Challenge
Prior to 2015, Coles' executive recruitment yielded great talent but lacked coordination and cost-effectiveness, with each Director managing their own recruitment, leading to inconsistent commercial terms, agency-owned intellectual property, lack of ownership, repeated candidate contact, poor candidate experience, weak talent pools, and high costs.
Solution
HTS established a centralised model with an experienced Executive Recruiter leading the function, creating a stand-alone function focused on ROI, candidate engagement, direct placements, quality hires, and clear talent pipelines. The model evolved to include Director-level search with proactive direct search strategies and diversity-focused sourcing, piloting AI sourcing tools to reduce manual time lag.
Results
- $2.9 million in cost savings
- Accurate reporting providing holistic view of sourcing and ROI
- Agency spend reduced by 50%
- 62% female diversity and 62% from Australian local market (2017)
- Talent sourced from previously untapped markets (66% of international hires from North America and South Africa)
About Our Customer
Coles Group Limited is an Australian public company operating several retail chains. Its chief operations are primarily concerned with the sale of food and groceries through its flagship supermarket chain Coles Supermarket, and the sale of liquor through its Coles Liquor outlets. Coles has grown to become the second-largest retailer in Australia.
The Solution
HTS established a centralised executive recruitment model that fundamentally changed how Coles approached leadership hiring. An experienced Executive Recruiter was appointed to lead the function, driving greater ownership and accountability for executive talent acquisition outcomes. This solution evolved into a stand-alone function with clear metrics focused on delivering ROI, candidate engagement, direct placements, quality hires, and transparent talent pipelines.
The initial phase focused on creating a 'back to basics' function with strong compliance foundations. HTS agreed new operating principles with stakeholders, revised agency terms to ensure consistency across providers, and extended sourcing efforts to previously untapped markets. This foundational work addressed the fragmentation and inefficiency that had characterised the previous approach.
As the function matured, the model expanded to include Director-level search, representing a significant capability enhancement. The team increased focus on proactive, direct search methodologies rather than reactive agency-dependent approaches. A clear sourcing strategy was developed to attract female candidates and meet challenging diversity targets, including mapping and targeting the top 400 local and global female profiles in relevant disciplines.
The solution continued to evolve with the team systematically reducing third-party placements while building internal capacity and capability. HTS piloted an AI sourcing tool to reduce manual time lag, improve time to hire, and enhance the quality of candidates identified and engaged. This technology integration represented a shift toward data-driven, optimised processes that characterised movement to higher maturity levels.
The centralised model provided Coles with consistent processes, better candidate experiences, intellectual property ownership, and significantly improved cost efficiency while delivering higher-quality leadership talent.
The Results
The executive recruitment evolution delivered exceptional outcomes across financial, operational, and strategic dimensions. The function generated $2.9 million in cost savings, demonstrating the substantial financial benefit of moving from a fragmented, agency-dependent model to a centralised, strategically managed approach.
Agency spend decreased by 50%, representing significant cost efficiency while maintaining and improving hiring quality. The centralised model provided accurate reporting that gave leadership a holistic view of sourcing activities and clear demonstration of ROI from search firms that were engaged for specific assignments, enabling more strategic decision-making about talent investments.
Diversity outcomes exceeded challenging targets, with 62% female versus male hires achieved in 2017, along with 62% of hires coming from the Australian local market. This balanced approach to local and international talent sourcing demonstrated sophisticated workforce planning and market understanding.
The function successfully sourced talent from previously untapped markets, with 66% of international hires coming from North America and South Africa. This geographic diversification expanded Coles' talent pool significantly and reduced dependency on traditional Australian talent markets that were highly competitive.
The evolution from a fragmented, costly approach to a centralised, strategic function positioned Coles with sustainable competitive advantage in executive talent acquisition. The function moved from simply filling roles to building strategic talent pools, improving employer brand, and delivering measurable business value through superior leadership hiring.
Choosing the right RPO plan.
Managers today are confronted with many talent acquisition obstacles: limited internal resources, competitive talent markets and increasing pressure to deliver quality hires efficiently. This is why organisations decide to hand over their recruitment reins to providers like Harrier + RPO.
Partner with us to outsource your entire recruitment function or specific components to some of Australia's sharpest talent consultants that implement proven, systematic recruitment processes, and a tech-agnostic approach that keeps you ahead of the curve. No tech favoritism here, just what works best for you.