Akamai Technologies is the leading content delivery network (CDN) services provider for media and software delivery as well as security solutions. At the beginning of 2019 the Cambridge-based company was faced with an extremely high volume of open positions in Japan – a task the local hiring team was not equipped to tackle on their own.
With RPO you never know who in the end is going to sit in your office. That’s why we focused mainly on expertise, reputation and capability when making our choice. Boyd & Moore’s offer impressed us. From extensive experience in the IT & Technology space to a big database with relevant candidates and cost efficiency – they checked all boxes
“We were looking for a partner who could help us fill the huge number of open vacancies while we were ramping up our in-house capabilities in parallel,” remembers Guillaume Boyer, Talent Acquisition Team Lead at Akamai. “That’s why we decided to search for an RPO vendor who could fully integrate with our internal processes, support us with stakeholder management and reduce our agency spent.”
Guillaume who had previously worked for an RPO company himself had already lined up 2 vendors when he met Boyd & Moore’s RPO manager by chance. “To be honest, I wasn’t aware that Boyd & Moore was offering RPO services but it was great timing. While the other 2 vendors offered decent integrated solutions, they both did not seem fully confident that they could handle our demands.”
No wonder, that vendors where hesitant to commit to Akamai’s needs. In addition, to a high volume of vacancies, the company was also looking to close a variety of niche specialist roles – a nightmare for recruiters working in a talent-short market like Japan. That’s why Akamai was looking for a partner that had enough experience in the software space as well as sourcing power to tackle even the most complex search challenges.
“With RPO you never know who in the end is going to sit in your office. That’s why we focused mainly on expertise, reputation and capability when making our choice. Boyd & Moore’s offer impressed us. From extensive experience in the IT & Technology space to a big database with relevant candidates and cost efficiency – they checked all boxes,” says Guillaume.
Once the decision was made, Boyd & Moore sent one Recruiter onsite, backed up by the company’s 100 researchers-strong Intelligence Center as well as 50 Consultants on the agency side.
“The onsite Recruiter won the trust of our hiring managers, built internal relationships and adapted to the new environment quickly. In addition, he showed great dedication and always went the extra mile. He worked hard on identifying problems and finding solutions. In short, he became a great resource for us. He even got nominated for our Most Valuable Person Award by our staff although he’s not an actual Akamai employee. That shows how much he was able to integrate and to make people’s lives easier.” says Guillaume who’s managed the Recruiter while he was onsite at Akamai. “In addition, he was able to leverage a variety of resources Boyd & Moore provided. Firstly, the Consultants on the agency side who supported us with closing labor intensive, niche and confidential key roles. Secondly, Boyd & Moore’s research team that put together comprehensive target company lists and helped proactively with sourcing qualified candidates. Lastly, he used Boyd & Moore’s database that’s growing by the day to strengthen our pipeline.”
We had made 2 hires so far but both hadn’t even stayed a year. It was really challenging. Then, Boyd & Moore took over. Within 6 months their Recruiter onboarded 2 qualified candidates that have already shown outstanding performance by exceeding team targets.
This combination of onsite hiring management, dedicated agency and research support as well as a big database helped Akamai close their vacancies – some of them much faster than they expected. Guillaume remembers one case he was especially surprised by: “Our security team suddenly got 7 more seats to fill. Boyd & Moore’s Recruiter closed all of them in 2 months time – on top of his other SLAs! I was stunned by this strong performance.”
But it was not just the speed that impressed Guillaume. “There were a couple of positions we didn’t seem to be able to fill long-term. We needed strong candidates who could grow our brand-new enterprise security solutions team. We had made 2 hires so far but both hadn’t even stayed a year. It was really challenging. Then, Boyd & Moore took over. Within 6 months their Recruiter onboarded 2 qualified candidates that have already shown outstanding performance by exceeding team targets.”
Besides closing open roles, Boyd & Moore supported Akamai’s hiring strategy with deep marketing knowledge as well – an additional benefit Guillaume greatly appreciates. “Last year, we had a delegation from headquarters coming to Japan and we wanted to take that opportunity to educate them about the market. But it’s always tough to explain the difficulties we’re facing here in Japan to people who don’t have first-hand experience on the ground. That’s why we asked Boyd & Moore for help. They held a fantastic presentation full of data and information which helped our management for the first time understand the Japanese talent market and culture. I am using that deck religiously to this day.”
As the result of 18 months working with Boyd & Moore, Akamai has been able to achieve their goals: 34 roles were closed and agency spent reduced by up to 40% for roles filled by Boyd & Moore’s onsite staff. But that’s not all. Akamai has been so happy with the work of our onsite Recruiter that they decided to take him inhouse full-time – the best proof of full satisfaction!
