AI is reshaping hiring. Make it inclusive.
AMS partnered with Staples Inc. to conduct a strategic talent advisory diagnostic aimed at accelerating inclusion and diversity outcomes through talent acquisition. The engagement provided an objective assessment of existing practices, identified structural and operational barriers, and surfaced immediate and long term opportunities to strengthen diverse hiring. By combining market insight, leadership input, and deep operational analysis, AMS delivered a clear and actionable roadmap that aligned stakeholders around shared priorities and enabled Staples Inc. to move forward with confidence, pace, and measurable impact.
A strategic engagement through a talent advisory diagnostic. A chance to validate existing best practices, troubleshoot obstacles and identify opportunities to further Staples, Inc.’s corporate inclusion and diversity goals. An opportunity to supply the basis of a roadmap for sustainable, scalable and long-term success.
— Diversity Recruiting Manager, Staples, Inc.’s Talent Acquisition
Staples, Inc., which provides organizations with the unique products, solutions, services, and value customers need to consistently get the job done, and done right, was doing a lot of things well when it came to fostering an inclusive culture and diverse workforce.
They had a clear inclusion and diversity vision for the company championed by their CEO and senior leadership team, and that passion was clear throughout the rest of the organization.
They understood that I&D is never “solved”— but rather a continuing conversation, which requires adjusting as the landscape changes over time — and they were willing to do that work.
By early 2020, tensions were especially high around race and racial prejudice in the United States. Staples, Inc. knew they needed to accelerate their existing I&D plans to truly show their commitment to improving I&D outcomes for their teams, their customers and the communities they serve.
Recognizing the changes going on nationwide, they wanted to take a guiding role in driving positive change at the operational level to build upon and harness the strong internal culture they had already developed.
The desire to accelerate was clear, but the question of exactly how to do that remained.
Staples, Inc. understood the value of outside perspective, broad multi-sector expertise and market data, to ensure they were identifying every opportunity to improve and taking the right actions in the right ways. They welcomed learnings from outside of their own experiences and from multiple sectors and geographies.
They also wanted the structure and certainty that came with a strategic three-year plan, but didn’t want to wait three years to make a significant and positive impact.
Using a tailored diagnostic methodology, AMS’ talent acquisition strategy practice, within our advisory function, partnered with Staples, Inc. on an end-to-end review of their talent acquisition operations, policies and procedures to identify obstacles and opportunities to help them reach their I&D goals.
Over the course of 10 weeks, the team engaged in an extensive discovery program, including:
The team then entered the decipher and design phases to synthesize the data and layout a comprehensive three-year plan, while also calling out any “quick wins” that could be executed at once, supporting Staples, Inc.’s stated ambition to build for the long-term while moving quickly.
AMS produced a detailed strategic report, which outlined the findings from the diagnostic process. This report provided the Staples, Inc. HR leadership team with phased recommendations.
Staples, Inc. engaged AMS to support several of the recommended operational interventions embedded in the plan, including:
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