How we build the future of Actief Werkt!

The digital ambition of Actief Werkt!

Actief Werkt! has been active in the flex industry for over 25 years. From 90 locations, they offer work to over 6,500 temporary workers daily. To strengthen their position in the market, they want to combine their personal approach with more speed and convenience. Together with Freshheads, they are taking the step towards a platform-oriented service. This does not happen all at once. It starts with building a solid foundation, where existing systems come together in one user-friendly environment. From there, we continuously add more self-service functionalities.

What are we doing in the first phase?

At the moment, a multidisciplinary team from Freshheads is building an integrated website together with Actief Werkt!. Here, multiple systems and functionalities converge – such as job overview and integrations with Cockpit (ATS) – to ensure users have a smooth experience. As we build and create integrations, we continuously gain new insights. Thanks to this iterative approach, we remain flexible and constantly adjust to establish a strong foundation.

"This project again shows that it is crucial to first look at what the users want and then determine the technical feasibility. That combination of perspectives makes it interesting."

Roel Tuerlings, product lead at Freshheads

Achieving results quickly

The first results are already noticeable. The website has become significantly faster. Both potential candidates and the internal team of Actief Werkt! benefit directly from this. We have also optimized internal processes: thanks to a more efficient matching process and better filtering, vacancies are filled faster and more accurately. Furthermore, we are renewing the onboarding flow. A more structured self-service portal offers candidates more convenience by bringing together all information and actions in one place.

This is precisely the strength of our approach: platformization does not have to be a long, cumbersome process. By working in steps, we continuously put improvements live. This way, Actief Werkt! can reap the benefits of digital advancement even during the building process, rather than at the end. After each sprint, we present the progress in a demo. The enthusiastic responses from Actief Werkt! confirm: we are on the right track.

"There's nothing more beautiful than a client saying after a demo: 'This is truly an improvement of our work process.' That's what we're doing it for."

Dayo Toirkens, designer at Freshheads

How collaboration makes the difference

The collaboration with Actief Werkt! is characterized by intensive contact and short lines of communication. The product owner is truly part of the Freshheads team, allowing us to quickly make decisions and continuously determine the right course. Per sprint week, we set clear goals and expectations, which helps to maintain focus and prioritize new requests. The different expertise ensures flexibility. The result: a process where speed and quality go hand in hand.

“Everyone has the same ambition: to build a website that truly makes a difference. The short cycles within our sprints help us to quickly learn and adjust where necessary.”

Gus de Boer, backend developer at Freshheads

Learning and adjusting

No project goes without challenges. During this development process, we encountered unfamiliar systems and processes that required extra time and attention. An example is the integration with a legacy system, which unexpectedly had a different data stream. As a result, it took more time to create a stable connection.

Additionally, new insights during the design phase led us to partially adjust the original planning. Together with Actief Werkt!, we critically evaluated the scope and made choices to ensure quality. Thanks to open communication and mutual trust, we could flexibly manage these obstacles.

Next steps

In the coming months, we will continue working on the self-service portion of the platform. This will allow Actief Werkt! to flexibly add new functionalities and enhance their marketing activities. We ensure that the platform is not only state-of-the-art but also easy to expand. This way, we can create a solution together that grows with them and helps Actief Werkt! further strengthen their position in the flex industry.