65% more job applications in a tight labor market

+11%

engagement

6,500

flexworkers

locations

+11%

engagement

6,500

flexworkers

locations

Multi-sided marketplace

Staffing & flex

Actief Werkt! wanted to strengthen its personal recruitment approach with a digital platform that helps candidates find suitable work faster and allows recruiters to mediate more efficiently. In its 25-year existence, the temporary employment agency has grown to 90 branches with 6,500 flex workers and is among the top players in the market. But that market is changing rapidly. Candidates expect more and the labor market is becoming increasingly tight. Together with Freshheads, Actief Werkt! developed a scalable recruitment platform. After one year, this already yields 65% more applications.

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Challenge

The new generation of flexible workers

The labor market is tighter than ever in 2025, recruitment costs are rising, and good recruiters are scarce. At the same time, the new generation of job seekers wants more speed, convenience, and to be able to arrange more themselves.

“Actief Werkt! saw opportunities in that change,” says Rens Alkemade, Business Strategist at Freshheads. “They wanted to combine their personal approach with a digital experience that fits these times.” Actief Werkt! was looking for a developer to replace their outdated website. It quickly became clear that more was needed than just a new website.

“

With the digital platform, we have a matching tool that really works, for candidates, for recruiters, and for ourselves.

- Marion de Graaf, Manager Marketing & Communication at Actief Werkt!

Advice

Build a solid foundation where people and technology come together

We advised Actief Werkt! to invest not just in a new website, but in a digital platform that brings together recruitment, candidate experience, and internal processes. The focus was on optimizing the candidate journey from start to finish, enriching candidate profiles, and supporting recruiters with smarter tooling.

Because Actief Werkt! depends on various systems and integrations, we advised a composable architecture. This means the platform is built from separate components that together form a single whole. New functionalities and integrations can therefore be added without having to redesign the core. This creates a digital foundation that can grow with the organization and leaves room for new applications.

Solution

A platform that helps candidates and recruiters move forward faster

Candidates find suitable work faster, while recruiters have the information and tooling they need to mediate efficiently. The search function takes into account both the content of a vacancy and the preferred location. As a result, candidates immediately see vacancies that better match their preferences. This makes searching easier and increases the chance of a good match. “This is something that was not achievable with a standard solution or a purely operational approach,” says Marion de Graaf, product owner at Actief Werkt!.

The solution includes:

A renewed career website with smart search and filter options that gives job seekers more control over their job search
AI-driven vacancy search and vacancy alerts, so that candidates automatically receive relevant vacancies
A custom integration with ATS Cockpit and AFAS, keeping vacancies, recruiters, and candidate management connected in real-time and making processes more efficient
A clear separation between the journeys for freelancers and flexible workers, so both target groups reach relevant vacancies and information faster
A CMS by Sanity with which marketing and content teams independently manage, adapt, and expand pages
A technical architecture that ensures stability, fast loading times, and scalability, even with thousands of simultaneous visitors. Built in the backend frameworks Node.js and Next.js.

Process

Step-by-step improvement

Instead of launching one big new platform all at once, we consciously chose a step-by-step approach with Actief Werkt!. In short sprints we work on concrete improvements that are immediately visible. Product owner Marion and Process Manager Maurice from Actief Werkt! are part of the Freshheads team. This allows decisions to be made quickly and keeps the focus clear. After each sprint, a demo follows in which the latest results are presented and tested. That is exactly what characterises the project: short lines of communication, mutual trust, a shared ambition to make a difference for users and the atmosphere is also super good!

Result

More speed, higher conversion, and more control

The result is a digital platform that accelerates recruitment processes and aligns better with candidates' expectations. Recruiters have the right information in one place, while candidates can easily find vacancies and apply. Additionally, Actief Werkt! has more insight into data and performance.

The supply side of the platform is smartly designed for mobile use. Not surprisingly, as 78% of visitors visit the website via their phone. Candidates can easily search and apply anytime and anywhere.

“After the launch of the new platform, the impact was quickly visible,” Marion says. “In the first months, the number of applications increased by 37.8%. The website loads faster, which noticeably improves the user experience for both visitors and internal teams. The number of engaged sessions also increased by 10.6%. Thanks to the technologies used, we now have a digital platform that grows with our organization's ambitions.”

A year later, we see the growth continuing. The number of applications was even up by 65% compared to the year before.

Next steps

The partnership between Actief Werkt! and Freshheads doesn't stop after the launch. We keep improving the platform based on new insights, user needs, business goals, and market developments.

Over the coming months, the focus is on further increasing self-service and ease of use. “Candidates are getting more and more control over their data and applications, recruiters can switch gears faster, and the marketing team can autonomously add new components,” Rens Alkemade says. “We are also currently experimenting with the possibilities of an AI-recruiter.”

Through this collaborative way of working, the platform not only remains technically up-to-date, but also continues to align with the ambitions of Actief Werkt! and developments in the market.