How a global retail brand staffed new locations at the speed of expansion


How a fast-growing multinational retailer expanding across multiple markets used Apli, now a part of ICIMS, to cut time to fill by roughly two-thirds and freed HR to focus on strategy.

The challenge

A fast-growing multinational retailer expanding across multiple markets was opening new facilities every month across several countries, and the HR/recruiting team could not keep up with the demand.

Its traditional staffing model, a recruitment hub of about 30 recruiters supported by outside agencies, could not keep pace. Time to fill ran 20–25 days, and new stores opened short-staffed. According to the company’s HR director, the company found that the vacancy rate in each store had a direct correlation to lost revenue. For example, a 20% vacancy rate in a store meant a 20% hit directly to revenue.

The approach

The retailer leveraged Apli, now part of ICIMS, to automate the most time-consuming and manual parts of the process of screening candidates to increase the speed at which a lean recruiting team could fill hundreds of open roles for new locations. The solution took over routine screening steps that recruiters had handled, while HR business partners (HRBPs) moved into oversight of the AI and more strategic work.

Results by the numbers

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Time to fill:

From 20–25 days to about 7 days, roughly 65–70% faster.

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Team model:

Shifted from a few dozen recruiters plus agencies to five regional HRBPs supporting the more automated high-volume hiring process.

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Ability to scale with new demand:

With the new automated process in place, new locations were fully staffed in about a week.

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Revenue protection:

Full teams operating from day one in new locations, avoiding what the HR director called “potentially millions in lost sales from understaffed openings.”

Additional benefits

A better candidate experience:

Candidates apply from home at any hour instead of commuting, queuing, and facing a 15-minute interview with a recruiter who may have done 50 that day. They get feedback in real time, clear next steps, and a thank-you even when not selected.

More strategic HR:

HRBPs now analyze candidate-flow bottlenecks and compensation competitiveness, train hiring managers, and visit stores to find the root causes of turnover.

Data-driven hiring:

Assessment data helps the retail company keep recalibrating its hiring profile as the company changes.