How ellow Helped Barnes & Noble Education Build a High-Performing GCC in India in Just 3 Months

How ellow Helped Barnes & Noble Education Build a High-Performing GCC in India in Just 3 Months

Client Overview

Barnes & Noble, established in 1886, is an iconic US bookseller with over 600 retail stores. Its EdTech division, Barnes & Noble Education, focuses on digital learning solutions for students and institutions. In an effort to accelerate innovation and reduce operational costs, the company set up a Global Capability Center (GCC) in Bangalore, India.

  • Published in Blog on August 18, 2025
  • 2 min read
  • ellow

The Challenge

After establishing the GCC, Barnes & Noble Education faced severe hiring challenges for critical technology roles, including:

  • Software Developers
  • Data Engineers
  • Solution Architects
  • DevOps Engineers
  • QA Professionals
  • Product Managers
  • UI/UX Designers

Despite trying traditional hiring methods in-house recruitment teams,Job boards, and conventional talent agencies , the results were underwhelming.In three months, they managed to hire only 5 resources, significantly delaying project timelines and impacting product delivery.The India GCC team got escalation from US Headquarters.

The Ellow Solution

Barnes & Noble Education approached ellow to address their hiring bottleneck.
Ellow proposed a hybrid talent strategy:

  • Permanent hires within 15–30 days
  • Contractors within 5–7 days

Key Differentiators in Ellow’s Approach:

  • Pre-vetting process combining AI-driven assessments and expert human evaluation.
  • 50% reduction in client interview and shortlisting time
  • Access to a deep talent pool of high-quality tech professionals.

Execution & Results

Ellow executed a rapid hiring plan:

  • Month 1 → 16 Developers onboarded
  • Month 2 → Additional 20 Developers joined
  • Month 3 → Another 15 Developers added

Business Impact

Ellow executed a rapid hiring plan:

  • Immediate project ramp-up: Mission-critical projects were kickstarted within weeks.
  • Accelerated product delivery: Key feature milestones were launched ahead of competitors.
  • High stakeholder satisfaction: US leadership praised the efficiency and talent quality.
  • Strategic business outcome: Two years later, Barnes & Noble Education was successfully acquired by a well-known brand, delivering strong returns to investors.

Key Takeaways

Ellow executed a rapid hiring plan:

  • Speed + Quality: A pre-vetted talent pool enables rapid scaling without compromising quality.
  • Hybrid Hiring Model: Combining contractors and permanent hires gives agility in project staffing.
  • Data-Driven Recruitment: AI + human vetting drastically reduces hiring time and cost.