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05 October 2020

A big step in the recruitment process of IJssel

Designing, improving and maintaining production lines, that’s where IJssel’s strength lies. With 500 colleagues spread over 6 locations, IJssel has grown into a large knowledge company with business experts, engineers and technicians. IJssel is a technical company, a market in which it is always a challenge to attract the right people. By starting to streamline the internal processes, looking for a suitable ATS and setting up a targeted career website, the applicants ended up more quickly at IJssel.

Different locations, different Excel lists

Chiel Hoekstra is a (Recruitment) Marketeer at IJssel and is responsible for the development, implementation and execution of the (online) marketing strategy and (online) recruitment marketing. He proudly talks about the unique working method and people who work for IJssel. “It is characteristic of our people that, in addition to the correct papers, they also carry a lot of knowledge. As a result, we dare to advise our customers on how things could be improved, even if that means that we have less work for the customer from IJssel. You can see it as a kind of cannibalism in that respect. However, our customers expect long-term solutions and by meeting this expectation, we develop lifelong relationships with our customers”.

When it comes to their customers, IJssel has it under control, but when it comes to internal innovations, Chiel quickly noticed that there was room for improvement. With its own HR project manager and recruiter per location, the recruitment is also divided over different locations. Over the years, recruitment has therefore become an important part of the daily work.

“All recruitment activities were tracked per branch in Excel lists. This made it difficult to seek cooperation between the various branches. There was little insight, let alone that we had any reporting options or automation. All actions were done manually. It was time for us to look for an ATS ”, says Chiel.

The most logical system

The search for a suitable ATS started with mapping out the wishes and requirements that IJssel had. Project managers HR at the branches compiled this list together. In addition to this list, it was also important for IJssel to choose an organization that created a partnership.

“From my previous work experience I already had experience with various recruitment systems. To also hear the experiences of others, I placed a call on Facebook and I spoke to people who work in corporate recruitment. In the end we invited 4 parties for a demo ”, says Chiel.

The Carerix demo showed that there were many possibilities, also with a view to the future. “A big plus for Carerix was the possibility to work with different branches, departments and external customers. In addition, we think the possibility of linking Carerix to the website and the various partner solutions is a great step for the future. ”

After seeing various demos and obtaining multiple references, IJssel eventually opted for a partnership with Carerix. “We intend to enter into a long-term partnership. For this reason it was important for us to have a partner who is easily accessible and who offers Dutch support ”, says Chiel.

Now that Chiel and his fellow project managers have been working with the Carerix system for some time, the user-friendliness of the system is particularly striking.

“It wasn’t the most beautiful system to look at, but it looked very logical, clear and user-friendly,” Chiel says with a smile. “Now that we have been working with the application for a while, we can also confirm that this is really the case. Some systems look nice, but in some cases that is at the expense of user-friendliness. Ultimately, it is all about being able to work well and easily with it. ”

The IJssel Carerix application was ultimately set up on the basis of logical flows and extensive search functionalities. Where previously CVs were manually put in the house style, this is now done with one click. IJssel is now completely “up and running” in the field of AVG as well.

Clear processes and a better candidate experience

IJssel has now been working with Carerix for six months. The smooth cooperation during implementation ensured that various parts were picked up on time by both IJssel and Carerix.

“We initially wanted to keep the configuration as simple as possible, so that we could start using the system quickly. Alwin Baaij, the Business Consultant of Carerix, eventually sat next to us for 2 days, which meant that we could immediately ensure the correct configuration together ”, says Chiel.

All IJssel branches now operate in a uniform manner. Processes have become clearer and the use of a recruitment system provides a better overview.

“The experience of candidates has also improved, because we can better let them know where they stand. We can take over work from each other and that offers many opportunities for even more efficient cooperation across the branches ”, Chiel adds.

“We keep improving the system and the process, you have to keep each other sharp. Sometimes you even have to take a little more actions to act in the business interest. The use of Carerix will help us enormously in the future. In fact, it is already doing that”.