Holland & Barrett partnered with Troi to scale and transform the digital side of their health and wellness retail business.
Leading UK health and wellness retailer Holland & Barrett experienced substantial growth in recent years. It was acquired in 2017 for £1.8bn with global expansion and growth plans.
The company was working with outdated and outsourced tech at every turn, which was a huge hurdle for development. It was clear that implementing a complete digital transformation to overhaul its systems and modernise its technology was the only way forward.
“We need to be at the forefront of the rapidly advancing technology that is helping our customers meet their health and wellness goals. We are investing heavily in delivering more speed in the retail experience, greater convenience in service and delivery, and increasing personalisation in our brand and product propositions, both in-store and online.” Holland & Barrett
Talent acquisition is a complex strategic process, especially for large enterprises. Add a new approach and modernisation of the business, and that’s when you need a talent partner like Troi—a leader in embedded recruitment solutions revolutionising talent acquisition.
Boosting efficiency and attracting top talent for Holland & Barrett with Troi
Digital transformation has been a huge talking point for businesses that are trying to keep up with the times and future-proof effectively. It’s no simple or small task, though.
The challenges: scaling for new technologies
The most apparent challenges were sourcing and switching to new technologies. This was especially difficult for Holland & Barrett, as their tech presence relied solely on an outsourced model. Deliverables and projects were split across vendors, consultancies, and white-labelled solutions. Balancing their outdated legacy systems and those with the experience programming them, with the new technologies and those with the skills to drive them was a delicate task.
Next, they had to focus on finding the people who could drive and support digital progression. As an enterprise, scaling up for this specific project was too much for traditional hiring methods.
The solution: a tailored embedded recruitment approach
In the highly competitive market of retail, Holland & Barrett needed to:
- Hire at a significant scale
- Hire a new team of skilled professionals
- Retain their existing development department
- Keep within budget
How do you hire at scale and stick to your budget? Embedded recruitment or recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) are the perfect options. That’s why they chose to partner with Troi. We provided them with a flexible plug-and-play solution to alleviate their hiring challenges.
We embedded a team of seven Troi talent partners in-house to attract, engage, and retain top engineering and commercial talent. They became a part of the internal department to gain a deep understanding of the company culture and their specific hiring needs. The main goals of the partnership were to create a new in-house tech function and a modern engineering culture that would start and see out the digital transformation.
The results: scaling for success with embedded recruitment
During Troi’s partnership with Holland & Barrett, our talent partners hired over 350 roles across various functions and saved them over £2m annually compared with traditional agency costs. They secured talent and leadership experience from some of the top companies in the world, including Facebook, Amazon, and Google, ensuring Holland & Barrett became an attractive option for developers looking for a career move.
Our embedded team surpassed every target they were set, increasing top-of-funnel hiring activity, streamlining processes to increase productivity and output, all while retaining Holland & Barrett’s company values and culture.
How Troi can help your enterprise scale
At Troi, we focus on modernising the recruitment landscape to give you what you need when you need it. We fully embrace your company’s culture and values while you benefit from our expertise and resources.
Embedded recruitment provides enterprises with a full end-to-end service from employer branding through to aspects of onboarding, taking ownership of the process, and giving time back to your business.
