Alcor

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Argus Media analyses the world market in oil, gas, metals and other raw materials. We collect and maintain complex data sets to help our customers understand the market, providing analysis, visualisation, and expert opinion daily. My position: Engineering Manager/ Head of Ukrainian Engineering office

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Alcor?

Hiring, accounting, and legal entity for employment in Ukraine, business trips, legal consultancy, visa, and taking care of employee issues.

SOLUTION

How did you select this firm and what were the deciding factors?

I have limited information. VP level and CTO researched it.

Describe the project in detail and walk through their service package.

Alcor BPO account manager kept in touch with every hired employee and resolved all the problems. Accountants provided all needed services, and employees could focus on work. Also, Alcor BPO provided all help with legal consultancy, visa to the UK, hiring, organisation of interviews and pipeline of potential candidates.

How many resources from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

Account manager, accountant, legal representatives, 2-3 dedicated recruiters and maybe more behind the curtains

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the engagement that demonstrate progress or success?

From 11.2021 til 06.2022, we hired 15 great experts. Everyone passed the probation period and got outstanding feedback from colleagues.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Alcor BPO was very efficient. Usually, bottlenecks were absent on their side.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

They had an impressively dedicated attitude. It was a pleasure to work with them. The salary was paid on time.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Everything was great.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the R&D Director of BIScience

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

BIScience provides the deepest digital & behavioral data intelligence to market research companies, brands, publishers & investment firms

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Alcor to accomplish?

• Evolve from an outstaff project into an independent company
• Recruit 15+ people to R&D within 1 year
• Focus on core business, and delegate other aspects to a trustworthy provider

SOLUTION

How did you find Alcor?

• Online Search
• Referral

Why did you select Alcor over others?

• Pricing fit our budget
• Referred to me

What was the size of Alcor’s team?

6-10 Employees

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

• Talent Acquisition: hiring 15+ professionals on behalf of BIScience within 1 year,
• IT Services & Procurement: find, buy, and supply equipment based on the provided specs,
• Financial Management & Advisory: Streamlining payment processes and providing financial consultation to employees,
• Real estate: investigating and shortlisting offers in Kyiv, renting a coworking we selected,
• Legal: offering several options to establish a partnership, onboarding people from Ukraine and Europe

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

• Alcor successfully recruited 15 professionals to Ukrainian R&D in one year

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

The Alcor project management team consistently strives to exceed expectations and delivers qualitative services promptly. I value their commitment to going the extra mile for their clients. Alcor fosters transparent relationships, crucial for establishing successful long-term partnerships. The team is receptive to feedback and adept at implementing it quickly.

What was your primary form of communication with Alcor?

• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

• Being able to meet expectations every time,
• Get answers to whatever questions I have,
• Communicating professionally at all levels

Are there any areas for improvement or something Alcor could have done differently?

Being more proactive in sharing changes and trends they see on the market

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Head of Engineering for enterprise billing platform. It provides cloud-based software that enables companies to operate as a subscription business model, including the often challenging aspects of usage-based pricing and monetization at massive scale.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Alcor, and what were your goals?

Core platform development

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We interviewed a lot of EoR platforms and companies, but Alcor was the only one that provides a combo package of EoR and Recruting offerings.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

Scope of work was to find, build and manage a team of engineers, product managers and operations that are remote and located in multiple countries, in our case we have people from three EU countries. 

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

Account Management team: 3-5 people, account manager, IT guys, legal.

Recruting Team: 3-4 people, people that owned different position stacks, like Java, Python, Product Management etc..  

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

We have built a full stack engneering team in 1.5 month. We had multilple candidates that we considered for each position. 95% of candidates presented by Alcor's recruitment team passed resume review. And ongoing team management is easy and effortless.  

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

Very hands on and result oriented. 

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

They've solved every problem we've faced, even crazy things like buy a certified hardware in the middle of nowhere on Bali and ship it to EU :)

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

nothing at the moment

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m an SVP at a company in the life science software space. We have analysis tools and data visualization software that scientists use in labs, and I manage product and engineering for various scientific products across our portfolio from companies we’ve acquired over the years.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Alcor?

We’ve historically used resources from Ukraine in one of our software companies through an outsourcing provider. At the end of 2020, we were looking to expand our team but have more control over how we hire people. Therefore, we wanted less outsourcing and more of a professional employment organization (PEO) structure. We wanted a co-employer arrangement where there’s full transparency about who we’re hiring, how much we’re paying them, and the rewards we’re giving them.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Alcor provides us with software development staff augmentation in a PEO structure. They act as our representatives in Ukraine, so we don’t need to have an entity there or handle tax compliance, but we ultimately have control over managing employees. We decide who to hire and who to let go and can also hire our own contacts through Alcor. Initially, they helped us build a team for one project, then set up another team for a different project. Gradually, we’ve started to add people through Alcor for more and more teams across the company.

We work with the recruiting team, who is responsible for identifying talent. The team uses alternative ways to headhunt, such as WhatsApp and Telegram, with their own talent network. Whenever we have a new role, they ask us questions to understand our needs, what we’re looking for, and the job description. They conduct a clarifying call when there’s a role we haven’t hired with them yet. They sometimes share profile examples to help calibrate the position. 

So far, we’ve hired about 25 resources through Alcor. The roles they’ve helped fill include senior software engineers, such as web, full stack, and frontend development. These teammates work with the latest technologies, like Node.js and React. They’ve also helped hire product designers, a product manager, and QA personnel. Currently, Alcor is helping us hire resources in Poland. 

What is the team composition?

Initially, I got in contact with the two co-founders and Viktoriia (COO). In our day-to-day, I work with the recruiting team, which includes a head of recruiting, a project manager, and an account manager who helps us with payments.

How did you come to work with Alcor?

We found them through our investors. Another portfolio company with the same investors was already in conversations with Alcor and setting up a team. I spoke to that company’s CTO and got references from other companies working with Alcor. Ultimately, they were the best option for what we wanted to do in terms of hiring more directly in Ukraine. 

How much have you invested with them?

Right now, we’re paying around $130,000 a month, but our engagement has grown. On average, we’ve spent around $100,000 per month with them. By the end of this year, we’ll have spent around $1.5 million. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in January 2021, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

Hiring resources through Alcor is more effective than our own ability to hire in countries where we have a presence. When we started our engagement, we had to build a team quickly for a new product, and Alcor was able to find four resources in the first month and a half. This was outstanding because the engineering market is very competitive. In the last year, we've averaged two hires per month. 

Technological candidates don't typically apply for jobs on websites, so any recruiter needs a network of contacts, and Alcor is really good in that respect. They hire recruiters who already have a network of talent in Ukraine, so they can reach out to people and get responses we wouldn't be able to get by simply posting a job on a website. Moreover, the team tailors their hiring process to each role. They don't just check off boxes from a template; they strive to understand what we need to find the right resources. 

How did Alcor perform from a project management standpoint?

Since our engagement isn't traditional outsourcing, we handle project management. Even if we hire a project manager through them, I set the goals for them. Alcor is prompt and responsive when processing payrolls and helping the team with questions. They provide support to our resources regarding aspects like taxes and benefits. 

Every Friday, we have a weekly call with the recruitment team, where they bring on different recruiters for our various roles. They organize the candidates coming in using Asana boards. As for communication, we use email, Zoom, and Slack. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I appreciate the transparency we get from Alcor. We need to add engineering staff, but we don't like working with traditional outsourcing companies that don't give us transparency and can't attract the best talent. I've worked with other companies, and Alcor is the best partner we've had. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

If anything, they could improve their use of technology and tooling for reporting. There are many things we handle through spreadsheets or emails with them. They're awesome and do what we ask from them; this improvement would be the cherry on top. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I'd advise being open with them regarding your needs and treating Alcor as an extension of your company. The people we hire through them work like our employees, which is very valuable. If you want to be successful in this model, you should treat Alcor like your entity in another country, unlike traditional outsourcing. That transparency helps them understand your context, constraints, and budget, so they can help you find great people.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am a head of a newly opened branch in Ukraine.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Alcor, and what were your goals?

The company had many new IT projects on its hands, and the timelines were challenging. The goal was to release new fintech services before a specific date. The delivery capacity was not enough.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

The solution was to establish a new R&D branch in Ukraine and hire up to 100 top-notch software engineers in Ukraine. The speed of finding and hiring fast was a critical success factor. Alcor proposed recruiting services and outsourcing the complete business cycle of employment in Ukraine. Alcor's option was more convenient and much faster. It was an alternative to establishing a new LLC and operating ourselves.

Describe the scope of work in detail, including the project steps, key deliverables, and technologies used.

Alcor took all business operations of ramping up an R&D branch: Complete recruiting cycle, including our employer brand promo Office rent, parking, etc. Contracting with new employees Onboarding of new employees Hardware supply Accounting and HR operations Legal consulting Offboarding the employees

How many people from the vendor's team worked with you, and what were their positions?

Alcor allocated a dedicated account manager for us Alcor assigned a recruiting team with more than a dozen recruiters Alcor provided a dedicated accountant Alcor's TOP management regularly synced up with us Alcor's legal team consulted us

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the deliverables?

Alcor helped us to establish a software R&D branch in Ukraine. We hired 30 top-notch IT talents in six months. It could be faster, but we did have more vacancies.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

They work fast. Available 24/7. Regular reporting. Friendly but professional attitude. They are taking care of all our needs and preventing potential issues.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Speed of delivering the results. Rapid communication. They have high professional standards. Client-centric.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

Not sure. Everything is good.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the CTO of Tonic Health, a data collection company in the healthcare space. We replace the manual processes that exist in healthcare. When patients fill out forms in a doctor's office, that's typically on paper, but with our system, patients complete those forms on an iPad or another mobile device before the appointment.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Alcor?

Traditional outsourcing firms work well for certain projects, but we wanted to build our own R&D center in Ukraine and align it with our values and business processes. We wanted to have more control than is typically usually afforded in an outsourced engagement. We engaged with Alcor to serve as a business process outsourcer to help us accelerate how quickly we build out the R&D center.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Alcor has been instrumental in our business growth in Ukraine. First and foremost, their team helped us find an office and negotiate a lease for our facility. We worked with the recruitment team to build a staff of engineers that would work for our company. This included building different Facebook and LinkedIn pages to foster more brand awareness in the developer community. In conjunction with that process, Alcor’s legal team provided consultation and development of a legal structure for the operation. It can be a rather cumbersome process for citizens to register themselves and find the appropriate legal and tax forms, so we relied on Alcor to guide us in that regard. Further, Alcor initially arranged and continues to manage our accounting and human resources processes. For instance, instead of us paying individual developers each month, we send one large sum to Alcor, and they distribute the payments to the staff.

What is the team composition?

We work with various members of their legal, recruiting, accounting, and business development teams.

How did you come to work with Alcor?

We were probably one of their earliest customers. They were separating from one of the larger outsourcing firms in Ukraine that they had provided accounting services for. Alcor was starting on its own and looking for more commercial clients at the same time we were looking to streamline our accounting services. We learned that we could count on them to properly shepherd us through the complexities of our venture. They started with our accounting services, but we soon expanded our relationship to include every service offering they have.  

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve paid in the range of $100,000–$250,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement began in 2011 and remains ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Ultimately, the quality of what we produce in our R&D center depends on the people we hire and the culture we create. Alcor has never led us astray in that regard. We’ve never had a headache stem from any of the services they provide.

We hope to focus on building our products and not be concerned about legal problems, on-time payments, or tax liabilities. The real value of working with Alcor is never having to worry about those problems in all the years we’ve worked together.

How did Alcor perform from a project management standpoint?

I value their transparency in the kind of service they will provide, and they deliver what they say they will deliver. We haven’t had any complications with our projects.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They provide white-glove service, and they put a lot of creativity into solving problems. We’ve explored opening an R&D center in a different geographical location than one they traditionally serve, and we’ve asked if they’re willing and able to handle it. They’re looking into it and determining their options. They’ve been a very strategic partner in that sense.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing stands out as needing improvement.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Alcor is the best out there for those that need the tools to create an extension of their business that is deeply linked to how they want to work.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the former CEO of a software development company with locations in Poland and Ukraine.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Alcor?

We were in a complicated situation regarding the legal relationships and unbalanced business interests between our company and our US intermediary as well as several key customers. Some unusual (or non-typical) requests required an in-depth review and analysis of existing agreements.

We hired Alcor to work with us to find a solution because we felt that we would likely end up at a dead end due to legal complications and significant differences in business interests. Companies usually deal with bilateral agreements, but, in our case, there were four sides involved, which complicated things.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Alcor provided consulting services. We began the engagement by discussing our situation, then did a deep dive into particular legal and negotiation aspects, and key interests of the parties. Their team wanted to understand our company’s history. We worked with them to understand the key benefits of all parties involved.

The process contained a level of risk. If something wasn’t completed properly, relationships could’ve been damaged with customers and partners. Our reputation and relationships will well-known companies would be affected as well.

We met regularly to document artifacts and create a negotiation map. Their team was also involved in several of our calls with other parties.

What is the team composition?

We initially worked with Dmitry (CEO, Alcor). A majority of the legal work was completed by Sergey (Head of International Law Development, Alcor). Others were involved, but not as directly.

How did you come to work with Alcor?

We knew of each other from the IT Ukraine Association. Before engaging with them, we met with Dmitry, and he promoted his services. We didn’t have any particular needs at the time, so their team helped with small business-related issues. Since we had a positive experience previously, we decided to go with Alcor when we needed legal consulting.

What is the status of this engagement?

We began working with Alcor in 2017, and their team is still providing services for the company.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Alcor helped our company avoid complicated business risks. Our intermediary introduced some complications, and there were issues from a legal perspective. Because of Alcor, we renewed and continued contracts with several major customers.

How did Alcor perform from a project management standpoint?

Alcor’s project management was effective. Our situation wasn’t typical, and the stakes were high. The speed of negotiations and discussions were sometimes done extremely quickly because of the locations of some of our counterparts. Sometimes we were working 24/7 because of time zone differences. The process got intense.

Alcor’s team of professionals works hard to understand core business needs. That isn’t easy to find. Rather than focusing on the hypothetical aspects, their team concentrated on what was most important.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their team understands business interests and priorities. I’ve worked with several legal companies. Not all of them realized what was important and had issues identifying the core interest. Alcor’s business focus is one of their strongest qualities. They have the proper balance of competence and performance. Even in tougher negotiations, Alcor found a creative solution, providing our team with leverage in the argument for negotations. They never made our business look helpless.

Are there any areas they could improve?

Due to time differences, there were small issues with connectivity and scheduling. The entire process was an intense situation, and we were pushing hard.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My suggestion would be to work with their senior lawyers. Working with Dmitry and Sergey was quite responsive.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of the Ukrainian office of a global software company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Alcor?

We hired Alcor to replace an in-house accounting resource we lacked legal and accounting best practices. The transition required legal assistance, which became a supplemental requirement for the team.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Alcor handles all of our accounting work and the legal side of our reports and documentation. The team helps us obtain work permits on behalf of our foreign resources.

What is the team composition?

The team includes a chief accountant and a legal services lead. Alcor scales the team as necessary. We also interact with the CEO and the director of the legal department.

How did you come to work with Alcor?

Our team researched multiple companies. We knew the head of Alcor and discussed our needs with him during our search.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in 2016 and the partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Alcor’s expertise and implementations have enabled us to run our company in the way and at the level we want. We don’t always have a solution in mind, but Alcor has answered all of our questions. We couldn’t have implemented those best practices without them.

How did Alcor perform from a project management standpoint?

We are satisfied with the team’s performance because they communicate regularly, met deadlines, and support their answers with substantive information. The teams are in touch daily.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Alcor’s knowledge of the Ukrainian IT and business sectors is comprehensive.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s always something that can be done better, but I can’t point to any specific issues.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

Clients should remember that they're still responsible for their own business even if they're using an external service. Clients should communicate expectations clearly at the start of the project.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and position.

I am the CTO of Pindrop Security

Describe what your company does in a single sentence.

Pindrop® Solutions are safeguarding contact centers and beyond, with secure authentication and fraud detection tools.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What specific goals or objectives did you hire Alcor to accomplish?

• Build and run extended engineering teams in Eastern Europe

SOLUTION

How did you find Alcor?

• Referral
• Other

Why did you select Alcor over others?

• High ratings
• Pricing fit our budget
• Great culture fit
• Good value for cost
• Company values aligned

How many teammates from Alcor were assigned to this project?

20

Describe the scope of work in detail. Please include a summary of key deliverables.

Alcor helped building, managing, and running a software engineering center in Eastern Europe. We scaled from 0 to 20 in less than a year. Alcor has a stellar recruitment team and they sourced the best engineering talent for our needs. They have been managing end to end operations including Recruitment, IT, Legal, Benefits, and Payroll.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What were the measurable outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

Hiring pipeline and velocity; End to end process; Customer satisfaction; Talent quality

Describe their project management. Did they deliver items on time? How did they respond to your needs?

The Alcor team provided a top-notch end-to-end service on time and within budget. 

What was your primary form of communication with Alcor?

• In-Person Meeting
• Virtual Meeting
• Email or Messaging App

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

Customer first mentality; Ability to attract the best talent with their business model

Are there any areas for improvement or something Alcor could have done differently?

None