QBE

The Challenge

We partnered with QBE to enable them to reach their huge global growth plans in 2021 and beyond. They wanted to expand further in the Cloud and DevOps space, particularly with more junior roles. One of QBE’s main focuses as a business was improving the level of diversity within the company, in more ways than one. There was no existing tech grad scheme in place, so we sourced a diverse range of applicants for them, from a range of backgrounds, careers, and disciplines.

The first stage of our partnership with QBE was sourcing 5 Developers in the UK – this is set to develop further, with plans to use our _nology Sydney hub to train on a more global level as QBE continues to expand. The initial challenge was to train and embed these Developers within the existing tech team in a short space of time. 

Outcomes and benefits

With time to hire and diversity being key challenges for QBE, our consultancy model at _nology was the perfect fit. Our approach allows us to deploy almost immediately, with a pool of job-ready tech talent across the globe. 

We quickly placed 3 Developers into QBE’s Application Development team, and a further 2 into the tech area of QBE Reinsurance, where they will continue to be upskilled internally, as well as through ongoing support from _nology coaches, across Cloud and DevOps. 

In order to provide a sustainable solution for QBE, we’ve created an ongoing Cloud and DevOps pipeline. This essentially involves bringing job-ready _nology consultants into a team that suits their skill sets and transitioning them into Cloud and DevOps as they progress and develop further. Ultimately, this creates an ongoing flow of permanent hires within their Application Development team and beyond, saving QBE time and resources on recruitment fees and additional training programmes.

Projected cost savings

Our model shortcuts any spend on recruitment fees, and also provides long-term savings related to employee retention, time to hire (eg marketing fees, advertising for job vacancies etc), as well as additional training and salaries. As such, the long-term savings equate to around £50k per year, per consultant. Similarly, for short-term savings on contractors, this model allowed QBE to save around £500 per day, per consultant.

Number of placements and time to hire

We’ve placed 3 Developers with QBE UK, with plans to expand globally – our _nology Sydney hub is ready to continue this partnership on a wider scale. 

Due to the way our consultancy model works, we have a large pool of tech talent which we’re continuously adding to. This allows us to choose individuals with the necessary tech stack, as well as the skills and traits that would allow for seamless onboarding and a strong cultural fit. It also enables us to keep our time to hire extremely low, with placements so far taking under 2 weeks from the beginning of the process to onboarding and start dates.  

A focus on diversity

As per QBE’s wishes, we created a diverse talent pool to source from, all of whom we felt would also have the necessary existing skill sets to thrive in a tech environment and would be a great cultural fit for the business. So far, 3 of the 5 placements are female, and 40% are from ethnic minority backgrounds. Potentially most notably, one was a career-changer with a 15-year background in Oil and Gas who wanted to retrain and enhance her existing skills to pursue a career in technology. 

Jackie Low

Consultant at QBE

“I had a crazy idea that I wanted to change career into a completely new field, and the team at _nology made a daunting prospect into something fun, challenging, and rewarding. The focus is not just on tech skills, but on helping you to ace the interview. Now, my career change is a reality and I’m 3 weeks into a role where I’m already doing meaningful work with a team who are really excited to work with _nology grads.“