s recruitment center, the client went public with their on-air launch date and counted on Headway’s expertise and ability to recruit the remainder of a highly professional nationwide team within an aggressive 90 day period.

Building the Perfect Candidate Pool Using Best-in-Class Technology

Using state of the art technologies and methodologies proprietary to Headway, a full team of sourcing professionals at Headway’s CORE designed a platform of web crawlers and other sophisticated e-Recruiting tools to locate both passive candidates (who are not actively looking for a position) as well as active candidates in the requisite professional trade groups related television production.

In this particular project, it was not merely sufficient to find any candidates, it was necessary to find candidates with the precise skill sets and, in some cases, television production experiences. Additionally, the hiring of candidates sourced nationwide had to adhere to differing regulatory standards and criteria for employee classification, taxation and payrolling in separate states. The client wanted to ensure that compliance with all state and federal regulations across the nation were being met. Headway’s experience in dealing with payroll workforce compliance and management in all 50 states was also a key factor.

Within weeks, the sourcing team at Headway’s CORE had located more than 2,000 viable passive and active candidates nationwide possessing the precise trade skills, experience and qualification requirements to help the client launch their national cable television channel.

Solution

The challenge was to effectively staff over 150 employees in virtually every job role associated with operating and managing a major cable TV channel. While the company originally intended to fill approximately 50 percent of the positions using its own HR resources, Headway ended up staffing 80% or 120 of the open positions for the client.

Headway hired the on-air talent, who host the programs and present the jewelry to viewers, as well as the models, camera crew, call center and customer service reps. Headway also hired the CFO, multiple senior accounting positions, the controller, accounts payable and accounts receivable staffs, the HR director, as well as the call center director, the director of logistics, and multiple warehouse professionals.

A Tour De Force of Organizational Teamwork and Cooperation

While many recruitment organizations run an internally competitive business model, with branches competing with one another for business on national projects, Headway has created a unique centralized delivery model based on technology and operational excellence.

This exclusive operational platform enabled Headway to implement what many staffing and recruitment companies would have considered an impossible feat—the seamless integration of sourcing, selection, interviewing, on-boarding, benefits enrollment, and regulatory management, risk control, compliance management, and management supervision—on a nationwide, multi-region, basis. The level of teamwork from Headway continued right up until the moment the cameras began to roll.