British Gas

British Gas had not previously outsourced the smart metering element of its operation.

As demand increased, the business needed a partner that could do far more than simply supply talent at scale. It needed a team that could take ownership of the entire delivery lifecycle, from sourcing the right engineers through to supporting them in the field on a day-to-day basis.

At peak delivery, the requirement grew to more than 100 engineers, all within a highly competitive market where multiple service partners were competing for the same talent. On top of that, a number of the regions requiring support were among the most difficult to cover across the UK.

The challenge was clear: build a dependable, high-performing workforce at speed while maintaining quality, consistency and long-term operational stability.

Our Approach

Rather than approaching this as a straightforward recruitment exercise, we developed a fully managed solution designed to support the complete engineer journey.

From initial attraction and assessment through to deployment and ongoing field support, every stage of the process was built to deliver quality, reliability and long-term performance.

Enhanced Technical Assessment

To raise the quality of delivery, we introduced a more robust technical testing and interview process led by qualified field managers.

This allowed us to assess each engineer not only on paper-based qualifications and previous experience, but also on their suitability for the realities of the role and their ability to meet the standards expected in a live operational environment.

Suitability and Regional Alignment

In a project of this scale, matching engineers to the right locations was critical.

We carefully reviewed every candidate from both an experience and location perspective, ensuring they were well suited to the role itself and realistically positioned to succeed in the region they would be covering. This helped reduce operational friction and improve the overall effectiveness of deployment, particularly in the more difficult areas of the UK.

Delivery Against Tight Deadlines

With firm commitment deadlines in place, pace was essential.

Our resource team worked under constant time pressure to identify and secure suitable engineers within tight turnaround periods. Despite the competitive landscape, we maintained a disciplined and focused delivery model that enabled us to meet demand without compromising on quality.

Ongoing Field Support

Our involvement did not stop once engineers were placed.

We managed the service end to end, supporting engineers not only through recruitment and onboarding, but also in the field on a day-to-day basis. This hands-on approach helped build stronger engagement, maintain standards and create a more consistent experience for both the client and the workforce.

The Results

The result was a scalable and dependable smart metering workforce capable of performing in a highly competitive and operationally challenging market.

At one stage, we successfully supported more than 100 engineers across the programme, demonstrating the strength of our delivery model and our ability to manage workforce scale without losing sight of quality.

Excellent Retention

One of the strongest indicators of success was our employee retention, which remained consistently strong throughout the programme.

This reflected not only the quality of the engineers placed, but also the effectiveness of the ongoing support structure around them.

A Strong Referral Network

Our refer-a-friend scheme also performed exceptionally well, supported by the long retention and positive experience of engineers already working within the programme.

This created a valuable pipeline of trusted talent and helped strengthen delivery even further over time.

The Impact

By combining rigorous assessment, precise deployment and hands-on operational support, we helped British Gas successfully scale a part of its business that had not previously been outsourced.

The result was not just successful recruitment, but a fully supported workforce solution that delivered reliability, retention and performance at scale.