Insights
Hiring process
How employers recruit, where the process slows down and what the employers who hire well do differently.
To start in January, sign in November
The fourth quarter is the quietest hiring quarter of the year. January adds vacancies, not candidates. With a one-month notice period, a start on…
Below €38 an hour it is an employment contract, unless you prove otherwise
The Dutch presumption of employment is law. Anyone working for less than €38 an hour is presumed to have an employment contract, unless the…
An in-house recruiter only pays off from five to seven placements a year
Hiring your own recruiter looks cheaper than agency fees. Above a certain volume it is, below it it isn't. The break-even point is around…
AI tops the CEO agenda. The people who make it work are scarce
AI is the biggest challenge for CEOs this year. Half put AI investment in their top three, upskilling gets 29%. Making AI work takes…
More than half of candidates turn down the offer
The offer is where hiring fails more and more often. A candidate who says no at the end usually had the doubt much earlier.…
Employers now rank hiring quality above speed
Employers worry more about hiring the right person than about hiring fast. Most still run one screening process for every kind of role, and…
Most shortage measures only move people around
European case studies show what employers do against shortages. Most measures redistribute scarce people. Few create new supply.
Where applicants drop out
Career sites now attract candidates well. What happens after the application is where employers lose them, and the gap is widest for specialist roles.
The hiring ladder costs time on scarce roles
Employers who struggle to hire move up a ladder from cheap to costly measures. The order is sensible for common roles and slow for…
Hiring teams plan more than they assess
The largest block of a recruiter's week goes to calendars, reminders and rescheduling. Assessment, the work that decides a hire, gets the smaller share.
A new colleague in January starts with October
Professionals prefer to change jobs at the start of the year. An employer who wants someone in by January holds the first interviews now.
A vacancy stays open longer than before the pandemic
The labour market has cooled since 2022, but the average vacancy stays open almost as long as at the peak. Filling a role takes…