Client Need & Challenge: Meeting high-volume hiring targets in a remote market with limited talent supply and high demand.
A Canadian consumer packaged goods company faced an urgent hiring requirement ahead of a forecasted surge in demand for its products in early 2021. To maintain production levels, the organizationneeded to hire and on-board 50 temporary production laborers within four weeks.
The client faced several challenges:
- The client operated in a remote region, the northern Bruce Peninsula, with a limited labor pool.
- Previous recruitment efforts had exhausted the local market, and competition for low-skilled workers across nearby communities remained high.
- The internal recruitment team lacked the bandwidth to support a high-volume project under compressed timelines.
- The hiring volume was aggressive, with weekly training classes scheduled for 20 new employees.
- Historical first-day attendance averaged 50%, placing added recruitment pressure on the team to backfill each subsequent class.
This created a high-stakes environment in which speed, scale, and reliability were critical to sustaining production ahead of peak demand.
To overcome these challenges, the client engaged Robertson to deliver a fully managed Contingent RPO solution designed for accelerated, high-volume hiring in a difficult labor market.
Robertson’s Solution
Rapid Response
The client required all hired laborers to be payrolled through Robertson, with the first cohort of 50 laborers hired and trained only ten days after the contract was finalized. Robertson immediately assumed responsibility for sourcing, screening, onboarding, and payrolling to relieve pressure from the internal team.
Market Intelligence and Sourcing Expansion
Robertson reviewed demographic data from surrounding regions to identify untapped labor pockets. A two-pronged sourcing strategy was implemented by re-engaging candidates in the client’s ATS and conducting community outreach in neighboring towns.
Sixteen-Hour Recruitment Coverage
To meet accelerated timelines, Robertson deployed both on-shore and off-shore recruiters operating across a combined sixteen-hour schedule, five days per week. This ensured continuous applicant flow, fast screening, and minimal delays between recruitment stages.
Process Improvements to Strengthen Day-One Attendance
Robertson implemented structured steps to increase reliability and readiness, including screening for reliability and job-readiness, clear communication of duties and expectations, high-touch pre-start follow-ups, and weekly hiring waves aligned to the twenty-person training limits. These improvements directly addressed the client’s long-standing Day-One attendance challenges.
The Results
- 50 hires completed a week ahead of schedule.
- 95 percent first-day attendance compared to the historical 50 percent.
These outcomes stabilized the client’s production capacity during a period of high demand, helped the organization avoid operational slowdowns, and created a predictable, repeatable model for future seasonal or high-volume hiring cycles. By improving candidate reliability and strengthening Day-One attendance, Robertson ensured the client maintained full staffing during a critical period and avoided disruptions to its production environment.
The Ripple Effect
The success of the project extended beyond immediate hiring outcomes. The strengthened sourcing approach, improved candidate communication, and structured onboarding cadence created a framework the client can rely on for future high-volume labor needs. The engagement demonstrated that even in remote labor markets with limited supply, a disciplined, high-touch Contingent RPO model can deliver consistent, reliable workforce outcomes. It established a scalable approach that the organization can activate during future periods of increased demand, enhancing overall operational resilience.
