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A company’s unique approach to talent management has seen it go from 30 to over 750 employees in just four years and be recognised as best talent acquisition team at SEEK’s STAR Awards.
Established in 2017, Aussie-headquartered business Mantel Group quickly grew from one office to seven across Australia and New Zealand, serving over 200 clients in more than 2,000 projects.
In just four years, the IT/tech consulting company went from 30 employees to 750. At last count, the number was up near the 900 mark.
Nicole Saines, head of talent experience at Mantel Group, says the group’s success is reflected by its great culture, which is always top of mind when considering further expansion.
“Hiring superstars and quality employees is so important to us. I’d rather hire one exceptional talent than three OK people, so that’s going to be a big focus for us going forward,” she says.
“Our standards are quite high; we employ people that can work in an agile environment without having a lot of structure.”
The recipient of SEEK’s Talent Acquisition Team of the Year award (under 1,000 employees) has adopted a unique House of Brand Approach which it uses to segment its employees into the technology-related areas they’re most skilled or interested in.
For example, one brand centres around cloud technology, while another has data as the focus point. There are nine brands in total.
The brands are either launched in response to market demand or acquired from other providers, Nicole explains.
“While they’re individual brands, they still go to market together, and we operate under Mantel together. ‘In it together’ is one of our principles, so we work together to best meet the client’s needs.”
The House of Brands operating model is a vital selling point for prospective candidates, with each empowered to select one of the nine based on personal preference.
Nicole says this approach is key to Mantel’s success in not only attracting talent but also in retaining them long-term, as employees are able to move from brand to brand, tailored to their skills and aspirations.
The talent team leverages the company’s talent network, resulting in only 4 per cent of hires coming through external agencies. Relationships with hires are maintained through six-monthly check-ins to ensure promises made during recruitment have been kept.
Mantel Group’s commitment to empowering employees and providing them with the tools to succeed in their careers has resulted in recognition for being a great place to work.
This, coupled with its low turnover rates, has seen the company awarded first place in the Great Place to Work Awards in 2021 and 2022 and in taking out the Talent Acquisition Team of the Year (under 1,000 employees) at the SEEK Talent Acquisition Recognition Awards (STAR Awards).
“We felt very humbled with the award, to be honest,” Nicole says on the STAR Awards win.
“We’re young, we’re small, we literally had a crack at nominating ourselves. Honestly, it was just so wonderful for us to be someone different in the market coming up; it was a really good pat on the back for the team.
“It was an awesome experience for us because we felt like the underdogs, and it was so lovely to have that recognition.”
To learn more about this year’s STAR Awards, click here.
To check out STAR winners and finalists, click here.
