Wortell harnesses the power of AI: from employer branding to AI in recruitment
TL;DR: Wortell operates with an AI-first mindset in recruitment. This has resulted in the innovative gaming campaign ‘Press Start for Empowerment’ (partly AI-generated) and the deployment of Willie Wortell: a smart AI recruitment agent linked to the Recruitee ATS. Willie filters candidates based on language skills and pre-qualifies them, freeing up the team’s time for strategy and human interaction.
Be empowered by technology
Empowering people through technology. That is what it’s all about at IT service provider Wortell. This vision applies to their clients, but just as much to the more than 500 Wortellers. Within the recruitment team, this means using AI as a smart support tool, creating more scope for strategy and creativity. Melissa Roossien, Employer Branding Specialist at Wortell, explains that it is precisely this freedom that makes the difference: “Because processes are organised more intelligently, the team can focus on campaigns and positioning. You can see this reflected in ‘Press Start for Empowerment’, a campaign that revolves entirely around recognition and experience.”
This campaign translates the world of IT into a gaming experience, featuring recognisable challenges, choices and ‘levels’. The recruitment team explains that the campaign reflects precisely the elements that IT professionals encounter in their day-to-day work. The result is a concept that not only stands out, but also leaves a lasting impression. The campaign clearly illustrates what Wortell stands for: using technology to help people progress. Not just clients, but colleagues too. That focus on empowerment is reflected in the way they work, the freedom people are given and the scope to take ownership.
“AI isn’t replacing us; it’s helping us work smarter.”
Melissa Roossien, Employer Branding Specialist at Wortell
Particularly striking is the use of AI for this campaign: “Parts of the campaign, including the animated section of the video, were developed entirely using AI. It shows that you can use technology to build a story that fits both your culture and your target audience,” says Melissa.
Meet Willie Wortell: the AI recruitment agent
At Wortell, they use AI not only for employer branding and campaigns, but also for engaging with candidates. Their AI agent, called Willie Wortell, guides candidates through the application process, analyses CVs and filters candidates based on language skills.
Thanks to Willie Wortell, the recruitment team saves a considerable amount of time, and it’s also a welcome innovation for candidates. “Willie Wortell introduces itself as an AI colleague and makes it clear that you can always be put through to a human recruiter. We consider that transparency and freedom of choice for candidates to be very important,” says Kim van der Sluis, Corporate Recruiter at Wortell.
“Willie Wortell introduces himself as an AI colleague and explains that you can always be put through to a human. We consider that transparency and freedom of choice for candidates to be very important.”
Kim van der Sluis, Corporate Recruiter at Wortell
Filter by language skills
“As an IT employer, we receive a lot of applications from candidates who do not speak Dutch, but for roles involving contact with Dutch-speaking clients, language proficiency is important to us. Thanks to Willie Wortell, we gain immediate insight into a candidate’s language proficiency,” says Mylène Nijman, Senior Corporate Recruiter at Wortell.
Job application support and pre-qualification
In addition, Willie Wortell helps candidates submit their applications. Based on the job specifications on the site, the AI agent asks questions to determine whether the vacancy is a good fit for the candidate. If the candidate uploads a CV during the interview, Willie Wortell can analyse it, extract the relevant information and upload it to the ATS.
Integration with ATS
“It’s great that the AI agent is linked to our ATS, Recruitee. We can automatically send the interview history and summary to our ATS, which means we have all the information about the candidate in one place,” says Mylène.
Willie Wortell is getting smarter all the time
Ruud van der Wel, Head of Customer Success at MrWork, explains how Wortell’s AI agent is becoming increasingly versatile: “This AI colleague operates on the basis of various pre-set scenarios. For example, if someone starts a conversation in English, the ‘non-native speakers scenario’ is triggered. By monitoring and analysing the conversations that Willie Wortell handles, you can make him increasingly smarter. If you notice that a particular situation occurs more frequently, you simply create an additional scenario for it. In this way, you continually add new AI agents based on day-to-day practice.”
An AI-first approach in practice
Wortell demonstrates that an AI-first mindset goes beyond tools or individual applications. It is embedded in the way we work. By using technology more intelligently, the focus shifts from execution to impact.
This impact is evident in campaigns such as ‘Press Start for Empowerment’, but also in the way the recruitment team organises its work. Less time spent on repetitive tasks, more focus on creativity, strategy and the candidate experience. This creates an approach in which technology and people reinforce each other, creating more scope to really make a difference. “It doesn’t replace recruitment, but it allows us to work smarter,” concludes Melissa.
