Executive summary

Context

Superlinear and House of HR, Europe's most exciting Talent Powerhouse, work together using AI to transform recruitment with a fully integrated, user-friendly, agile job matching app.

Goal of the project

To maximize the potential of AI to generate value and improve the user experience for job seekers, and provide a platform on which the perfect candidate can be matched with the perfect job.

Solution

A tailored version of Talent API specifically designed around House of HR’s existing solution and customized to fit their challenges and needs.

Case study

The challenge

With 500 offices and over 3000 employees in Europe, HR Specialized Talent Solutions, Engineering and Consulting specialist House of HR enables more than 45,000 people to work every day. Recently ranked 24th largest staffing firm globally, the House of HR group consists of 10 European companies specializing in several HR Solutions. Driven by a young and dynamic corporate culture, combined with in-depth industry know-how and a passion for innovation, House of HR is a leading HR firm in Europe. Accent, the largest Belgian company in the group, has been awarded “Great Place to Work” for 17 consecutive years.

This commitment to constantly innovate has shaped House of HR’s digital strategy over the years. The company launched its SWOP app in 2014, whereby job seekers could easily find relevant opportunities to find the perfect job. A quick swipe right or left allowed the candidates to go through the vacancies and enter the application process when “matching” a vacancy. House of HR advisors would then contact the candidates within 48 hours to follow up on the application process.

Looking for AI opportunities

House of HR was on the lookout for AI opportunities that could generate value and fit seamlessly within its processes and strategy. The company partnered with Superlinear to incorporate AI into SWOP, with the intention of:

• Learning something from every swipe and better understanding what candidates want

• Creating a source of inflow of candidates

• Adding value to candidates by providing a fully personalized service. So, while the typical job hunting experience is limited to typing in keywords, the AI in SWOP starts to search based on the user’s swipes, building a Skills Profile, and allowing them to discover job opportunities they would never find through keywords alone.

This would, in turn, expand the registration flow and get the candidates into the job application funnel.

• Increasing conversion rates

• Making it much easier for people to find the job they love

“You don't need to go to big Silicon valley companies for this kind of project. We found a great AI partner right here in Belgium. Superlinear’s expertise is top-notch, and they were fully able to understand our business challenges and what we were trying to achieve. Once you've chosen a good party, you stick to them.”

Lieven Van Nieuwenhuyze, Chief Digital Officer & Public Affairs, House of HR

The briefing

Superlinear was tasked with helping House of HR develop a better user experience for job seekers while harnessing AI’s power to match the perfect candidate with the perfect job. The goal was to create a true platform that people use again and again, not just an app for when they need a job. Convenience and user experience were of paramount importance during the project, which aimed to:

• Use AI to improve the existing solution

• Make a better user experience for job seekers

• Learn something from every swipe

• Develop a new way of recruitment

• Customize vacancy suggestion

• Match the right candidate to the right industry, company, and job

The solution

Superlinear worked closely with the House of HR team to build the new version of the app from scratch in just six months, with a working prototype ready in a few weeks. Superlinear delivered a tailored version of Talent API, its proprietary solution, specifically designed around SWOP to fit House of HR’s challenges and requirements. Adjustments were made in every sprint of the solution in an agile way. This allowed House of HR and Superlinear to test features and updates quickly, get feedback at the user level, and then implement it.

The solution was constantly being improved. The result is a high-speed, real-time, flexible platform with full integration. Using SWOP, candidates can:

• Search using job title and region

• Get 10 cards with vacancies and swipe left or right

The AI, powered by Talent API, will then send personal recommendations to the candidate in line with their profile and their preferences. This massively reduces friction and ultimately helps more people find a job.

The click-through rate of the new SWOP version is 67% higher.

In a way, the AI knows better than the job seeker what they are looking for. It can provide better and more relevant vacancies for job seekers with just a few swipes than job seekers using their own chosen job titles.

The technical capability of the project was second to none. In order for SWOP to run smoothly, the AI needs to work in real-time, with high velocity, to suggest relevant vacancies, which, done at scale, is no mean feat.

Superlinear offers continuous support on SWOP and is still in collaboration with House of HR to keep improving the app and add functionalities.

“The solution Superlinear developed helped us completely revamp our SWOP app to provide a great user experience and added value for our customers. We were impressed by Superlinear’s expertise and quick turnaround time. Superlinear people don't talk too much. They just act and deliver.”

Tom Verlinden, Program Manager and Enterprise Architect, House of HR

“House of HR is a great client to work with. They have been open to taking risks and delivering truly novel solutions for their clients. SWOP reacts to every swipe of the user and has enabled us to bring traditional job matching to another level by focussing on user preference while increasing interest and engagement.”

Davio Larnout, CEO Superlinear

The future

House of HR will also use Talent API in other applications. The company is looking to make further improvements to SWOP by using data and click behavior to optimize the titles of its vacancies. These additions will further improve the engagement and remove friction for job seekers as well as organizations.

House of HR is also planning on further honing the real-time preference and selection tools by using profile data in SWOP, fully integrated on Talent API, and enabling an even more unified user experience. They are planning to roll out SWOP in Europe, starting with the Netherlands and Germany, later this year.

“One of Superlinear’s biggest added values is that they have strong expertise in the HR industry. They know what is going on in our field and have a deep knowledge of the market. We’re very much looking forward to keep working with them on SWOP and other exciting projects.”

Lieven Van Nieuwenhuyze, Chief Digital Officer and Public Affairs, House of HR