How Verbatim efficiently scaled its operations team using Pearl Talent’s hands-on recruiting platform

Challenge

Verbatim was scaling quickly and needed to onboard a talented Ops Associate with experience at a high-growth business

Verbatim was growing fast – in under one year, the company had expanded to over 20 team members and was taking on enterprise clients. Verbatim CEO Adrian Alfieri knew that to keep up the momentum, he needed to find an experienced Ops Associate to patch broken workflows and inefficiencies at scale. But as a bootstrapped business, Adrian was also focused on maintaining strong margins, so offshore models for hiring looked attractive. 

The company had worked with offshore agencies in the past but had yet to find one that matched their pace and caliber for talent. For instance:

1. The screening process was often generic and did not mirror how Verbatim would run a hiring process in-house, resulting in under-vetted and under-qualified candidates.
2. With other agencies, Verbatim had little visibility into the ongoing pipeline stages, making hiring timelines opaque and frustrating for Adrian’s executive team.
3. Candidates were commonly not given context about the company during the application process, so they did not have a genuine interest in the role they were applying to.
4. Despite delivering feedback to improve the matching process, batches consistently included misaligned candidates who did not meet basic qualifications for the role. 

After investing time into a process that yielded negligible results, it seemed unlikely that Verbatim would be able to source a qualified candidate for such a critical role using the offshore approach. Then, Adrian was introduced to Pearl – a white-glove offshore hiring agency that operated like an in-house recruiter and matched their quality bar for excellence.

“The Pearl team sets an insanely high bar for themselves, and it's reflected in the quality of talent they deliver over and over. We’re excited to continue working with them as Verbatim scales up.”

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Solution

Pearl’s comprehensive and transparent method of sourcing was tailored to Verbatim and mirrored an in-house hiring process

In Adrian’s first meeting with Pearl, the distinction between them and other hiring agencies was clear: Pearl matched Verbatim’s urgency and was meticulous about understanding the team culture and talent needs, making Pearl feel like an in-house partner.

Once the process kicked off, the hiring team’s comprehensive approach stood out. Pearl worked closely with Adrian to set up a screening process that reflected Verbatim’s in-house process for vetting quality candidates, saving him hours of interview time and assessment review. Pearl’s attention to detail and transparency was reflected throughout the experience:

1. Consistent, daily pipeline updates

During the screening process, Adrian received regular pipeline updates on candidate reviews and sourcing timelines, keeping his expectations aligned. For a busy founder, Adrian points out that these ongoing updates were critical for his peace of mind.

2. Thorough candidate assessments 

By the time a candidate made it onto the shortlist, they had already completed a video interview, a project assessment, and met with the Pearl team to gauge culture-fit. Pearl created a profile for each candidate with a thorough breakdown of their assessments and qualifications, making it easy for Adrian to assess each batch.

3. Highly engaged candidates

When it came time to interview shortlisted candidates, Adrian noted they were highly interested in the role and came prepared with questions about the company culture and day-to-day experience. For Verbatim, that genuine interest was a must-have in any new hire.

4. A clear feedback loop

Throughout the sourcing process, the Pearl team regularly checked in with Adrian for candidate feedback so they could refine their criteria and source even better-aligned candidates. In just one month's time, Verbatim found a highly qualified Operations Associate who aligned with company culture and was able to jump into the role with ease and efficiency. 

“Beyond just a talent fit, Pearl was able to screen for culture fit, which is a very difficult thing to do as an outside partner. The time they took to understand our business and what we care about as a team made a massive difference.”

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Results

Verbatim found a talented Operations Associate within a month – yielding $50,000 in additional savings

Pearl’s extensive network of talent and thorough vetting process quickly identified the perfect candidate for Verbatim from both a skill and culture standpoint, all while keeping speed and business margins in mind. Adrian specifically calls out three big wins from using Pearl:

• $50K saved by hiring with Pearl Talent
• 5x reduction in new hire onboarding time
• 20 hours saved via white-glove onboarding 

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Adrian is excited to incorporate Pearl into Verbatim’s long-term hiring strategy. He calls out the distinct benefit of Pearl’s transparent and hands-on approach as compared to other agencies. Pearl knows that every company’s hiring needs are unique, and their process to sourcing talent reflects the need, culture, and priorities of each company they work with.