Aon Nederland talks about working with Staffing MS

Aon Nederland is the leading professional services firm providing risk, retirement and health solutions. With these solutions, Aon Nederland helps clients achieve their goals easier. The firm employs 2,600 people across 15 locations throughout the Netherlands. Following the takeover of Unirobe Meeùs Groep (UMG) in 2017, the company’s external hiring volume increased substantially, reaching some 10 per cent of total staffing. This hiring concerns a wide range of roles. We talk to Michiel van Meer, HR Director at Aon Nederland.

Handling growth

Aon Nederland acquired the Unirobe Meeùs Groep (UMG) in 2017. This takeover led to a significant increase in external hiring. Staffing Management Services (part of HeadFirst Group) had already been the insurance firm’s full-service provider for four years, since 2013. The takeover presented Aon Nederland and Staffing MS with several specific tasks: identifying the total external hiring, offering a single coherent set of hiring conditions and saving on external hiring. “We can leverage market forces further still.”

“It turned out to be a comprehensive transition”, says Michiel van Meer, HR Director at Aon Nederland. “External hiring was dotted across departments and portfolios. We didn’t have a handle or control on it. Plus, there was a lot of transactional work involved, which detracted from more strategic activities. That’s why we initiated this project and implemented it together with Staffing MS: using a single HR vision, with procurement in mind.”

A handle on spend

The increased external hiring was necessary to support the organisation with specific knowledge; to man projects and compensate for the natural turnover. So very diverse. “It helps when you have a professional party to structure and support that complex hiring process. And also, to keep a handle on spend. After all, external hiring entails huge costs. You want to know where those costs lie, what the profiles are, what the level of quality is, et cetera.”

Whilst the structuring of the external hiring took place through a HR lens, cost was another determining factor. Which is why HR joined up with finance. Because if ways could be found to circumnavigate the hiring process, they would cost the company time and money. “At a certain point, invoices for contingent workers hired outside of the Hiring Desk would no longer be paid automatically. That may sound harsh, but it’s a good way to create awareness”, explains Van Meer.

Impact

Aon Nederland and Staffing MS knew that restructuring the contingent hiring process would be impactful. Before, the business would hire people direct; now, a link was being introduced. “That’s why we involved management in the process and explained our ‘why’. So not just for financial reasons, but primarily to enhance insight, control and quality. Our HR managers were given clear rules of play. But they also had the possibility of maintaining contact with agencies in order to assure quality. What was important was that we intensified our internal discussions and communication. After all, we and Staffing MS could develop the best process in the world, but we would be the ones ultimately implementing it. For that, we needed to create engagement and support internally.”

“We formed a true partnership and shaped the project together.”

Michiel van MeerHR Director at Aon Nederland

“Contingent hiring is now fully automated in a streamlined process.”

Michiel van MeerHR Director at Aon Nederland

Roadshows

“We formed a true partnership and shaped the project together. Staffing MS had ample experience with this kind of implementation and above all, is a partner who is capable of offering up lots of market insights and data. Are there certain trends or best practices that we can adopt? That’s where I see the benefits of Staffing MS having joined HeadFirst. You get access to even more expertise and can offer your services as a chain. We also joined forces for internal roadshows where we shared our story. All our suppliers were invited to those. Initially – and understandably – they perceived the transition as a threat. We explained why we were doing what we were doing and how. That gave them a level of comprehension.”

Concrete outcome

According to Van Meer, the concrete outcome of the partnership between Aon Nederland and Staffing MS is fully automated external hiring that’s part of a streamlined process. The manager creates a requisition for a vacancy. If the decision is made to hire externally, the process is for the requisition to go straight to the recruitment desk. There is pretty much no manual work involved any more. “A well-coordinated and structured contingent hiring process like this enables us to act faster and more effectively. The governing role is crucial in a large organisation like ours, where compliance also needs to be satisfied. Now, we have better oversight of spend and the types of roles: What is being hired in for and at what rates? Who are we hiring from and what do we think about that? From answers to these and other questions, you can make some sound analyses – and subsequently enter into dialogue with your suppliers. Furthermore, our HR consultants are now able to converse with management at a different, higher level.”

Development and improvement

Aon Nederland currently hires around 250 external staff: just under 10 per cent of total staffing. External hiring is clearly defined and automated, and there is ample contact with the account managers to facilitate further development of and improvement to the process. “Because”, says Van Meer, “we can leverage market forces further still. By tightening or indeed, loosening the criteria and hourly rates, for example. That way, everyone wins!”

This post is also available in: Dutch