Embarcadero Case Study - Connor Consultancy

HR FLEX - Pay As You Go

Embarcadero Technologies Ltd is a provider of database management services that empowers software developers and database professionals with award-winning tools that design, build, optimize and run software applications and databases across multiple platforms and programming languages.  Embarcadero's tools are used in 90 of the Fortune 100 worldwide.

"In July 2008 we acquired Code Gear^TM a division of the Borland Corporation and we needed immediate in-depth human resources assistance on how to integrate the people resources in China, Japan, Australia, Singapore, Russia, Netherlands, France, Germany, Ireland and the UK. We wanted access to a HR Director level resource and we only wanted to pay for the time that we needed and the time that we used.

We chose The Connor Consultancy as they could provide a business-orientated HR Director who had appropriate International HR experience but where there were no fixed costs and no retainers.  This ‘Pay-as-you-go" model suited us as we didn't want to absorb the full-time costs of an employee.

We had used the services of Connor prior to this huge project, and they had always provided us with a first class service, excellent advice and a real ROI, so they were first choice to assist us in this new endeavour.

For the last 2 years Connor have supported us through the initial stages of the integration, through the challenge of assimilation and now assisted us in reaching a stable staffing situation and in this time they have provided us with a flexible service as and when we have needed it. They have provided support out of normal office hours which is particularly important as Australia and Singapore are up to 12 hours time difference (ahead of GMT) whereas our HQ in the USA is 8 hours time difference (behind GMT). In addition, as we have access to a dedicated individual who has taken time to get to know our business and has made a significant contribution by understanding the business drivers and the different needs of each of the managers, supporting them through this transitional phase of our company's growth. 

The Connor service has resulted in significant cost savings as we only pay for the service when we need it. In addition, our legal fees have reduced as our HR Director is highly experienced and can handle most of the issues herself.  I also have found that by having an experienced HR Director on-tap I can then get on with all of my Finance and other Managerial responsibilities safe in the knowledge that the human resource challenges and opportunities are being dealt with in a professional and cost effective manner. 

I was extremely pleased that only authorised individuals within Embarcadero can authorise work to be carried out by Connor and each month I receive a thorough breakdown of hours and activities so that I am kept informed of where the effort has been focused, this allows me to make decisions about where to use this superb resource so that we continue to gain on ROI. 

From a personal perspective appointing Connor has taken a huge pressure off me and my managers owing to their reliability, flexibility and understanding of our businesses both locally and across the globe, and I would highly recommend Connor to any company who need a reliable and flexible HR Director service, who want to see a positive ROI on Human Resource spend, and where outward cash flow is only made for the actual time planned and used."

International Finance Director - Embarcadero Technologies