Randstad: Transforming sales analytics pipelines for better leads
About Randstad
Randstad is the world's largest HR services provider. Operating in 38 countries, in 2021, we helped more than two million people find a job that is right for them, advised 235,000 clients on their HR needs, from talent acquisition to total workforce management, and delivered training to over 450,000 people.
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About ML6
ML6, a Google Cloud partner, provides companies with machine learning and artificial intelligence services and engineering support to maximize analytics impacts.
Randstad uses Google Cloud solutions including BigQuery and Vertex AI with the help of partner ML6 to better position sales staff for successful customer and prospect outreach.
Google Cloud results
- Increases success of sales outreach from 25% to 70% with faster, more advanced analytics
- Reduces IT management and maintenance demands through serverless computing
- Expands access to AI/ML capabilities, scaling from two pilot countries to 39 countries
Centralizes data management for cross-functional analytics
As the world’s largest HR services provider, Randstad constantly refines its digital strategies to meet demands of employers and employees.
"We are driven to support as many people as possible in realizing their true potential," says Mar Kessler, Global Vice President of Digital Strategy and Innovation at Randstad. "To achieve this, we need to use the most advanced digital solutions, including powerful data analytics."
Randstad has always been a data-driven company, but managing relationships with so many customers with ever-changing needs prompted the company to rethink how it managed data and analytics. The company chose to work with Google Cloud and partner ML6 to overhaul how its employees access and analyze data—and the benefits they derive from it.
Taking prospecting from warm to hot
Timing is everything in Randstad’s business, as the company has always relied on warm prospecting to convert prospects into customers. Maintaining accurate customer and prospect records gives sales managers a better understanding of needs, but this had been challenging in the past due to a lot of data residing in siloed systems. For sales teams, faster access to more complete, accurate data is essential to take leads from warm to hot.
"Our key differentiator is that we combine personalized services with highly strategic staffing recommendations informed by advanced data analytics. Working with us, our clients enjoy stability and growth regardless of what’s happening in the labor market," says Kessler.
Randstad had worked with Google Cloud in the U.S. to develop a data warehouse in BigQuery, as well as partner ML6 in Belgium on technical projects for warmer prospecting. The company ultimately decided to work again with ML6 and Google Cloud through its headquarters in The Netherlands to develop an adaptable solution that would help its global operations further evolve its warm prospecting efforts.
"We want to avoid impersonal outreach to customers and prospects, and instead engage them at just the right time with more information about their needs. Gaining these insights is data-intensive. Google Cloud and ML6 are the clear choices for helping us achieve our goals," says Kessler. "For example, we can now give our staff the insights to pitch a qualified, well-matched accountant to a financial firm at the moment the firm needs that person."
"We want to avoid impersonal outreach to customers and prospects, and instead engage them at just the right time with more information about their needs. Gaining these kinds of insight is data-intensive. Google Cloud and ML6 are the clear choices for helping us achieve our goals."
—Mar Kessler, Global Vice President of Digital Strategy and Innovation, RandstadRandstad chose BigQuery as the centerpiece of the project thanks to its affordability, high scalability, and SQL-friendly characteristics that make it more accessible to more Randstad users. ML6 was already viewed as an extension of the Randstad team, and a trusted partner that could supply the right engineers to set up a new analytics platform for customer and prospect information.
With BigQuery and support from ML6, Randstad combines its own customer and prospect data with information from external sources like public job postings and uses machine learning to create relevant insights for employees. As a result, Randstad has a highly specialized customer relationship management system that acts as a data-driven sales portal, which they named Signal.
"Thanks to BigQuery and ML6, we’re making great strides in more fully understanding our customers and offering our services at ideal times," says Kessler. "This translates to better relationships with existing customers and a stronger start with prospects."
"Thanks to BigQuery and ML6, we’re making great strides in more fully understanding our customers and offering our services at ideal times. This translates to better relationships with existing customers and a stronger start with prospects."
—Mar Kessler, Global Vice President of Digital Strategy and Innovation, RandstadFurther centralizing data management and analytics
With Signal benefitting from analytics performed on BigQuery, sales managers now gain faster, more useful insights into prospects and current customers. Before Signal was available, only about 25% of a salesperson's time was focused on the strongest prospects. Today, that figure is consistently closer to 70%.
In addition to the primary use of giving sales teams more timely, useful information, other Randstad departments use BigQuery to support everyday activities. As a result of Signal’s success, Randstad is scaling the Signal portal to act as a much larger customer relationship management tool. The tool is based on the Salesforce platform but customized with Randstad’s logic.
Beyond powerful analytics, BigQuery acts as a centralized data repository that fulfills data management compliance requirements and aids reporting. The more agile data analytics and reporting environment is supported by a mix of Google Cloud solutions, including Dataflow, Cloud SQL, Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE), and Cloud Run.
ML6 helps Randstad to get more out of automated modeling through Vertex AI to further accelerate time to insight. At the same time, they are working with the company to reduce the number of resources that need to be devoted to data management and maintenance.
"Looking ahead, we want to use more machine learning to better predict market trends and manage scarcity-based pricing and other factors impacting our industry," says Kessler. "This has grown significantly, and we continue to apply lessons learned as we scale up. Google Cloud and ML6 have opened doors to new ways of doing business in our industry. We are better positioned to serve our customers thanks to how we transformed our data analytics."
"Google Cloud and ML6 have opened doors to new ways of doing business in our industry. We are better positioned to serve our customers thanks to how we transformed our data analytics."
—Mar Kessler, Global Vice President of Digital Strategy and Innovation, RandstadTell us your challenge. We're here to help.
Contact us
About Randstad
Randstad is the world's largest HR services provider. Operating in 38 countries, in 2021, we helped more than two million people find a job that is right for them, advised 235,000 clients on their HR needs, from talent acquisition to total workforce management, and delivered training to over 450,000 people.
About ML6
ML6, a Google Cloud partner, provides companies with machine learning and artificial intelligence services and engineering support to maximize analytics impacts.