Jessie de Peffer
Actief Werkt!: technology that works for all users
Platformization
Temp & flex
Processes
Oct 16, 2025
The new platform of Actief Werkt! focuses on simplicity: finding the right job quickly, without much effort. Behind that experience lies a complex technical foundation, designed by Freshheads to be reliable and easy to use. Where possible, we integrated existing solutions. Where necessary, we developed custom solutions. This ensures that all users, from candidates to recruiters and content creators, get what they need from the platform. Backend developer Jaap explains how we achieved this with Actief Werkt!.
Always fast, even with many visitors
Every day, thousands of people visit the platform of Actief Werkt!. To handle all that traffic smoothly, we built the backend in Node.js. Backend developer Jaap: “This technology can really handle large amounts of simultaneous traffic. That means actiefwerkt.nl is always available, even during peak times.”
For the optimal user experience at the front end, we chose Next.js. This ensures that pages load instantly and visitors can navigate smoothly.
Well connected
The most important thing is that everything related to posting and filling vacancies is well organized. That’s why we created a direct connection with the ATS (Applicant Tracking System) Cockpit, where vacancies, applications, and candidate management converge. This ensures at the front end that everything a recruiter enters is immediately visible to candidates upon publication.
We also linked with the administrative system AFAS. This completes the contact information of the involved recruiter.
Faster insight into what matters to the candidate
The biggest advantage is in a smart search function. With various algorithms, we combine real-time updates and location data. For this, we used Elastic Search (OpenSearch) and the Google Places API. This way, candidates quickly see the right vacancies. For users, it feels very natural, but there is a lot arranged behind the scenes.
Besides vacancies, there was a lot of existing content, such as specific information pages for job seekers and employers. Together with Actief Werkt!, we selected what was relevant. Everything found a place in CMS Sanity, where it was immediately rewritten and updated. Thanks to this CMS and a smart setup of the admin, the website management is more in-house than before: more flexibility, quicker to respond to needs, and adapt to current events.
Communication = key
Technology is only a solution if people use it correctly. That’s why we maintained close communication with Actief Werkt!: We started each day with a joint kickoff. During this, we discussed the progress and the day’s agenda. At the end of each sprint, we evaluated the developments and collaboration in a retrospective. In the meantime, we naturally tested and optimized every development together.
"A moment that beautifully reflects our collaboration is the switch to Sanity CMS," says Jaap. “The content writers from Actief Werkt! came to our office to immediately get used to the new system. While they entered and edited texts, they gave us feedback. This allowed us to make immediate improvements and ensured that the system would work well in practice.”
Precisely through these moments of testing and tuning together, a solution was created that technically fits and matches the daily practice of recruiters, editors, and candidates. And the numbers speak for themselves: Actief Werkt! saw the number of applications grow by 37.8% in the months following the launch of their new website.
“With the new website, we have a matching platform that works” - Marion de Graaf, Manager Marketing en Communicatie at Actief Werkt!