SchlumbergerSema (NYSE:SLB) and the Salt Lake Olympic Organizing Committee
Project: Salt Lake 2002 Winter Olympic Games
Contract Date: 11/3/1998
Contract Completion Date: March, 2002
In 1998 SchlumbergerSema was awarded the contract to be the exclusive vendor for all technology and integration for the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympic Games. IBM had been awarded this contract for the previous 4 Olympic Games, and this was SchlumbergerSema's opportunity to prove to the world that their technology integration & solution company had what it takes to successfully manage what was probably going to be the largest U.S. I.T. project of the decade.
The SchlumbergerSema team agreed to a very aggressive work statement and was on a very tight timeline. As an integral part of their program plan, they needed to attract and retain over 200 information technology professionals to perform the work required to make the Olympic Games a success. SchlumbergerSema needed to partner with a company that could deliver the top IT talent within the industry at prices that would allow them to be profitable.
SchlumbergerSema had many options available to them, but after nearly 3 months of rigorous negotiations, they decided to outsource their entire contingent work-force and ConsultNet was selected by SchlumbergerSema and the Salt Lake Olympic Organizing Committee (SLOC) as the company to deliver the technical human capital that was required.
ConsultNet was sure that they had the capability to exceed SchlumbergerSema's expectations and met with all the key SchlumbergerSema managers to determine the scope and details of their requirements. Through this process, ConsultNet was able to design a Managed Staffing Program that would deliver the large scale of skill sets necessary to pull off this project within the budget set for each position.
ConsultNet quickly got to work. ConsultNet's first task was to implement a hiring process that would meet or exceed the needs of all involved. Secondly, ConsultNet developed and implemented strategic relationships with 26 associate vendors to assist them in this challenge of "finding the best and brightest talent available".
As the Program commenced, ConsultNet identified, attracted and retained top-level program managers to run the different facets of the complex project. After those key individuals were in place, ConsultNet then began to work with the managers to assemble their respective teams. The ConsultNet team personally interviewed hundreds (in some cases, thousands) of candidates for each position in order to present the top 2-3 people that were both capable of performing the key job functions and available for this high profile project.
ConsultNet, through developing a deep understanding of the needs of the managers and by adhering to its extremely disciplined recruitment system, performed exceptionally. The hiring statistics were unprecedented in the industry. The average of 2.4 presented consultants to each hire was 300% better than the industry average. The job offer to acceptance ratio was 1.3 offers to every acceptance. This streamlined staffing & qualification process allowed the key managers to focus on what was most important, building a technology infrastructure for the 2002 Winter Games. Throughout the program, ConsultNet reported all key hiring and budget data on a quarterly basis to keep all SchlumbergerSema and SLOC officials abreast of the program
In the period of two years ConsultNet successfully delivered over 250 IT consultants to SchlumbergerSema and the sponsors of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. This allowed SchlumbergerSema to receive the strongest candidates in the United States, work with one contact at one company for all issues, and receive one invoice each month.
In February of 2002, all the efforts of the ConsultNet Professionals were finally rewarded. The entire world watched the Winter Olympic Games come off without a hitch. The media praised the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for pulling off a "flawless" Olympic Games. Behind the scenes, all the computer systems worked effectively without security breach. The data was transferred successfully to television networks and other key sponsors, the technical support issues were expedited quickly, and in the end, Salt Lake and the USA came out winners in hosting one of the most successful Olympic Games ever held.
In reviewing ConsultNet's performance, SchlumbergerSema managers said "The infrastructure created by ConsultNet Professionals was exceptional. The partnership was hugely successful". They said that not only will ConsultNet be remembered as one of the key reasons for the success of the 2002 Games, but the service model provided by ConsultNet will be a model for the next three upcoming Olympic games in Greece, Italy, and China.