Helping a multi-national retailer quickly build a strong team for a major project

The project: A portal to track retail vendors’ sustainability practices 

Upon pledging to increase its sustainability commitment, the client needed a user-friendly application to track vendor criteria like fair labor practices, energy conservation, and the minimization of waste in packaging, natural resources, and water usage.  

To complete this project in a time-sensitive manner—and knowing that major changes like the sustainability pledge could send shock waves through the vendor ecosystem if not implemented carefully—the client needed to quickly staff build-up “pods” with design and engineering professionals.  

Why quickly ramping up a new team can be tough for a large corporation 

There are two main reasons why a major corporation might be unable to effectively staff a team of professionals on a large, short-term project using their own internal recruiting support. The first is speed. With multiple highly skilled people needed for the project and a potentially short-staffed recruiting team, the client was likely to take too long to make hires. They were also unable to fill these roles simply by pulling people over from other areas of the company.  

The second reason has to do with duration and quality. For normal staffing situations, part of securing a highly qualified candidate involves making a commitment to a long-term hire and a competitive annual salary. In this case, the client only needed 3-6 months of support. When a hiring need is project-based, and the exact time frame is uncertain, consulting is a much more attractive option.      

Requirements for the new team members, from engineering aptitude to culture fit 

The new team would be building a number of brand-new tools in addition to helping customize third-party tools for internal use. This required engineers and product designers who would be able to work in an agile environment, perform extensive user research, and make sure that initial prototypes satisfied business needs before hard coding began.  

The client also wanted professionals who would be able to hit the ground running, demonstrating a solid fit within the company culture and the ability to provide guidance to existing team members. In particular, the new team members would need to be on board with the client’s values. 

This is where Kalles Group stands out—not just because of our network, but because of how we vet and match consultants. Our team filters for both expertise and fit, removing the noise that often comes with traditional staffing firms. The result: a fast, focused path to high-quality contributors who could integrate quickly and drive results from day one.