Case Study: Cross-Border Talent Acquisition for Insurance Leader

Background: Building on an Established Partnership

Following years of successful collaboration throughout Central-Eastern Europe, a leading European insurance group approached KiTalent with a new strategic challenge: launching Polish market operations from their Italian headquarters (KiTalent's main European hub is in Turin, Italy). This expansion required recruiting 10 Polish-speaking insurance professionals willing to relocate to a non-central Italian city “ a significant challenge even for the most attractive employers.

Having witnessed our consistent delivery of top talent across multiple markets, the client entrusted us with this critical aspect of their expansion strategy, knowing that conventional recruitment approaches would likely fall short.

The Challenge

Despite the client's strong reputation, the relocation requirement presented substantial obstacles:

• Cultural and language barriers between Italian headquarters and Polish operations.
• Convincing high-performing professionals to relocate from a growing Polish insurance market.
• The client's location in a non-major Italian city, lacking the appeal of Milan or Rome.
• Need for specialized insurance expertise combined with language fluency.
• Tight timeline to ensure market entry goals were met.

Our Methodology in Action

Building on our deep understanding of the client's culture and requirements from previous engagements, we implemented our comprehensive talent mapping methodology, enhanced by our strategic use of technology:

• Technology-Enhanced Market Mapping: Our AI-powered parallel mapping systems allowed us to identify and analyze approximately 1,000 potential candidates per position in a fraction of the time traditional methods would require. This technology-driven approach enabled comprehensive coverage of the Polish insurance sector within weeks rather than months.
• Intelligent Automation: Our proprietary automation tools streamlined outreach and initial screening processes, enabling our consultants to make personalized contact with over 500 professionals while maintaining the human touch essential for sensitive relocation discussions.
• Strategic Positioning: We positioned the opportunity as a career accelerator, highlighting the client's track record of promoting talent from their Central-Eastern European operations into broader European leadership roles.
• Data-Driven Insights: Our technology platform continuously analyzed candidate responses and feedback, providing real-time talent intelligence that allowed us to refine our approach and messaging throughout the campaign.
• Transparent Process Management: Through our digital collaboration platform, we maintained complete visibility for the client with detailed weekly reports and interactive dashboards, allowing them to monitor progress and contribute strategic direction.

Results That Exceeded Expectations

• Successfully filled all 10 positions within 18 months, with an average time-to-hire of 3 months.
• Achieved a 95% retention rate after two years, significantly above the industry standard for relocated talent.
• Created a robust talent pipeline that continued to supply candidates for subsequent openings.
• Facilitated knowledge transfer that enhanced operations across the client's European entities.
• Established a blueprint for future market entries that has since been replicated in other regions.

The KiTalent Difference

This case demonstrates how our technology-enhanced methodology and deep vertical expertise allowed us to succeed where traditional approaches would have struggled. By leveraging our AI-powered market mapping and intelligent automation tools while maintaining the critical human element of executive search, we not only filled challenging positions but also provided strategic talent intelligence that improved the client's overall market entry strategy.

The success of this project led to an expanded partnership, with KiTalent now supporting the client's talent acquisition across 6 European countries.