Northern Foods
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Northern Foods plc, a FTSE 250 company, is a leader in the food production industry within the UK and Ireland, with a turnover of £888 million (06/07). The company employs over 10,500 people across 23 sites (06/07).
When a change programme to bring together 30 diverse brands under three separate operating divisions was introduced, the company faced a number of HR challenges.
Audit & Implementation of Solutions
Northern Foods needed a complete centralised HR strategy in place to be able to structure their recruitment and talent process, in order to regain control of their processes and reduce their cost.
Independent RPO was commissioned to audit the existing processes before making recommendations on how to move forward.
On-site Team Of Specialist Recruiters
In June 2005, after a complete audit of the HR function, Independent RPO introduced an on-site team of five specialists at the Northern Foods head office in Leeds.
The team worked successfully to implement the new strategy by:
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Bringing consistency to the recruitment process through a series of measures including a new approach to building and maintaining a Preferred Supplier List (PSL) and a better use of the employer brand within all recruitment communications.
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Introducing an in-house recruitment technology to cover authorisation, reporting and internal employee application capability.
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Introducing the Resourcing Forum with the sponsorship of HR, which included representation from all divisions, to ensure all areas of the business have a voice on the issue of recruitment.
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Introducing a temporary labour PSL using three central suppliers
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Creating standard terms for executive search activity.
The team also managed two separate recruitment freezes and rolled out a consistent interview and selection process, through Line Manager training.
Independent RPO has saved Northern Foods over £2.2 million, reduced their cost per hire by 49%, their time to recruit by 49% and has recruited 1561 people, 433 of which were at managerial grades.
Northern Food Incorporates The Outsourcing Team
In 2008, Northern Foods decided to incorporate Independent RPO on-site team as permanent members of staff as their central in-house recruitment function.
The team has made considerable cost saving month after month through the use of direct routes to hire.
“Independent RPO showed a very clear understanding of the whole recruitment process during our initial discussions with them. We have been impressed by the way this depth of knowledge has translated into genuine improvements in our recruitment process.
The team has made much better use of our employer brand; they have built and operate an efficient preferred supplier list (PSL) and they have expanded our options when looking for potential candidates. Taken as a whole, this has brought about major savings in both the time and cost to recruit at all levels.”
Harry Dunlevy, HR Director, Northern Food plc -
What our clients say
“ The team has made much better use of our employer brand; they have built and operate an efficient preferred supplier list (PSL) and they have expanded our options when looking for potential candidates. Taken as a whole, this has brought about major savings in both the time and cost to recruit at all levels. ”
Harry Dunlevy, HR Director, Northern Food plc