Seek's Case Study: From Business Model Transformation to Revenue Turnaround and Market Leadership

Introduction

Seek is among the global leaders in online employment marketplaces, directly competing with LinkedIn Recruitment business. With a global presence reaching over 1 billion people, Seek is headquartered in Australia, although most of its operations occur in the Asia-Pacific region. This case study illustrates the Hyperboost Transformation Advisory; how Seek, grappling with substantial challenges under the Catho brand in Brazil, implemented Hyperboost Formula’s strategic frameworks to undergo a transformative journey, revitalizing its brand and reestablishing market dominance through innovative technology and strategic foresight.

The results and achievements were obtained in under 2 years.

Phase 1: Fundamentals - Establishing a New Strategic Direction

The transformation journey commenced with addressing the outdated technology infrastructure. Recognizing the need for rapid innovation, our pincipal advisor, Cesar S. Cesar, recommended the development of a new mobile application, a strategic move that enabled bypassing the extensive overhaul of the legacy website. This decision facilitated a quicker enhancement of the user experience, with the mobile app’s store ratings soaring from 1.1 to 4.9 stars in just nine months, with substantial positive impact on revenue.

Phase 2: Strategy - Refining Product Vision and Building the Team

With a technological foundation set, Hyperboost focused on refining Seek’s product vision to align with modern job market demands. This phase was crucial for restructuring the long-term product strategy and the product development process through the introduction of the Outcome-Driven Innovation (ODI) methodology, an important component of the Hyperboost Formula. ODI was pivotal in identifying key customer pain points and opportunities, ensuring that new developments precisely aligned with user needs. Additionally, Seek’s teams were restructured into cross-functional x-squads, enhancing agility and fostering a collaborative environment that accelerated product innovation and dramatically reducing silos inside the company.

The strategic planning also addressed a fundamental shift in the business model. For 20 years, Catho charged job seekers due to its origins in outplacement services. Recognizing the need for a more sustainable and market-friendly model, our advisor guided the transition towards a freemium service for talents, shifting the revenue burden to employers. This pivotal change was integrated into the new product vision and was crucial for attracting the right talent to drive the transformation.

Phase 3: Execution - Implementing and Scaling Innovations

The execution phase saw the rollout of new products and features developed through the strategic Outcome-Driven Roadmap, a strong OKR program and accelerated development framework. This phase involved launching AI-driven job matching tools and enhancing the mobile user experience, significantly boosting user engagement and operational efficiency.

Key achievements during this phase included:

• A 22% year-over-year increase in B2C revenue from talent subscriptions.

• A 36% increase in marketplace efficiency with more effective hiring processes.

• Introduction of three new products for employers, leading to an 18% increase in B2B sales growth and supporting a strategic business model shift from charging job seekers to charging employers, fully realized by 2021.

Phase 4: Evolution - Sustaining Innovation and Strategic Expansion

In the final evolution phase, we introduced the three-horizon strategy, part of Hyperboost Formula, to guide long-term investment and innovation decisions:

• First Horizon (70% investment): Focus on enhancing and optimizing current "cash-cow" products to maintain and grow the existing revenue streams.

• Second Horizon (20% investment): Development of new employer-focused "star" products that promise high growth and could become the future core offerings.

• Third Horizon (10% investment): Allocation of resources to Catho Lab, an offsite innovative startup team tasked with developing groundbreaking solutions in employment technology.

Catho Lab pursued a disruptive strategy with the development of an automated digital employment agency built on WhatsApp, utilizing AI to perform screening and initial interviews. This innovative project not only tested new market strategies but also showcased the potential for broader application across Seek’s global operations.

Conclusion

Seek’s comprehensive transformation under Hyperboost Formula’s strategic framework exemplifies the power of the Silicon Valley's product culture, strategic foresight combined with time-tested innovation methodologies. It marked a significant cultural shift within Catho's operations, from a sales-driven to a tech-driven organization, evidenced by winning the company’s first Great Place to Work (GPTW) award, showcasing the successful cultural transformation across the company.

By embracing a culture of innovation, addressing legacy challenges, and revitalizing its product vision, strategy and business model, Seek not only reversed its fortunes in Brazil but also set new standards for its global operations.