Global Company Creates Single-Source HR Hub in Partnership With Upwork

Mobileum’s Chief Human Resources Officer Keith Green was no stranger to progressive talent sourcing when he took on the responsibility of a global HR program. Green had, as early as 2015, relied on early iterations of Upwork to successfully source skilled talent to support key organizational goals. So when Green came to Mobileum at the start of 2023, his expertise in transforming organizations through innovative HR initiatives was the perfect pairing.

Mobileum, a mobile telecom industry giant, offers telecom analytics solutions for roaming, core network, security, risk management, customer intelligence, and domestic and international connectivity testing. More than 1,000 customers use Mobileum’s Active Intelligence Platform to increase revenue, improve customer experience, and reduce costs. Mobileum is headquartered in Cupertino, California, with operations in 25 countries and an employee presence in 52 countries. At Mobileum, Green oversees a workforce of about 1,800 employees.

The challenge: Unify operations between distributed organizations

Mobileum was restructuring and had limited financial and people resources. Yet Green was tasked with several HR objectives. He needed to streamline Mobileum’s processes and systems and integrate the operations of several acquisitions Mobileum had made from around the globe. Acquisitions in Germany, Portugal, India, Singapore, and Greece, for example, had not yet been synced with Mobileum’s operating standards.

Green needed to quickly and securely revise and integrate information, policies, and processes. He wanted to create one place for accessing HR questions, FAQs, and data, and needed support overseeing compliance and aspects of payroll.

Another challenge Green faced was structuring compensation and benefits. Green needed to create appropriate job architecture to sync employee positions, responsibilities, and job titles. Mobileum’s 1,800 employees were organized under 450 job titles. Green didn’t have the resources he needed to hire a central global compensation and benefits person to coordinate and streamline this area.

The challenges were daunting enough to cause Green a few sleepless nights. How would he overhaul the HR program on a global scale given the limited resources on hand? 

The solution: Centralize HR operations with an HR knowledge center

Fortunately, Green already knew he could apply resources from Upwork to reach his objectives. Green contacted Upwork, shared the challenges he was facing, and came up with an action plan.

Upwork’s Managed Services, a scalable solution that guarantees outcomes and deliverables, was the go-to in this case, because the program enables a company to outsource entire functions. Managed Services appealed to Green because of these key benefits:

• Guaranteed outcomes for a holistic range of professional services
• Custom-built programs to meet unique business goals
• Operational efficiency by scaling a program up or down as business needs evolve
• Cost efficiency by outsourcing entire business functions
• Access to experienced program managers

With support from Upwork, Green set up an HR Knowledge Center for Mobileum that was a one-stop resource. The center offered self-service access to information and materials for HR managers and employees with questions and issues that needed to be resolved.

“We had employees across 52 countries, operations in 25 countries, all with their own policies and  procedures,” says Green. “You can imagine how complicated it was. We went to Managed Services to build the knowledge center.”  

Managed Services supports a variety of categories and industries, including HR outsourcing. This program offers several features.

• An HR service center
• HR project execution
• Support with talent acquisition processes
• Training, learning, and development 

First, Managed Services consolidated all documentation. Second, the team supported Green as he created a global set of policies for Mobileum. All policies, procedures, and related documents were centralized at the HR Knowledge Center. 

As their efforts progressed, Green realized he needed even more flexibility than Managed Services provided—for example, Green wanted support overseeing compliance and aspects of payroll. Green upgraded Mobileum’s account to Upwork Enterprise to access different capabilities that would get him to where he wanted to be.

Custom solutions of Upwork Enterprise include:

• Curated pools of freelancers and agencies to help meet the specific needs of your company
• Alignment between the Upwork platform and your company’s internal policies with configurable contracting features
• Support from Upwork’s compliance teams to classify each freelancer you engage and indemnify you from misclassification risk (must be a Compliance WPP subscriber)
• Upwork Payroll, where workers can be employed by a third-party employer of record and you maintain the benefits of the Upwork platform

Green also worked with Upwork to solve his talent needs, filling the need in record time and saving money by not retaining a search firm to find the candidate he sought. “I went to the platform and I found someone who was specifically skilled at building job profiles and job benchmarking,” says Green. “So fast-forward to now, we're 95% through the effort and it's been a big success.”

The future: Advocating for innovation in partnership with Upwork

Green is continuing the strategic partnership between Mobileum and Upwork, advocating for innovation and building internal buy-in. He supports talent transformation in three key ways: 

• Leading by example with HR
• Encouraging colleagues to use Upwork to solve problems
• Identifying and supporting the work innovator mindset

Leading by example

Green views the HR function as the natural hub from which talent innovation can spread throughout an organization and has led the way at Mobileum. “This is, at the end of the day, a talent solution,” says Green. “I'm biased, but I'm a big believer that HR goes first, so I think that's the place to start.”

Encouraging colleagues to use Upwork

When people at Mobileum come to him with challenges that need to be addressed, he encourages them to try Upwork. “Our chief compliance officer came to me with a lot of stuff on her plate,” says Green. “I offered sourcing freelance talent on Upwork. She started to use Upwork, to get the work done, and saw the outcomes. The platform was so easy to use.”

Supporting the innovator mindset

As he helps colleagues unlock the advantages of open talent models, Green encourages an ongoing  conversation at Mobileum to support the work innovator mindset. “When I'm starting to have the conversation about this talent sourcing model internally, I can tell right off the bat if someone has an open mindset,” says Green. “Why would we not use this model? It's got cost savings, it's got better outcomes, it's got speed. Being open-minded is the key characteristic of someone willing to change.”

Get started with Upwork

Consider Upwork as a resource to help you identify and solve core problems within your organization. It’s easy to set up an account and establish a partnership with Upwork to gain the support you need to remain competitive in an evolving marketplace.

See what opportunities and programs are available for organizations seeking efficiency, process approval, and cost savings. Check out Upwork’s Talent Marketplace, consider the Managed Services program, and explore opportunities offered through an Upwork Enterprise account.

Consider Upwork as a true partner, no matter where you are in your journey to build or scale an innovative workforce model. Address business challenges and find solutions that will help your organization gain traction and move forward. Get started today!

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