AGR - AGRCS

AGR Consultancy Services is a division of AGR and is a global provider of recruitment and consultancy solutions to the upstream oil and gas Industry. They have offices in Aberdeen, Stavanger, Dubai and Perth with associated offices in numerous locations worldwide.

AGR had an existing database system that was used by their Consultancy Services department to manage the recruitment and consultancy solutions they offer to the oil and gas industry.

Due to the growth of their Consultancy Services department, AGR had outgrown this system and were looking for a replacement that would meet their global needs as well as make a number of enhancements to meet their evolving needs.

Before choosing a bespoke solution, AGR reviewed a number of off-the-shelf packages that were on the market. Due to the high level service they offer, none of these solutions would meet their requirements without further customisation. One such product, although cheaper at the outset, would have cost substantially more once all the customisations had been made to it to allow AGR to work the way they needed to.

Christina Jones, Vice President of AGR Consultancy Services explains "We decided not to choose an off-the-shelf product as we felt as they are not designed by people who are in the oil and gas industry, how can they really understand what we need and why?"

AGR approached Codify to re-write the system using modern technologies and also add a number of enhancements as part of the process.

Codify worked closely with the Consultancy Services team to listen to their requirements for the system and we drew on our experience to develop a solution to meet their need. Over a period of six months Codify continued the close relationship with AGR with regular meetings to demonstrate the software in progress and get early feedback on the project.

The solution provided holds the data in a single database and any documents are indexed with Index Server. This gives AGR the benefit of full text search which is vital when searching through CV's for the ideal candidate for a job. The software has one click deployment which is important for AGR to ensure fast and simple roll out to their users around the globe. AGRCS also includes ad-hoc reporting to allow users to pull the information that they require from the system as and when required, giving them easy access to their information.

AGRCS has brought a number of benefits as Christina explains "Codify listened to our requirements and how we needed the software to work and then built the software to match. We now have a system that exactly meets our needs and has the ability to evolve as the industry does. Without it we can't do our job."

Another reason for choosing Codify was our location in the heart of Aberdeen city centre. Christina continues "The personal touch Codify provided was a real contribution to the success of the project. We had regular meetings where we would get a demonstration of the software so far and were encouraged to give feedback early on. It really allowed us to see the solution we were getting and visualise the way it would fit in to Consultancy Services."

AGRCS is now used 24 hours a day by over 40 users in the Middle East, Norway, UK and Australia. It has allowed AGR to streamline the way they work, giving their customers a faster response and ultimately a more comprehensive service.

AGR have had 100% buy in from the users of the system due to their involvement in gathering the requirements for the system and the ease of which it can be used. AGR have found that new employees don't need training in AGRCS as the system is intuitive and simple to use.

Furthermore, the system has brought benefits to AGR's management. One central system allows AGR to review what is happening in other locations and the extensive reporting facilities allow AGR's management to create the reports they require to gain a complete picture over all areas in the division.