Zurich

Best-in-class recruitment

Zurich logo
“With the professional insight and delivery model our partnership with AMS has provided, we have been able to implement a resourcing solution to the business that has both improved the quality and speed of hire and significantly reduced cost.”

Head of UK Resourcing

Zurich Financial Services Group is an insurance-based financial services
provider which employs over 60,000 people in more than 170 countries worldwide. Historically, Zurich UK’s recruitment function was decentralised and vacancies were filled in a transactional manner. The company relied heavily on third-party recruitment agencies and providers, which in turn drove up recuitment costs.

With a workforce of approximately 8,000 and a growing, changing organisation, Zurich UK made the decision to develop a best-in-class centralised recruitment function. Launched in December 2004, the aim of the Zurich Resourcing Centre (ZRC) was to provide a cost-effective and seamless end-to-end resourcing service, which could flex to accommodate business demands, while providing top quality talent in an increasingly competitive environment. After a thorough tender process, Zurich UK decided to partner with Alexander Mann Solutions (AMS) as its strategic resourcing partner, given its proven track record in the financial services industry.

Zurich UK’s requirements necessitated a vendor-neutral model, where the team would act and behave in the same way as an internal resourcing function. This ensured that candidates and hiring managers alike enjoyed a best-in-class recruitment service that was indistinguishable from an internal team.

The ZRC team numbers some 20 recruitment professionals who are embedded onsite at Zurich UK’s four principal locations. The team is supported by AMS’s central Professional Services group. The scope of services is considerable, covering permanent general and specialist hiring, IT and professional contingent hiring, graduate recruitment, internal hiring and redeployment, and executive search.

Performance of the ZRC team is measured against key service levels and metrics. These include time to hire, direct hiring ratios, and candidate / hiring manager satisfaction surveys.

Results:

Since launch, there have been year-on-year improvements across all key areas, with the ZRC now a recognised and integral part of the UK HR and business organisation.

  • Average time-to-hire has reduced by 40% since 2005
  • Direct sourcing, where the Zurich UK employer brand is leveraged, has increased from 10% in 2005 to 82% in 2008, with internal referrals doubling during this period
  • Cost-per-hire has reduced by over 60%
  • Over 90% of managers and candidates surveyed indicated they are more than satisfied with the quality of service/experience provided

The relationship between Zurich and AMS is a true partnership and is continually evolving. Specialist recruitment teams now support the Graduate & GAP schemes (40 hires in 2008) and Executive recruitment requirements (24 senior talent hires in 2008, including three team lifts).