Insights · Project references
Projects
Fifty-three engagements, told the way we would tell them in a meeting: what the client needed, where it got difficult and what we did. Clients are not named. Filter by industry, by the services involved or by the kind of project.
Project references
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Engineering & industry
Seven years as a factory’s HR department
~80 staff · 13 labour-law gaps closed · 2 changes of owner
A foreign-owned food plant in Ukraine with no one in charge of HR. We rebuilt the function, ran it and its payroll through two changes of owner, then redesigned the shifts.
Renewable energy
Staffing a wind farm from an empty page
~60 positions · 6 months · 3 employment models
An international EPC contractor had the engineering for one of Ukraine’s largest renewable-energy projects, but not one employee in the country. We built its Ukrainian site organisation.
Engineering & industry
Deploying tradesmen, then keeping them paid
Trade-tested welders · numbered teams · 2½ years
An energy joint venture in North Africa needed Ukrainian welders, mechanics and HSE engineers on site. We tested them by hand, moved them with visas and paid them monthly.
Hospitality & retail
Hiring a hotel that does not exist yet
~26 positions · 3 months · 7-stage funnel
A luxury hotel in the Gulf had to open its restaurants, bars, spa and pool club on the same morning. We planned the funnel first, then filled it against a date that could not move.
Hospitality & retail
Recruiting at volume, across a border
585 applications · 69 hired · 10 channels measured
A Gulf airport retailer wanted dozens of Ukrainian sales staff. We ran it as a measured campaign, with events, licensing and contracts that work in two legal languages.
Hospitality & retail
When the candidate is the one deciding
3,246 screened · 240 matched · 5 reasons for no
A Gulf restaurant group hired front-of-house staff from Ukraine on modest salaries. We counted every stage of the funnel and recorded why candidates said no.
Agriculture
Thirteen years as an export group’s payroll department
13+ years · 12 companies and branches · 1 payroll run a month
An agricultural export group in Ukraine handed us the payroll of its first seven companies thirteen years ago. We still run it, now for twelve, through a new production site, a currency collapse and a full-scale war.
Fitness, beauty & wellness
Thirty-five job titles for a members’ club
121 candidates presented · 35 job titles · 3 continents
A private family club in the Gulf needed kitchen, service, reception and fitness staff while its lists kept changing. We kept the pipeline running and learned where a salary band stops finding people.
IT & software
A development team in Ukraine, with no Ukrainian company
17 months · 3 → 19 developers a month · no local entity
A US software company wanted its Ukrainian developers contracted directly, without a local subsidiary. We ran the monthly invoicing, bank and tax cycle for every developer, then handed it over in order.
Hospitality & retail
Hiring for a five-star hotel, one person at a time
9 briefs · 58 pre-interviewed profiles · 4 years
A five-star hotel in the Gulf needed people its own market could not supply, from a personal trainer to a sous chef. We sent only pre-interviewed profiles and saw each hire through to the flight.
IT & software
A remote sales and marketing team for a US agency
54 candidates presented · 12 contracts signed · 7 hours time difference
A US digital-marketing agency wanted English-speaking people in Ukraine working from home on US hours. We found and screened them, ran interviews seven time zones apart and priced the search to retention.
IT & software
A first team for a company five days old
8 people started · 60+ candidates interviewed · 2 hiring rounds
A foreign-owned games-software company had just registered in Ukraine, with no HR and no pay benchmarks. Its first two offers were signed within two weeks, and six more seats were filled in six weeks.
Hospitality & retail
Staffing a beach club nobody had on their list
4 briefs in 15 months · 5,000+ CVs screened · 7 hires travelled
A resort developer in the Middle East needed waitresses, bartenders and an F&B manager on two-year contracts. We sold candidates on a country they had never considered and agreed the visa route in writing first.
Hospitality & retail
Hiring hotel staff on a pay band that would not move
20 hires in the first order · 3 job families · 4 countries searched
A Gulf hotel group wanted English-speaking guest-facing staff from Ukraine on pay bands fixed group-wide. We ran the programme under our licence and put the band on the table before every interview.
Engineering & industry
Three hires that built a European subsidiary
3 senior hires · 14 days to first profiles · ~60 suppliers mapped
A North American maker of safety-critical truck parts had a European subsidiary and no one to run it. We found the three people who built it, each matched to the stage the business had reached.
Oil & gas
Hiring for an exploration venture still being built
~60 role briefs · 6 functions · 3 years
An international energy group was setting up onshore exploration in Ukraine, with roles the local job market hardly had. We took on close to sixty briefs, from geologists to community liaison, and bridged one hire on our payroll.
Hospitality & retail
Staffing a restaurant floor from four continents
68 positions · 60 candidates presented · 4 days to first CVs
A Gulf restaurant group needed front-of-house staff from abroad, then a full team for a second opening. We priced the market, ran both searches and learned what gets candidates on the plane.
Hospitality & retail
One waitress, a fixed opening date, under ten weeks
613 CVs screened · 7 client interviews · under 10 weeks
An Italian restaurant in the Gulf wanted one experienced European waitress for a new branch opening. We screened 613 CVs, replaced a first choice who withdrew and had her on the floor in under ten weeks.
Finance & professional services
Developers from Ukraine for Western European employers
35 candidates submitted · 15 Python developers in 6 weeks · 2+ years
A large staffing group could not find enough engineers and developers at home. We became its sourcing channel in Ukraine, from one field-service search to a paid campaign for Python developers.
Hospitality & retail
Staffing a new café from two thousand miles away
4 countries searched · 5 offers tracked · first hire at work in 8 weeks
A Gulf hotel group needed two experienced baristas from Europe within two weeks. We searched four countries, reset the brief with the client and followed every offer until people were behind the counter.
Engineering & industry
Three loggers, a 90-day clock and a new piece rate
3 loggers · 8 weeks to the forest · 25–50% higher piece rate
A wood-processing company in south-east Europe tested hiring from abroad with one logging crew. We took three loggers through permits and visas, and showed with the client’s own figures that the piece rate had to rise.
Hospitality & retail
From a CV to a concierge desk
~20 roles · 100+ shortlisted profiles · ~2 months, CV to arrival
A family-owned property group in the Gulf needed concierges urgently, then spa, technical and household staff. We searched across Eastern Europe and managed every hire through visa and flight until arrival.
Fitness, beauty & wellness
Hiring fitness coaches who had to pass on camera
1,500+ CVs screened · 28 finalists · 4 hiring waves
A women-only fitness chain in the Gulf needed group-exercise coaches with a qualification that barely exists outside the UK. We mapped equivalents, ran video-first selection and measured the market.
Fitness, beauty & wellness
When the market is thinner than the brief
832 salons called · 1,399 applicants screened · 14 weeks to first departure
An international beauty and wellness chain in the Gulf wanted Ukrainian specialists with working English. We ran it as a measured search, called salons directly and checked every offer against the advert.
Logistics & transport
A subsidiary ready for its manager’s first day
Registered in 5 weeks · 8 candidates, 1 hire · 14 weeks to day one
A European freight forwarder lost its country manager just as it set out to open a company in Ukraine. We ran registration, recruitment and the office in parallel, so all three were ready on the same Monday.
Hospitality & retail
From a signed contract to a receptionist at the desk
23 profiles in 3 weeks · 4 roles · 68 days to the first shift
A hotel-apartment property in the Gulf needed four front-of-house staff at short notice. We sent the first CVs the day after signing and kept one hire committed through the visa, her notice period and a night flight.
Consumer goods
Sales people in Ukraine, before there was a company
4 years on our payroll · 4 + 2 employees · 2 business units
An international jewellery and accessories manufacturer wanted its own sales people in Ukraine without opening a company there. We employed them for four years, ran payroll, cars and expenses, and kept their pay whole when the hryvnia collapsed.
Agriculture
Farm managers from across Europe, and a team for a new office
2 searches in parallel · 6 role types · 14 months
A large agricultural group needed experienced European farm managers and, at the same time, a managing director, engineers and specialists for a new office abroad. We ran both searches at once, the office roles with a partner firm in that country.
Engineering & industry
A manufacturer’s first sales team in two countries
4 sales hires · 26 months as employer of record · no local company
A family-owned German manufacturer wanted its own sales people in Ukraine and Russia without opening a company in either. We recruited four, employed the first on our payroll for 26 months and set up the others as contractors.
Consumer goods
Five people, five and a half years, none on the client’s payroll
5 people · 5½ years · 5 days from go-ahead to first day
The local office of an international premium drinks company wanted its office, logistics and marketing staff employed by someone else. We were their legal employer for five and a half years, with payroll twice a month and one invoice the client’s accountants could book without questions.
Consumer goods
A fifth fewer jobs, after finding where the hours went
20% headcount target · 19 departments mapped · 0 contested exits
An international industrial bakery wanted a fifth fewer people. Our audit showed the hours were lost in how the work was organised, so we fixed the structure first and settled every management exit by agreement.
Fitness, beauty & wellness
Fifteen months to sign, two days to make twenty offers
20 offers in 2 days · 13 hires · 15 months of groundwork
A fitness club chain in the Gulf needed trainers and front-of-house staff. After a year of staying in touch, two contracts and a recruiting event in Ukraine turned into twenty offers in two days.
Hospitality & retail
Seven offers, three arrivals, and the wait for a visa
52 candidates · 7 offers · 3 arrivals · up to 168 days to a flight
A hotel group in the Gulf hired bar and floor staff from Eastern Europe. Finding candidates took weeks; keeping them through the visa took months, and that is where the project was won and lost.
Trade & distribution
A company founded in wartime, then run every month
Working before day one · 12 compliance documents · payroll every month
A European trading group decided to trade from inside Ukraine during the war. We made its manager able to work before the company existed, founded the company and run its HR administration and payroll.
Hospitality & retail
One supplier through three HR handovers
17 placed · 157 candidates · 2½ years on one agreement
A luxury hotel in the Gulf hired bar and restaurant staff through us for two and a half years, starting with a two-day hiring event in Kyiv for a new bar. Each new HR team found the pipeline already running.
Healthcare & life sciences
Mapping a pharmaceutical market before the vacancy opens
3 talent maps · 7 role families · one short list kept warm
A pharmaceutical company needed compliance, marketing and sales leaders who were not looking for a job. We mapped the market discreetly, kept short lists ready for each role and ran medical and finance searches alongside.
Renewable energy
One specialist, three countries, one invoice a month
8 weeks to the first day on site · 1 invoice a month
A wind-energy developer needed its own EU site manager on a wind park in Ukraine. We employed and paid him legally across three countries, sent one invoice a month, then recruited the park's local operations staff.
Finance & professional services
A life insurer’s management team, built seat by seat
20+ senior roles · 8 hires in three years · 5 years of searches
A fast-growing life insurer needed managers for finance, sales, marketing, IT, control and legal. It came back to us for five years, and when one hire left in probation the fee went into the next search.
Healthcare & life sciences
A first representative, no company, and a tidy exit
1 representative · an office in our name · nothing left open
A European life-science company wanted its first person in Ukraine before opening a company. We employed and paid the representative, rented the office, reported monthly and closed everything cleanly when plans changed.
Logistics & transport
Thirteen years from the first finance hire to a payroll tender
11 role briefs · 2 companies · a payroll tender answered in 7 days
A commercial-vehicle maker's Ukrainian sales and financing companies hired finance and specialist staff through us, and years later asked us again when they looked for a new payroll provider.
Oil & gas
The director’s chair was never empty
Same-day appointment · every signature logged · one hand-over date
An oilfield-services company changed the director of its Ukrainian subsidiary. One of our senior managers served as interim director, so the company kept signing, paying and filing until the new director was registered.
IT & software
First the desks, then the payroll
1 office equipped · 50 monthly pay runs · 1 invoice a month
A software company came to Ukraine to build a development team. We equipped its first office and helped it hire; years later we employed and paid one of its senior people, with one invoice a month and an exit agreed a month ahead.
Engineering & industry
We found the engineer, then employed him for six years
4 engineers shortlisted · 6 years on our payroll · a prepaid exit
A food-equipment maker needed a service engineer in Ukraine but had no company here. We recruited him, then employed him and ran his pay, taxes and travel until the client closed its operations, with the exit paid in advance.
Finance & professional services
Hiring a bank’s loan-recovery team, then training its managers
14 hires and accepted offers · 4 top seats in six months · a report every Monday
A foreign-owned bank needed new people at the top and a unit to work out problem loans. We filled board, legal, risk and credit seats, then wrote the recovery unit’s job descriptions and ran a leadership workshop.
IT & software
Month-end, every month, whatever else changed
1 pack a month per engineer · 4 tax quarters a year · up to 3 engineers
A data-engineering consultancy keeps its engineers in Ukraine on direct contracts. Every month we prepare each engineer’s calculation, invoice and act, file the quarterly taxes and put every change into an annex first.
Engineering & industry
Two contracts, one assignment, and an advance that came out even
2 agreements · 10 monthly pay runs · an advance that came out even
An engineering group wanted an experienced manager from abroad in its Ukrainian office, paid by two of its companies. We employed the manager, signed one agreement with each and settled the pay monthly against approved advances.
Consumer goods
A country manager’s seat we filled twice and kept for four years
2 country managers · 1 desk at our office · 0 local companies
A brands company wanted to sell in Ukraine without opening a company. We found its country manager, employed him and gave him a desk, then ran his exit, found the successor and closed cleanly when it left.
Finance & professional services
Their HR desk, even for the other agencies’ candidates
7 hires · about 90 HR hours · every agency’s shortlist screened
An environmental consultancy growing its office in Ukraine had no HR manager. We filled its first roles, then worked as its HR desk by the hour and searched for its senior team on success.
Renewable energy
A new office’s first hire, chosen from another country
2 roles briefed · 2 interview rounds · 1 placement
A solar contractor opening its first office in Ukraine decided from a regional office abroad. We ran the interviews online and then in person around the managers’ trips, and placed the office assistant everything else depended on.
Agriculture
Permits for the managers from abroad, then the team they needed
3 foreign managers · permits renewed on time · 14 roles reviewed
An agricultural company had brought in senior managers from abroad. We ran their work and residence permits from the first document to the renewal, recruited a lawyer and a finance specialist, and reviewed its management roles.
Engineering & industry
The plant’s managers changed. Our terms did not
5 hires · 26 months · 1 agreement
A European manufacturer building a plant in a Ukrainian regional city came back to us for two plant managers, two machine operators and a chief accountant. The people briefing us changed; the agreement stayed.
Finance & professional services
Hired before the company existed, handed over when it did
2 people employed by us · 1 clean hand-over · 5 hires in total
A real-estate investment company chose its first two staff in Ukraine before its company was registered. We employed and paid them until it was, moved them across by agreement, then recruited the rest of its team.
Engineering & industry
A budget before the month, the real cost after it
1 manager · 2 invoices a month · 0 local companies
A manufacturing group needed a manager in Ukraine before it had a company there. We employed and paid the manager and billed a prepayment on the agreed budget each month, then a closing invoice on the actual cost.
How we work
We do not show you another company’s name
None of these clients is named here, and they will not be named in a meeting either. We are glad to talk any of these projects through in detail. What we will not do is discuss the last client that way with you, or you with the next one.
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