Customer journey research forTiming Employment Agency

With over 700 employees and a nationwide network, Timing is a major player in the national temporary employment market. However, the cards are no longer clearly on the table, as they used to be. "The market is constantly changing, which requires continuous adaptation. Innovative strength is therefore important to maintain our position, but even more so to meet the changing needs of clients and flex workers," says Rob van Arnhem, Manager of Digital Strategy at Timing. He continues: "The question is, however: do you innovate out of the blue, or do you do so where the challenge lies with the customer?"

Qualitative research 

To clarify the latter, Timing Markteffect market research agency Markteffect to investigate the digital customer journey of companies looking for a partner in the field of flex. "Of course, you can find out what's going on by conducting a customer satisfaction survey among a thousand customers, but we were looking for the question behind the question. We wanted to delve deeper into the matter. That's what Markteffect did Markteffect us with a targeted qualitative survey among our clients and potential customers," says Harriët van Wijngaarden, Manager Corporate Accounts at Timing.

Markteffect interviews with operational, tactical, and strategic decision-makers. Van Wijngaarden: "The aim was to find out what matters to these important stakeholders. How we can help our clients achieve their goals even better, how we can best profile ourselves to prospects and customers, that sort of thing. Eighty percent of the results were already known to us. But it's the other twenty percent that matters. That's what makes the difference; that's what partly determines the direction of our digital strategy.

The survey shows that a certain idea that Timing had—further digitizing recruitment—but about which there was some doubt, can safely be developed further. According to the survey, the respondents are positive about this. "We used to have our offices in city centers, next to the other employment agencies. This was convenient for flex workers, who could drop off their resumes door to door. Nowadays, this is mostly done online, so you see these branches moving to the outskirts of cities. More space, good accessibility, and more options, such as flex spaces and training rooms. But aren't we getting ahead of ourselves? It turns out that's not the case," says Van Wijngaarden.

“The research was well conducted. And we don't just get the results; Markteffect a Next Step Session afterwards: a workshop in which they walk us through the findings and provide us with tools we can use to move forward. A pragmatic market research agency that thinks along with us about our developments. Definitely a pleasant collaboration, with a personal approach.”
Rob van Arnhem & Harriet van Wijngaarden, Timing Employment Agency

Intermediaries

Van Arnhem adds: "The role of intermediary is truly multifaceted. By digitizing part of the process, you relieve the intermediary. This allows them to focus more on personal contact, which is really important in our sector.

Van Wijngaarden sees the role of the intermediary evolving into someone who increasingly takes on an HR role: "Looking at what someone has to offer or what they still need, such as specific training. Digitization has freed up a lot more time for this. Currently, for example, the application process is already completely digital. The flex worker fills in everything themselves, and the intermediary uses this information to determine whether someone is suitable for the position they are applying for. If the answer is yes, the flex worker can make an appointment with the company to take a look at the workplace."