Harm van Wichen: "RMA is indispensable to really activate your own talent pool"

According to Harm, now is the perfect time for staffing agencies to invest in smart technology. With over 15 years’ experience in technical recruitment, Harm van Wichen knows better than anyone what’s going on in the recruitment market. As commercial director and co-owner of Job Personeelsmakelaar, he leads the commercial team and maintains close contact with clients. In this article, Harm shares his views on the use of data, AI, WhatsApp and Recruitment Marketing Automation (RMA) within the recruitment sector.

Data as the foundation: "We measure the whole talent journey"

At Job Staffing Agency, data plays an essential role in the daily processes. Harm says: "We actually measure everything. From the moment a candidate applies, how long it takes for him to go on first or second interview, to the time that elapses before there is an offer. This way, we map the entire talent journey and know exactly where we need to make adjustments."

The most important KPIs? For Harm, one stands out head and shoulders above the rest: the quality of placements. "We want to deliver as many people as possible who eventually transfer to our client's permanent core. That is the measure of our success."

AI in recruitment: "Supporting, not replacing"

That artificial intelligence is making its appearance in recruitment, Harm sees as a logical development. But he is also level-headed about what AI can and cannot do: "AI helps us speed up the process and make it more accurate - for example, when it comes to preparing a CV or correcting language errors. I see AI mainly as a smart assistant that unburdens the account manager." At the same time, Harm believes AI can never replace full human contact. "Matching is about more than just keywords. It is culture, DNA, knowing who your customer is and what really makes a candidate happy. That human factor remains indispensable in my view."

Higher conversion by using WhatsApp

Many staffing agencies are considering WhatsApp as an additional channel for initial selection enquiries. At Job Staffing Agency, too, this tool is now central to contacting candidates. Harm notes: "We see a much higher conversion rate than with e-mail. Our target group - technical professionals in executive roles - is very active on WhatsApp and responds faster via that channel. It also saves a lot of back-and-forth phone calls, because people don't pick up the phone as often these days anyway."

Importantly, WhatsApp does not remain a 'stand-alone tool'. "We have linked WhatsApp to our ATS so that all communication is neatly stored. This way, we maintain an overview and everything remains part of one integrated process."

The power of having your own talent pool: "Activate your database!"

Remarkably, many agencies still see the external market as the main source of applicants. While their own ATS is often full of potential candidates. According to Harm, the difference lies in the time and attention required to reach a latent candidate. "Recruiting externally often delivers faster results, because they are active jobseekers. A candidate in your database may have been 'cold' for a while. So you need to invest time to 'warm up' and enthuse him or her again."

That's where Recruitment Marketing Automation (RMA) comes in. "With RMA, you can send automated messages, but not just job postings. It's about relevant content that your target audience is really interested in. That takes some more thinking upfront, such as creating personas, looking at what the needs are and so on, but in the long run you build a warm talent pool this way. And that is worth its weight in gold: those candidates have not yet been approached by your competitors."

"RMA unburdens us and makes marketing an integral part of recruitment"

Job Staffing Agency believes in the power of integrated marketing as well as the use of RMA. "We deploy video, create special landing pages for clients and devise content per target group. We then automate the sending out and follow-up of that content. This way, we unburden recruiters, who can then focus on personal contact when a candidate shows real interest." For Harm, RMA is therefore a must-have, provided you have a high-quality database. "The better you have the data of your talent pool in order, the more targeted you can start working with RMA. The system monitors who views which content and sends signals to the account manager. This way, you don't have to manually 'dig' in your ATS."

Harm not only sees opportunities in automated processes, but also stresses the importance of a personal approach. "Setting up appointments can be automated, but the first conversation is always human. Such a personal contact moment is necessary to make a match on feeling and culture. No system can beat that."

Investing in technology now: "Be flexible and dare to try"

The market is changing rapidly, and according to Harm, this is the time to invest in data, AI and automation. "Make technology work for you. Try and test different solutions, but make informed choices. You can't introduce everything at once. It is also important to bring your people along with you in these changes. They need to experience that it supports them, rather than replaces them."

A final tip from Harm for other staffing agencies? "Invest in scalable, flexible technology and dare to pioneer. The traditional recruitment model no longer always works in a world where candidates can be found via WhatsApp and TikTok. Innovating now will keep you one step ahead of the competition."