Alfa Accountants
Aug 5, 2024
5 min read
Introduction
Peter Vork, Corporate Recruiter at Alfa Accountants and Advisors, has been at the forefront of professionalizing recruitment for the company over the past two years. Alfa Accountants, a growing firm in the Netherlands, has been undergoing significant changes, including a recent merger and rapid expansion.
"We've been working on optimizing our entire recruitment process," Peter explains. "A crucial part of this was improving our collaborations with external suppliers, especially recruitment agencies."
About Alfa Accountants and Advisors
Industry: Accounting and Advisory Services
Employee count: Approximately 3,000
Country active: The Netherlands
ATS: Recruitee
Alfa Accountants and Advisors is a Dutch firm providing accountancy and financial advisory services, primarily for SMEs and the agricultural sector. With around 3,000 employees, they operate across the Netherlands, offering expertise in taxation, financial planning, and business consultancy. Their focus is on personalised service, sustainability, and long-term client relationships.
Challenges
Before implementing HirePort, Alfa Accountants faced several critical challenges:
Overwhelming agency communication: "At our peak, some team members were spending up to 50% of their time on stakeholder management with suppliers," Peter recalls.
Lack of centralized system: With over 100 suppliers and no dedicated platform, managing relationships was chaotic.
Inefficient candidate processing: Manual entry of candidate data into their ATS was time-consuming and error-prone.
Poor visibility into agency performance: There was no way to track which agencies were delivering results.
"We once had 87 missed calls from agencies in just two hours during an important team meeting," Peter shares. "It was clear we needed a better solution."
Solution
After evaluating various options, Alfa Accountants chose HirePort's agency management plugin, which integrates directly with their existing ATS, Recruitee.
Key factors in their decision included:
Seamless ATS integration
Centralized platform for agency communication and candidate management
Streamlined workflows
Enhanced visibility into agency performance and spend
"We hadn't tried anything comparable before," Peter notes. "HirePort stood out because of its accessibility and simplicity, both for us and our suppliers."
Implementation and User Experience
The implementation process was smooth and user-friendly. "HirePort provided tailored video tutorials and hands-on guidance," Peter explains. "The setup was straightforward, taking just a few minutes."
Initial skepticism from the team about additional work quickly dissipated once the plugin was installed. "Now there's no excuse not to use HirePort," Peter says. "It's integrated right into our familiar ATS environment."
Benefits and Impact
Since adopting HirePort, Alfa Accountants has seen significant improvements:
Time savings: "We're saving an average of 15% of our work week that was previously spent on agency management," Peter estimates.
Improved communication: The chat functionality has replaced disruptive phone calls.
Streamlined workflows: "I can now tag team members directly in our ATS without downloading CVs or forwarding emails," Peter explains.
Better data tracking: All agency interactions are now centralized, allowing for performance measurement.
Cost reduction: "We've already seen a decrease in external recruitment costs," Peter notes.
Looking Ahead
While still in the early stages, Alfa Accountants is excited about the future potential:
Data-driven decision making: "By year-end, we hope to have enough data to evaluate our top 3-4 agencies properly," Peter shares.
Expanded supplier options: HirePort's network offers access to specialized agencies for unique roles.
Preparedness for growth: With an expected surge in hiring following their merger, HirePort positions them to manage increased recruitment activity efficiently.
Recommendations
Peter enthusiastically recommends HirePort to other HR professionals: "It saves you a lot of time and worries. All communication is documented, everything is in one place, and you can measure agency performance effectively."
He concludes, "HirePort and its plugin help us ensure that our supplier partnerships align with our company's needs. The easier it is to use, the more it will be adopted – and HirePort makes it as easy as possible."
