Introduction 

I am Neliya Kaleva, I have been working in the field of talent acquisition for a considerable time and I have been navigating the waters of UK and global talent management since 2016. My primary responsibility is talent sourcing, retention and offboarding within the company. 

Team Background 

The team I manage has seen many changes over the years starting with just me and scaling to over 10 in the team across multiple locations, some overseas, with a mix of hybrid, remote and office personnel.  

Challenge 1: Cultural and Legal Complexity

Recruiting talent internationally across more than 20 different roles means navigating the labyrinth of varying labour laws and cultural norms in different countries. It meant that I was recruiting multiple roles, in varying languages simultaneously; the legal and cultural nuances can be dramatically different as can the role requirements!

Challenge 2: Operational Complexities 

The pandemic necessitated rapid scaling in the organisation in both technological infrastructure and human resources. It was the best year for the business. However, the huge number of candidates coming through the system was causing a bottleneck in the recruitment process and presented a complex challenge that required immediate attention.  

Challenge 3: Speed of securing talent.  

Post pandemic the talent market became hyper-competitive. Our recruitment process was taking around 25 days to complete. Not bad but this was no longer good enough. Candidates were accepting offers from alternative employers before our process had completed. We were losing critical talent before we’d hired it! 

The Role of Demeter in Overcoming Challenges 

I needed to expand my team to cope with the talent acquisition demands. But I also needed to make the recruitment and onboarding processes faster and more efficient to cope with the volume and pace. 

We chose to work with Demeter because of its process mapping capabilities and because it helps you put the correct architecture in place, plus the right top down and bottom-up process for connecting the strategy and the execution. When implemented properly, it could give me a 360-degree view of the recruitment process, analysing everything from the recruitment funnel to candidate quality and process bottlenecks. 

Problem-Solving and Strategic Innovations 

To tackle these challenges, I initiated a comprehensive review in collaboration with senior management and internal process experts. We looked at the problems, the bottlenecks inside the operation and what the potential solutions could be. Together we streamlined the process bringing about continuous improvement and standardisation, particularly in the offboarding and onboarding processes. 

Results: Measurable and Tangible 

Thanks to Demeter and strategic adjustments, over 400 employees were successfully onboarded in 2020 and the first half of 2021. The software's metrics allowed me to measure ROI and ROE, thereby providing board-level insights into the team’s performance and recruitment efficiency. Demeter's reporting capabilities are invaluable. 

We reduced our speed of recruitment from 25 days right down to 7 days end-to-end, without compromising its thoroughness. We were able to improve conversion rates in our talent funnel right back up and simultaneously reduce the cost of recruitment.  

Demeter enables me to be proactive rather than reactive. As a team we can shift gears as market conditions change, keeping us ahead in the talent game.  

Conclusion: A Benchmark in Talent Acquisition 

I absolutely love the system. At a very busy and demanding time it helped me turn challenges into opportunities.  

I can download one report and it can show me the entire recruitment funnel and what is happening at every stage. I can see trends and bottlenecks.  I can review the quality of the talent and importantly I can see the onboarding and the off-boarding and get an overview of how talent acquisition is performing. 

All this allows me to review and make strategic decisions to deliver the outcome the company wants.   

Because talent acquisition is an integrated process which touches multiple people/departments - Demeter identifies good processes and performance and gives quick identification to problems. 

Through the strategic use of Demeter’s technology suite, I have been able to transform the talent acquisition process. It has helped me to be proactive and agile, as a result, I believe we are a prime example of how leadership combined with technology can significantly elevate organisational effectiveness and efficiency in today’s complex world. 

Without Demeter, I wouldn’t be able to do my job. 

If you need to boost the efficiency and ROI of your marketing campaigns, get in touch.