Case Studies
Proven Results with Industry Leaders
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Start Your Success StoryTelemedicine and online healthcare services
CVS Health
With over 300,000 employees, CVS Health is the nation's premier health solutions company, improving the health of America. CVS is trailblazing the charge on AI and applications of data-driven technologies in health care.
1:10
Submission-to-Offer Ratio
106
Talent Hired in 2022
72
Diverse Talent
The History
We have been working with Aetna since July 2017. Within the first four months of our engagement, we were able to submit and place more candidates than the other six agency partners combined. This led us to becoming their top-performing Analytics recruitment partner.
After the CVS-Aetna merger, Hop successfully placed hundreds of full-time, direct-hire Data Scientists, Analytics Consultants, Data Engineers, and Data Product Managers from junior individual contributors to executives.
Key Challenges
Candidate's market and a shortage of Data Science talent
According to LinkedIn in 2022, out of 400K US-based Data Science jobs, there were only about 100K Data Scientists, indicative of a candidate driven market. Due to this, the start of 2022 was met with offer decline percentages from 46% to 56%. However, this started tapering off as the market switched back toward the end of the year.
High-volume hiring & bottlenecks in the internal HR processes
Due to a lack of recruiter capacity, CVS's internal HR process was very delayed as we tried to scale up the submissions. In responding to this pain point, Hop signed a retainer agreement with CVS Health. This resulted in us owning the end-to-end hiring process including, screening, scheduling, coordination, salary negotiations, and closing of candidates.
Our Approach
To address the talent shortage and competitive market, we implemented a targeted recruitment strategy that focused on building a strong pipeline of qualified data science professionals. Our team worked closely with CVS Health's leadership to understand their specific needs and culture fit requirements.
By taking ownership of the end-to-end hiring process through a retainer agreement, we were able to streamline operations, reduce bottlenecks, and significantly improve the candidate experience. This comprehensive approach included screening, interview coordination, salary negotiations, and offer management.
Key Results
Our partnership with CVS Health has proven to be successful, yielding tangible results in diversity, quality of recruitment, speed, and scale.
We significantly improved the submission to hire ratio from 1:25 to 1:10. This improvement reflects a more streamlined and targeted recruitment process that efficiently matches high-quality candidates with suitable roles.
Moreover, we managed to increase the percentage of candidates advancing from submission to the technical interview and from the technical interview to the onsite interview over time. In August 2022, 50% of candidates successfully moved from submission to the technical interview, while 42% progressed from the technical interview to the onsite interview.
"I have had an opportunity to engage with HopHR as a hiring manager in two different organizations. HopHR has a unique ability to quickly understand the needs of the roles and to provide high-caliber candidates. HopHR also expertly navigates all stages of the candidate experience, making it easier to engage with the candidates and close out offers."
Olga Matlin
VP of Analytics, CVS Health
Global pharmaceutical R&D and innovative medicines
AstraZeneca
With over 60,000 employees, AstraZeneca is a global, science-led, patient-focused pharmaceutical company, with an emphasis on creating genuinely innovative medicines and improving access to them.
14
Data Science & ML Roles Filled
66%
Submission-to-Interview Rate
1:9
Submission-to-Offer Ratio
The History
In 2018-2019, we engaged with AstraZeneca, through a direct referral and recommendation from Faisal Khan. After resigning from his role at Aetna, Faisal took the executive director role at AstraZeneca.
Faisal had become familiar with our work during his previous position at Aetna, where we had placed multiple candidates under his supervision. Faisal's team at AstraZeneca was part of their global R&D team that harnesses Data, ML, and AI technologies to minimize time for drug discovery and development.
Key Challenges
Global expansion under tight timeframes
When we engaged with AstraZeneca, Faisal had a budget of $300 million, with a desire to rapidly expand his teams in three different locations: Washington D.C. USA, Cambridge, UK, and Gothenburg, Sweden. Our ability to work under pressure and time constraints is something that sets us apart from other recruiters in our industry.
High-caliber talent for pharmaceutical R&D
Finding lead and principal-level Data Scientists with both technical expertise and domain knowledge in pharmaceutical research required deep industry connections and understanding of the unique requirements of global R&D operations.
Our Approach
We leveraged our established relationship with Faisal Khan and deep understanding of his hiring needs from our previous collaboration at Aetna. This allowed us to hit the ground running with a clear understanding of the technical requirements and cultural fit needed for AstraZeneca's global R&D initiatives.
Our international recruiting capabilities enabled us to source qualified candidates across multiple geographies, ensuring we could support the expansion across Washington D.C., Cambridge, and Gothenburg simultaneously while maintaining consistent quality standards.
Key Results
We stepped up to the challenge in 2018, placing eight lead and principal Data Scientists out of ten open requisitions within six months—an 80% fill rate in a highly specialized and competitive market.
During our second engagement in 2020, we submitted 122 candidates, of which 81 completed at least one round of interviews. This gave us a submission-to-interview ratio of over 66%, demonstrating our ability to identify and present highly qualified candidates that meet AstraZeneca's rigorous standards.
This exceptional interview rate resulted in six additional placements, bringing our total to 14 Data Science and ML professionals successfully placed across AstraZeneca's global R&D operations.
"I've used HopHR's recruitment services as a hiring manager in two different companies. In my career, I've worked with a number of recruiters, but HopHR is in a class of its own when it comes to partnering in the process. They just 'get it' and have consistently identified excellent global candidates for my positions worldwide and have assisted in filling multiple roles at all levels of experience."
Faisal Khan
Executive Director, Data Science, AstraZeneca
Health insurance and telemedicine services
Blue Cross Blue Shield
HCSC is a customer-owned health insurer providing affordable, quality care via Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans. Committed to diversity, innovation, and impacting 15 million members' lives across Illinois, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.
7
Data Science & ML Hired
1:15
Average Submission-to-Hire Ratio
1:7
Best Position Ratio (Sr. PM)
The History
Since November 2021, HopHR has been working in collaboration with Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC), specifically with their Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans in Illinois, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.
The mission of HCSC's Blue Cross Blue Shield is to make quality healthcare accessible while ensuring affordability for its members. In just the first three months of our partnership, HopHR placed three candidates successfully, followed by another four, forging a strong and productive relationship.
Key Challenges
COVID-19 pandemic location challenges
We faced a challenge in sourcing qualified Data/ML candidates for specific locations, including Chicago, Texas, and Oklahoma during the COVID pandemic. Most tech companies adopted remote work policies during this time, making these locations less attractive to tech candidates who could now work from anywhere.
Salary competition from high cost-of-living markets
While HCSC offered reasonable salaries for these locations, candidates were receiving offers from companies headquartered in higher cost-of-living areas like San Francisco and New York, making it difficult to compete on compensation alone. We needed to emphasize other value propositions including impact, stability, and mission-driven work.
Our Approach
Our specialization in AI/ML & Data Science recruitment allowed us to leverage our extensive network of highly qualified candidates who valued mission-driven work in healthcare over purely compensation-driven opportunities.
We optimized the hiring process by focusing on candidates who were genuinely interested in making an impact on healthcare accessibility and quality, rather than competing solely on salary. This strategy proved highly effective in attracting talent aligned with HCSC's values and mission.
Key Results
We achieved an impressive submission-to-hire ratio of 1:7 for the Senior Data Science Product Manager position—demonstrating exceptional candidate quality and fit for this critical leadership role.
Across all positions, including Data Scientist, Lead Data Scientist, and Senior Data Science Engineer, we maintained an average ratio of 1:15, which represents a significant improvement from industry standards and our initial baseline.
In total, we successfully placed seven data candidates in these roles, and our dedicated approach to understanding HCSC's unique needs continues to yield positive results for both the organization and the candidates we've placed.
"I had the pleasure to work with Allison at HopHR during a recent job transition. The team at HopHR was very professional and introduced me to a great company, where I am now employed as a lead data scientist. I am grateful for her help to find my dream job."
John Papazian
Lead Data Scientist, Blue Cross Blue Shield
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