Increasing gender diversity across multinational Signify’s tech teams

Signify

Signify, formerly Philips Lighting, is a multinational specialising in lighting for professionals, consumers and the Internet of Things. Headquartered in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, this tech-driven multibillion euro company with 37,000 employees and a presence in over 70 countries, was keen to grow their tech capacity, but struggling to secure the niche and diverse talent they needed. Several vacancies had been open for over a year, causing a strain on people and projects, slowing down innovation and impacting employee engagement.

Specialist tech hires

Percentage of female hires

Day turnaround per hire

100

Percentage of job fill rate

The road to success

Writing Signify's success story

Signify wanted one recruitment partner who could deliver across multiple Software & DevOps requirements, help increase gender diversity and compete with other brands. Due to the scarcity of niche and diverse tech talent globally, we agreed on an Engaged Search model. Drawing on our specialist market knowledge, global network, and shared diversity values, we became an extension of their internal team.

Challenges

Strict gender diversity targets
No access to passive candidate pool
Lack of local and full-time staff
No delivery from current suppliers on niche requirements
Insufficient brand presence in the industry
Compensation and flexibility, not competitive
No streamlined way of working, time-consuming

Solution

The Engaged Search Model for 9 urgent positions across Software & DevOps involved:

Full global market map and headhunting to access a larger and more diverse, passive talent pool.
Initiatives to increase brand awareness, including bespoke marketing material about Signify and relocating to the Netherlands, creating an attractive proposition for candidates.
Streamlined and time-efficient recruitment process: 30-minute briefing call with the hiring manager for each role, SLAs for long and shortlists, 24-hour CV and interview feedback, interview slots prebooked, and weekly progress calls, resulting in a quick average turnaround of 26 days per role.
Detailed project reports at the end of each search, sharing market insights & data around the number of female and male candidates identified in which geographies globally. This allows Signify proactively market their company in locations with higher levels of female talent to create brand awareness.

Results

Improved market positioning
Improved positioning in the market and market insights: Signify were now able to compete with other brands and engage the niche and passive talent they needed to get the teams back on track.

Increased gender diversity
Increased gender diversity: 71% female hires, creating more rounded and diverse tech teams.

Increased speed to market
Roles were filled in under 26 days on average, from job brief to offer acceptance, securing Signify’s first-choice talent. Quick turnaround for both hiring managers and candidates.

"We secured 71% female hires, creating more rounded and diverse tech teams for Signify."

Amie Capron

Apollo was instrumental in recruiting highly talented engineers for my team. The team is very thorough. Not only do they work very hard to find the best candidates, and they also ensure that both employer and candidate are a good match for each other to maximize the likelihood success.
Nuno, Head of Data Platform

Tanguy, Senior Talent Acquisition Specialist

Apollo were very proactive, understood our needs very well and helped us filling 7 technical vacancies which were all quite niche and hard to fill. The thing I especially valued was their ability to listen to our feedback and adapt their processes and approach to better suit our needs. Apollo is a strong recruitment partner.
Tanguy, Senior Talent Acquisition Specialist

Working with Apollo was unique, as many recruiters I’ve worked with do not follow up after every chat, or even call you with updates! They understood my needs, kept me in the loop at all times, and helped me land a job with Signify and relocate to the Netherlands.
Anusha, Site Reliability Engineer

Build an impactful team

Turn your diversity challenges into opportunities

DE&I are at the heart of any successful business. With diversity, you can create something extraordinary! We see your challenges: the difficulty in finding diverse talent, the complexities of creating an environment where everyone’s heard and valued. But we also see your potential. Unique perspectives. Increased creativity. Better problem-solving. Improved attraction and engagement. Are you ready to use the power of diversity to propel your business forward?

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Increasing gender diversity across multinational Signify’s tech teams