When Hiring Becomes a Race Against Time: How Markazia Re-engineered Its Leadership Team with Talentera

In the automotive world, speed is everything. But for a company managing fast-paced daily operations while preparing to break into new markets, speed cannot be limited to vehicles alone; it must be a defining trait of recruitment as well. Every delay in filling a leadership role is not merely an empty seat, it is an “operational bottleneck” that threatens to stall the entire growth engine.

This is the difficult equation that Youssef Al-Hassan, HR Director at Central Trade & Auto Co. (Markazia), found himself facing.

A Quarter Century of Leadership.. and the Challenge of the “Grand Shift”

Since 1999, Markazia has cemented its status as the exclusive dealer in Jordan for global giants like Toyota, Lexus, and Yamaha. However, after 25 years, the company was no longer just a successful family business; it had transformed into a massive enterprise comprising 700 employees, expanding to include smart mobility solutions and car rentals.

This shift from “Family Business” to “Corporate Culture” placed HR in the eye of the storm. Within just three years, 400 new employees joined the team (representing 60% of the workforce). The core question keeping HR awake at night was no longer “How do we hire?” but rather “Who do we hire?”

Youssef pinpoints the issue with precision when describing the market reality:

The result was a hemorrhage of time; the recruitment team was drowning in the manual screening of hundreds of unsuitable applications, conducting dozens of dead-end phone calls, while critical leadership seats remained empty.

When it came time to select a technical solution, Youssef didn’t need extensive research. His previous experience with Talentera in the hospitality sector (Rotana) was enough to seal the decision. He wasn’t looking for a new tool to test, but for a “trusted partner” proven to solve the problem.

How the Platform Changed the Rules of the Game

With the introduction of Talentera, recruitment at Markazia shifted from “manual chasing” to “smart acquisition”:

1. Filtering at the Front Door:

Instead of reading every single CV, “pre-screening questions” took over the heavy lifting. Candidates who didn’t match company policies or financial expectations were automatically filtered out, granting the team precious time to focus on attracting the “Elite.”

2. A Story for Every Application:

Tracking a candidate was no longer a mystery. Thanks to the Audit Trail, every candidate’s journey became a clear story: When was the application submitted? Where did it stop? Who is responsible for the delay?

After one year of partnership, the results were not just impressions, but tangible metrics that changed the face of HR at Markazia:

• Double the Speed (25% reduction in time-to-hire): Hiring time dropped by a quarter, translating directly into faster openings for new branches and the ability to keep pace with company expansion.
• Sharper Quality (20% improvement in hires): Because the team stopped wasting time on manual screening, they were freed up to discover the behavioral and leadership skills that matter, significantly raising the quality of selected candidates.
• A Stress-Free Experience: The relationship between HR and department managers transformed from a “blame game” over delays into transparent, data-driven collaboration.

The Conclusion

In Markazia’s transformation journey, Talentera was not merely a platform for automating tasks; it was the bridge the company crossed from the chaos of manual hiring to the precision of strategic selection.

As Youssef Al-Hassan sums it up simply: