Case Study

Man in a beige blazer distressed, yelling into an old-fashioned rotary phone, with glasses on the white table beside him.

Your client just told you they're "not satisfied." Now what?

Most agencies respond by adding more resources. But volume doesn't solve process problems. The answer is clarity: understanding what's broken, implementing accountability systems, and rebuilding trust through transparent execution.

This project was led by Maria Lopatkova, founder of Lopatka Consulting Services, while serving as a senior operational leader at a national staffing firm. The strategy, process design, and implementation were executed under her direct leadership and reflect the proven methodology we bring to clients today.

PROJECT SNAPSHOT

  • Client: National Staffing Agency (Enterprise Client)

  • Problem: Critical account at risk due to recruiting failures and strained relationship

  • Outcome: Relationship restored, 50% performance improvement, client significantly expanded team

CLIENT OVERVIEW

A mid-sized national staffing agency was facing a serious challenge with one of their important clients, a high-priority enterprise project generating significant annual revenue. The client was vocally dissatisfied: candidate quality was low, existing consultants were underperforming, and trust had eroded.

The Stakes: A major revenue-generating partnership was at risk.

THE CHALLENGE

The client relationship had deteriorated significantly. Trust was broken, frustration was mounting, and confidence in the team's ability to deliver was at an all-time low. The partnership was in jeopardy.

The problems were systematic:

Poor Candidate Quality: A poor interview-to-hire ratio, indicating time wasted and a fundamental disconnect on culture fit.

Underperforming Consultants: Many were not meeting production minimums or complying with onsite and business-hours requirements.

Broken Trust: After an extended period, the recruiting team still didn't understand the client's needs, leading to low morale and avoidance of the project.

THE APPROACH

  • The Consultant Problem: Formal performance reviews were proposed for every existing consultant—a rarity in the consulting world.

    • Review Focus: Initiative, culture fit, technical performance, and communication.

    • Client Benefit: It showed the client their concerns were being taken seriously and delivered deep insight into their unstated values and communication style.

    • New Process: Weekly meetings with the client were launched to track progress and address issues in real-time, building immediate transparency.

  • The Candidate Quality Problem: The core issue wasn't a lack of industry knowledge; it was a broken process. To fix this, we partnered with a subject matter expert and built a repeatable system.

    We developed a behavioral and situational screening assessment to test for technical expertise, problem-solving, and culture fit. This assessment codified what "good" looked like.

    New Workflow Highlights

    • Candidates who passed the initial screen were immediately scheduled for the video assessment.

    • Successful candidates bypassed the standard resume presentation.

    • Interviews were scheduled directly with the client.

    • We enforced an instant, detailed feedback loop after every interview.

    Result: The client's trust was restored, allowing for a faster, more effective hiring flow. The recruiting team finally had the clarity needed, fully understanding what was required.

  • The Production & Hours Problem: Performance was previously tracked weekly, allowing days of underperformance to pass unnoticed. Daily transparency was introduced.

    • A daily project tracker was deployed where every consultant logged hours and production achieved.

    • Accountability: If a consultant fell below the threshold, training gaps or process needs were immediately investigated.

    • Result: Consultant productivity increased substantially. Communication breakdowns were eliminated entirely, and professional standards (hours, onsite presence) were fully restored.

  • The Client Was So Impressed, They Expanded the Engagement.

    The client approved significantly expanding the team. The refined, documented, and tested process was used to fill these new roles quickly, validating the entire transformation.

infographic titled 'Transformation Results' illustrating challenges and results in client partnerships, revenue, candidate quality, and consultant performance, emphasizing a 50% improvement in quality, and showcasing key outcomes of expanded client team and restored client partnership.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • Radical transparency is the only path back when trust is broken. By introducing formal performance reviews and clear feedback loops at every step, a strained relationship was turned into a strong partnership.

  • The recruiting team had worked for an extended period without understanding the client's true needs. Performance reviews were used as a crash course to learn, document, and codify what "good" looked like, creating a scalable screening process.

  • For high-volume, fast-paced projects, weekly check-ins are too slow. A daily production tracker created real-time visibility and accountability, which substantially drove consistent performance.

  • The recruiting team had industry knowledge but lacked documented, repeatable processes. The solution brought deep expertise in building recruiting operations—screening assessments, accountability systems, transparent tracking. By partnering with a subject matter expert, the technical requirements were learned quickly and operational fundamentals were applied that work in any industry. Systems beat familiarity every time.

All client and company names have been removed to protect confidentiality. Specific metrics and outcomes have been verified and reflect documented results.

READY TO TRANSFORM YOUR RECRUITING OPERATION?

If your organization is facing similar challenges—underperforming teams, strained relationships, or recruiting processes that aren't delivering—let's talk.

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