As an early adopter of modern means of communication, Raaak Personeel is a forerunner in the temporary employment sector. But that is also necessary with 17 branches spread over the Dutch provinces of South Holland, North Brabant and Utrecht and more than 120 employees. And then we’re not even talking about all the candidates that are being discussed. The ambitions of Raaak Personeel are numerous and Textkernel has proven to be a solid partner to contribute to the realization of those ambitions.
Raaak Personeel is a modern temporary employment agency that approaches matters slightly differently than the staffing company. What they do, they explain very simply on their website. “We help people find work. You start on a temporary basis or on the basis of hiring and selection. In the first case you will first work through us, in the second case you will go directly to your new employer. Fun fact: 70% of the people we recruit eventually get a permanent job.”
Nice numbers at a time when employees are hard to find, but that doesn’t make the job any easier. Andreas Bouman, Marketing Manager at Raaak Personeel, knocked on Textkernel’s door to see if the Candidate Engagement solutions of Textkernel could help Raaak Personeel.
People find it super nice to apply via WhatsApp. Users like the direct way of communicating, and we can follow up quickly.
Andreas Bouman – Marketing Manager
What was the situation like at Raaak Personeel before you started working with Textkernel’s Candidate Engagement?
Andreas: “At Raaak Personeel we stand for personal contact. A few years ago we already saw the need to communicate via WhatsApp. If almost the whole of the Netherlands sends WhatsApp messages, why wouldn’t you incorporate it in a business-like way? Yet this was easier said than done. done. You want to do it right. The virtual assistent was also a wish. But here goes the same: it is nice to have, but it must help the user. It must make communication easier and better, not more complicated. And in the end that goal has been achieved.”
An implementation can sometimes be a difficult process. How did the implementation at Raaak Personeel go?
“The virtual assistant really took some getting used to”, Andreas admits. “The most important lesson? Keep it simple. At first we wanted the virtual assistant to do too much, but for complex questions, the human touch works best. For simple questions, the virtual assistant works well. We also use it to our full satisfaction for our candidates’ job applications. People love applying via WhatsApp. The users like the direct way of communicating, and we can follow up quickly.”
Do you have any last words for the doubters?
Andreas: “Our recruiters love the easy way to contact their candidates. In our contact center, our colleagues also find it a quick way to communicate. It’s a real win-win situation. The next step is full integration with our CRM and connect the rest of the company to this wonderful platform. That is the goal for next year, and we’re very confident that it will work out.”
