Case Studies

Studio Retail, now part of the larger Frasers Group, provides a personal shopping service to around 1.8 million customers each year through a combination of direct marketing and online via the studio.co.uk and ace.co.uk websites.

Location: Manchester
Size: 564 employees
Industry: Retail

Challenge

Studio Retail had been working with multiple suppliers for several years and lacked a true partnership when it came to resourcing. Studio Retail first engaged with idpp when they had some hard-to-fill permanent roles that had been open for six months. Education was also required across the business regarding IR35, associated risks, and management.

Solution

idpp provided a range of professional IT services to support and maintain Studio’s IT function – including Change, Transformation, Data, Applications, Network, Security, Infrastructure, Cloud, and Development. This included Permanent, Fixed Price, Contract, and Work Package solutions. idpp has now been engaged with Studio Retail for three years.
idpp was able to fulfill Studio Retail’s difficult requirements with a four-week turnaround from interview to offer to start date. Previously, Studio could typically wait six months to find the correct resource.

• idpp offered a funded head to Studio Retail – an Account Director onsite 2-3 days per week, at no additional charge. This enabled idpp to fully understand the culture of Studio Retail, which, in turn, reduced time to hire through the provision of more relevant CVs and an improved interview-to-placement ratio.
• idpp placed over 60 resources with Studio Retail Ltd in the last 12-month period.
• Project areas and roles covered: Project Management, IT and Business Transformation, BI, Software & Web Development, Testing, Cyber Security, and Infrastructure.
• Currently delivering WAN/LAN upgrades, Data, Cyber, AWS, and SharePoint projects across the full lifecycle.
• Studio Retail now has a fully compliant contractor workforce, with existing resources transferred under the management of idpp and their IR35 insurance.

idpp has provided over 100 resources throughout the duration of the Professional Services contract, and the success of the partnership has led to significant growth for both businesses. We have further invested in the account team to ensure we are in a position to respond to any requirement, however big or small.

Benefits

The IT Resource and Portfolio Planning Manager also says, “For Studio Retail, the quality of service and innovation delivered is one of the standout features of the partnership. Flexibility is also crucial, and this was exemplified when we were let down by our incumbent supplier for a critical piece of infrastructure work, which needed to be completed out of business hours at the weekend. idpp managed to source a candidate within a two-hour turnaround and onboard them in time to start.
One of the other key benefits of the service has been in support of Studio Retail’s commitment to diversity across the group. We were very conscious that the majority of our IT staff were male, and idpp supported our management team with strategies around inclusive hiring; for example, they introduced us to reviewing only anonymized CVs. This, in turn, enabled us to grow the percentage of non-male employees across IT by 10% in 12 months.

We have also been able to reduce the risk associated with IR35 by working with idpp to understand the compliance process and ensure all contract roles are correctly assessed. Studio Retail previously used multiple suppliers, resulting in a much larger administrative overhead, and this has considerably reduced time on project hiring and offers us reassurance regarding temporary contract resources.”