This makes TBI unique
TBI consists of a group of 20 companies in engineering, construction and infrastructure. You have companies of 2,700 employees in the group, but also companies of 20 employees.
We often see a group of companies working together in the construction, infrastructure and engineering sector. But the fact that the shareholder of that group is a foundation is remarkable. TBI's ultimate goal is the continuity of the organisation and the well-being of society. They therefore invest a lot back into the TBI companies and have various funds, such as a study fund for their employees. They are not driven by the 'shareholder delusion' of the day, but focus on the long term.
TBI operates on a decentralised basis: each company has its own name, brand identity and responsibility for marketing, communications and recruitment. TBI supports the companies from its head office, where around 40 people work, and undertakes overarching projects, one of which is the TBI management traineeship.
Kim de Ruijter, communications advisor at TBI, deals with internal and labour market communications. She was entrusted with the recruitment campaign for trainees. With this campaign, they are targeting recent graduates. A sought-after target group that has the traineeships to choose from. How do they cope with this stiff competition? "In the content, we focus on the distinctive elements of our traineeship. With us, you can gain experience in construction, infrastructure and engineering in one traineeship. You also have a lot of freedom and can design your own assignment. Our substantive programme of training courses and coaching is solid. All these elements are reflected in our recruitment marketing campaigns, which provides us with high-quality applicants," says Kim.
Let go thanks to the expertise of a strategic partner
Kim has a broad position at TBI. Her responsibilities include the umbrella intranet, partnerships and sponsorships, internal communication projects and therefore also the communication surrounding the recruitment of trainees. She was therefore looking for a partner who would relieve her of all her worries and add knowledge in the field of recruitment marketing. She found that in MrWork.
"I cannot become a specialist in recruitment or labour market communication. My job is too broad for that. So it's extra nice when you can rely on a partner like MrWork. The software helps us easily run year-round campaigns. In addition, Jilian and Naomi (respectively online marketer and customer success manager at MrWork) help and advise me. With the software complemented by their expertise, I only need to understand it on high, as they know all the ins and outs. That gives peace of mind," says Kim.
Kim's goal is to fill 10 traineeships a year. A challenge in these times when there is a real battle for the best talent, but thanks to the recruitment marketing software and intensive cooperation with MrWork, this is going very well.
"We provide good content ourselves and then MrWork helps set up and monitor the campaign. Once every six weeks, we discuss the interim campaign results and spar together about improvements. MrWork 's recruitment marketing software makes it easy to analyse what is going well and what could be improved. Jilian and Naomi benchmark the figures and proactively come up with ideas to get even more out of the campaign. The combination of handy software and expert advice means I don't have to worry about the campaign. I know it will be fine."
Kim de Ruijter, communications advisor at TBI
Employer branding contributes
Two years ago, TBI started employer branding campaigns via MrWork Brands. They see that this is also paying off in the trainee campaign. Kim says: "In 2022, the labour market was even tougher, we weren't able to fill all 10 trainee positions then. Now the campaign is even more personal. At the same time, we notice that TBI is becoming a better-known name in the market. Last year, we received around 40 to 50 applications for our traineeship. Because of the quality of the responses, those 10 trainee positions were filled in no time. Now (November 2023) we even have responses for the traineeship that starts in autumn 2024, while the conversion phase of that campaign only starts in April/May. A signal that we are highly visible and interest in the traineeship is growing."
Stronger together
Together you are stronger, that is the underlying idea behind uniting 20 companies in one organisation. "You can work together within complex projects where multiple disciplines are needed. We also help each other in the field of software and tooling. For instance, we ourselves started working with MrWork 's recruitment marketing software thanks to a tip from Croonwolter&dros, one of the TBI companies. And now we again tip other TBI companies to work with MrWork if they have a recruitment issue," Kim said.
Further reducing time-to-hire
TBI has great ambitions for the future. Sustainability, diversity & inclusiveness and innovation are high on the agenda. In doing so, it is important that TBI continues to offer an environment in which colleagues feel comfortable and enjoy working.
When we ask Kim about the changes this year in recruiting trainees, she replies: "We want to organise more contact moments with our target group in order to shorten the time-to-hire. We now offer the option to apply or register for the in-house day, but with the arrival of our campus recruiter, we are going to add other conversion methods to this. Then we will get in touch with our target group earlier and when the application period actually starts then, we might have those 10 spots filled a month later. That's what we want to work towards."
Kim foresees MrWork remaining an important partner for TBI in the years to come. She says: "Ultimately, I'm happy if we score above the benchmark, the recruitment of trainees goes well and we don't have any open positions at the last minute. MrWork is important in this respect, because thanks to their tooling plus thinking along with us, we can always optimise our campaign and achieve these neat results."
