RECRUITING SPECIALIST TALENT FOR DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
The Challenge: Finding Specialist Talent for a Major Transformation Programme
Aer Lingus is one of Europe’s most recognised airlines, carrying around 12 million passengers a year across transatlantic and European routes. As part of the IAG Group (alongside British Airways, Vueling, and Iberia) it operates at significant scale, with a workforce spanning technology, finance, HR, flight crew, and airport operations.
Like many major organisations, Aer Lingus is in the middle of a wide-reaching digital and business transformation programme. The challenge? Finding the calibre of people that a programme of that ambition demands.
Helen Van Tonder, Head of Customer Contact at Aer Lingus, explains:
“We have a number of very challenging, varied roles where we need a level of expertise that is the best in the marketplace. To try and be an expert in going out and finding that headcount is very, very difficult.”
The roles in question were not straightforward. Aer Lingus required specialists in product management, process development, finance transformation, quality, training, automation, and conversational AI. They also needed highly technical skills across cloud infrastructure, AWS, and variant services. Sourcing that kind of niche talent at pace, individually, was simply not viable.
Why Oliver James: A Specialist Partner, Not Just a Supplier
When Aer Lingus began looking for a recruitment partner, the decision to work with Oliver James was straightforward.
“To go to somebody as experienced and as valued as Oliver James is in this space was a no-brainer for us. It was a silver bullet.”
What set Oliver James apart was its deep understanding of what organisations undergoing complex transformation programmes actually need. It is not simply about filling a role. It is about finding people who can contribute from day one.
“That’s where Oliver James has really found a niche. They’re brilliant at finding people who are change masters and whether that’s process analysts, specialists in technologies, or specialist finance functions, they really understand that organisations like ourselves, who have very demanding transformation programmes underway, require people that can land and expand the minute they get here.”
What Recruitment Solutions Oliver James Delivere
Oliver James supported Aer Lingus across a broad range of functions and hiring types, placing candidates in roles spanning product management, process development, finance transformation, quality, training, automation, and highly specialist technical positions.
The partnership also extended beyond permanent hires. Oliver James provided both short-term and long-term contract professionals, and the quality of those contractors often led to something further.
“Often times, when we recruit somebody as a day consultant, they’re so brilliant at their role that we actually convert them to full-time employees. And I think that’s a true calibre of the skill of Oliver James – they can fit my requirements at a point in time, but they recruit the candidate with the longer term position in mind.”
This forward-thinking approach to candidate selection means that Aer Lingus has not just filled gaps. It has built lasting capability.
The Impact: Three Areas Where It Was Felt
Helen identified three distinct areas where the partnership with Oliver James made a measurable difference.
1. Candidate experience and preparation
Every candidate arrived with a clear and accurate picture of what working at Aer Lingus would involve, not just a polished sales pitch.
“Often times, when we recruit somebody as a day consultant, they’re so brilliant at their role that we actually convert them to full-time employees. And I think that’s a true calibre of the skill of Oliver James – they can fit my requirements at a point in time, but they recruit the candidate with the longer term position in mind.”
2. Speed to hire
The pre-screening process run by Oliver James removed a significant burden from Aer Lingus’s internal recruitment cycle.
“I take probably six to eight weeks off every recruitment cycle as a result of the pre-screening that Oliver James will do on all candidates.”
3. Immediate impact in the business
The right candidate, placed well, hits the ground running. That has been the consistent experience at Aer Lingus.
“The final piece for me is the impact that that person is able to make very, very quickly in our organisation as a result of being the right person.”
The Impact: Three Areas Where It Was Felt
What has made the relationship with Oliver James work is not just the quality of individual placements. It is the consistency, communication, and solution-focused mindset that comes with it.
“It takes time to build up a good relationship with somebody. By developing and investing in that relationship up front, you’re able to have a single partner that can really pivot across a variety of roles and functions for you.”
And when things do not always go as planned, the response from Oliver James has remained solution-focused.
“Even when things don’t always go right, it’s the solution mindset that they come with. There’s never been a day where they are not in touch with me about the roles that I’m recruiting for.”
For Helen and the team at Aer Lingus, that consistency is what makes the difference when the stakes are high.
“When we’re trying to bring such an experiential difference to our customer base around the caring airline, I need somebody that is the top of their field in recruitment and finding me the best candidate, so that I can make sure that our ambitions are achieved.”
Looking Ahead
With ambitious transformation plans ahead, including the continued deployment of leading-edge technologies, Aer Lingus sees Oliver James as a long-term strategic partner rather than a transactional supplier.
“I believe our relationship with Oliver James will go on for a long time to come. We are a very ambitious organisation with big plans in the years to come, both around transformation and customer experience and the deployment of leading-edge technologies to do that. And I am so impressed with their ability to find expertise at a very high level in some niche activities that we need.”
Key Outcomes at a Glance
- Specialist recruitment across transformation, technology, finance, process, quality, and automation
- Six to eight weeks removed from every recruitment cycle through pre-screening
- Successful placements in permanent, long-term contract, and short-term contract roles
- Multiple contractors converted to full-time employees based on performance
- Ongoing strategic partnership supporting Aer Lingus’s long-term growth plans
