Agip
The NES Group has been supplying contract personnel to AGIP for over four years now. There are currently over 100 contractors out on assignment, generating turnover in excess of £9m per year. The account itself is very labour intensive from the perspective of NES. Agip has over 14 tier one suppliers and NES is in the top four.
The reason this client case study has been chosen to demonstrate excellent client service in the last 12 months is that NES provides an all-inclusive service to Agip. This means that the client is only ever receiving one invoice from NES, and is not faced with the coordination and management of countless other support service issues and details. In reality the supply chain is structured in the following way: Agip >> NES >> European payroll specialist/limited company >> Candidates.
Over the last year Agip has been engaging in a series of personnel transitions as the company shifts the bulk of its work from Europe to Kazakhstan. This has involved the considerable task of mobilizing a large, incumbent workforce in London, Milan and the Hague and assisting with the permanent or temporary relocation to Kazakhstan. NES identified and partnered with a local agency called Bolashak on a profit share basis, as this is a legal requirement for managing payroll and taxation in Kazakhstan.
NES is responsible for: finding candidates; coordinating the sourcing of work permits; visas; medicals; and establishing whether the postings are on a residential or rotational basis. NES consultants hold regular meetings in London and host bi-annual seminars in the Hague. The service also includes the coordination of specialist taxation and payroll advice required to provide solutions to those contractors working in other European locations such as Holland, Italy and Norway, where a foreign tax must be paid.
Agip selected NES initially because of the standard array of mobilisation and logistic support services that are central to the service it provides. However, more recently, NES has added to this service list with a range of value added offerings, which have included:
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The worldwide rollout of the CR24 service: CR24 is the world leading security support service, provided by Control Risks. It offers 24/7 support for individuals anywhere in the world, ranging from basic information services about flights, countries, or general information, to emergency security advice and repatriation and evacuation services.
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Personal accident and accidental death insurance included for all contractors
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CNA Medical insurance, provided by IMR (International Medical Rescue). Available worldwide and inclusively to all NES contractors via a 24-hour emergency contact number. This policy allows our contractors to access medical care in the private medical clinics in the location that they are posted.
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First assist travel policy – which includes travel insurance and medical cover for business trip contractors (specifically for UK personnel, such as the Agip contractors working in London that must visit the Hague office).
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Qualification testing is now a standard element of the visa process. Qualifications are verified as a standard procedure to ensure authenticity, and also must be attested and certified by legal personnel for visa processing reasons. All this is coordinated by NES, all inclusive of the invoice charge.
By providing this comprehensive range of services, NES delivers much more than just a standard recruitment service to Agip. The company is trusting NES to manage the supply chain logistics and all aspects related to manpower provision. Traditionally, this has only been focused in Europe, although Agip is now making increased use of NES’s international resourcing capability.
Specifically, there are a number of Agip contractors now working in Houston, through the NES Houston office. It is a very complicated and lengthy process to secure working visas for European contractors wanting to work in the US - yet NES’s in-country organisation is able to secure E-Visas, and manage the employer statutory tax requirements, which significantly speeds up this process. This is a key differentiator for NES as a business and, crucially, is something that Agip regards as an integral element of the service.
The NES Dubai office has also been coordinating and managing in-country placements of Agip contractors. This includes the standard service portfolio as detailed above and it also involves considerably more logistical support - and specifically, the fact that NES is the named sponsor for all visas and work permits coordinated for contractors in this region. For example, it is a trend in Dubai that rental properties require a full year’s rent in advance. There have been two contractors in 2007 that required cash advances in order to cover this advance rent - and NES then set up repayment schemes to cover this.
Whilst these are predominantly candidate-focused services, they clearly demonstrate the level of service that NES provides to manage the client account. Agip receives a seamless service that is comprehensively managed by NES to ensure that there is a minimum of disruption to the supply chain and manpower provision. The level of business that NES engages in with this client is testament to the exceptional service that they receive.
Siemens Power Generation
NES Global has been supporting Siemens Power Generation for the last eight years, encompassing projects in over 20 locations covering North America, Europe, Asia, Middle East and Africa.
In mid 2005 NES was approached by the Operation and Maintenance (O&M) department based in Erlangen, Germany to provide a full O&M team to work on the company’s 750MW Natural Gas, Simple Cycle Rudeshur Power Plant, based in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Due to project delays the hiring process was pushed back six months but, in December 2005, NES was awarded an exclusive contract to provide the O&M team for the project; consisting of the Operations Manager, Maintenance Manager, Warehouse Manager and six Shift Charge Engineers.
Due to the continued delicate political climate surrounding Iran, the attraction of personnel to work there was challenging. However, through an existing network of power industry specialists and the utilisation of various NES Global international offices, NES was able to reach out to the wider Expatriate community and successfully filled all the roles on behalf of Siemens. The hiring process took three months to complete and involved the standard qualification of technical and personal fit for the project as well as involving a lengthy country orientation which was used to educate the candidates about Iran as a place to live and work. This was key to securing the personnel and to ensuring that no applicants withdrew from the hiring process throughout its duration.
Services provided
Once the team was in place, NES were requested to provide the following services:
- Coordinate pre-employment medicals
- Interface with the Iranian Embassy in London to procure initial work permit
- Liaise with university and professional governing bodies to obtain and verify copies of the necessary candidate qualifications required for the application of Iranian resident permits
- Co-ordination of mobilisations with the project team in Iran
- Personal accident and accidental death insurance coverage
- CNA medical insurance provided by IMR (International Medical Rescue) - the scheme provides worldwide coverage and is available to all NES contractors via a 24-hour emergency contact number. This policy allows contractors to access medical care in both their home and host location
- Emergency evacuation and repatriation cover
- NES Security Support provided through the world’s leading security support service provider, Control Risks. This exclusive agreement offers 24/7 support for individuals anywhere in the world, ranging from basic information services about flights or countries, to emergency security advice and repatriation and evacuation services. NES utilised the service to proactively monitor the political and civil situation in Iran and made this service available to contractors and their families in the event of an incident in country
- Travel management for rest and relaxation (R&R) trips
- Tax management for host and home country
Result
Only one member of the initial team left prior to their contracted end date and this candidate was subsequently replaced by NES. The team succeeded in taking the plant into the operational phase and was integral in transferring the necessary skill sets to the indigenous manpower, allowing Siemens to meet contractual liabilities with respects to local content quotas. Consequently, as per the contract, five of the Shift Charge Engineers completed their assignments in June 2007. The Operations Manager, Maintenance Manager and the Lead Shift Charge Engineer placed by NES Global continue to work on the project.
