Providing a flexible resourcing model for service excellence transformation. 

The University of Edinburgh were seeking a recruitment partner to support them in delivering a blended model of resources to deliver their ‘Service Excellence’ transformation.

Objectives:

The university sought to hire interim resources efficiently and compliantly for change, infrastructure, and development. They needed this at scale and at speed, requiring a recruitment partner who could adapt with their evolving needs. The ideal partner would help to streamline the recruitment process while strictly adhering to high governance standards.

Challenges:

The main challenge lay in recruiting talented professionals in a competitive market. Harvey Nash designed a compelling attraction strategy that highlighted the university’s exceptional work. Given the extensive range of skills needed, consistency of communication across the whole Harvey Nash team was important to ensure the right skills were sourced by our internal delivery teams.

Solution:

Harvey Nash implemented a flexible delivery model, for both contract and permanent recruitment. A single point of contact ensured delivery standards were upheld and fully compliant. Regular meetings were organised to understand the scope of roles and cultural fit, resulting in hundreds of resources being delivered throughout the programme’s lifespan.

I had the pleasure of working with Harvey Nash for around 3 years while I was Transformation Programme Manager at the University of Edinburgh. They took the time to get to know our needs and the culture we were trying to encourage. Bethany, our consultant, genuinely felt like 'one of the team’ and continually came up with top notch candidates -even for tricky short term fixed term contracts while the market was very challenging.”

by Brian Butler, Programme Manager, University of Edinburgh.

The Results 

Scalable recruitment service 

Harvey Nash supplied the University of Edinburgh with a service that allowed them to quickly access the necessary resources with the appropriate skills to deliver the Service Excellence Programme, adapting to its evolving requirements.

Compliance and governance

Using a trusted framework gave Edinburgh University the assurance that all its recruitment practices adhered to strict governance standards. Additionally, we collaborated with the university to establish and follow best practices for IR35compliance.

Streamlined communication

With a single point of contact through a designated Account Manager, our collaboration ensured clear and consistent communication, facilitating efficient coordination and resource management.

Harvey Nash Higher Education practice

With over 35 years’ experience, our Higher Education practice, delivers solutions that connect organisations with the very best talent. Cost optimisation, world-class student experiences and market competitiveness are just some of the factors driving digital transformation agendas and hiring strategies across Higher Education and require expert advice to deliver on. This is where we excel.