Innovation with a Human Touch: Shaping the Future of Flexible Work

An exclusive conversation with Eline David, the General Manager of NOWJOBS, on winning the Talent Business Innovation of the Year Award and transforming the staffing industry ---------------------------------- Company Spotlight: NOWJOBS

• Founded: 2017
• Part of House of HR
• Headquarters: Belgium 
• Active in Belgium, The Netherlands, France
• Focus: matching companies with flexible workers through an app
• Key Benefits: 100% digital, no administration, 24/7 available, fast payment

---------------------------------- Congratulations on winning the “Talent Business Innovation of the Year” (2024) Award!  Eline: "That award was super important because it was our very first award. We returned to the office very proudly and it's been given a beautiful place. It gives nice recognition and always boosts your image. We mentioned it to clients on social media and highlighted it with our investors. But mainly it made the team super proud - that's what we do it for."   Let’s discover why you won this award. What does NOWJOBS do and how did it all start? Eline David - General Manager: "Together with four other colleagues, we built and launched NOWJOBS eight years ago.  Our app emerged from a strategic exercise we did at Accent, Belgium's third-largest recruitment agency and part of House of HR. We were convinced that everything happening in a recruitment agency - like Accent - could be digitalised. That's why we called our strategic exercise "How to kill Accent". It was a way to turn threats into opportunities. We conducted research at the European level, examining what the younger generation wants: to do everything themselves, transparently, quickly, and be in control. At that time, there was no possibility for side earners to find jobs so easily. We identified that the hospitality and retail sectors were experiencing the most pain in finding workers. These sectors are open to pioneering with new technology because they're experiencing genuine difficulties. NOWJOBS is essentially a digital recruitment agency for flexible workers. We match companies with students and other side earners, making everything digitally smooth through our app. Companies can easily launch vacancies. Side earners see transparently how much they'll earn net per hour and can apply with a simple click. Companies receive an average of fifteen applications per vacancy and choose a candidate with one simple click. They only pay when the shift is finished and they don’t have to worry about administration either: NOWJOBS immediately sorts everything perfectly. The wonderful thing is that we can transfer the money to the side earner's account within a week, and often even on the same day." Reflecting on those past eight years, what key lessons have you learnt? Eline: "It really was a bumpy road. One of the most powerful things was that in the beginning we didn't have the best app, but we did have the best team. And now we have the best app and team! It's very easy to copy an app, but actually bringing that community of companies and side earners into being - that's the magic we've created together. It's the collaboration between product, IT, marketing, sales, and customer success. We innovate every day. Our motto is 'we digitalise everything and make it faster and smarter'. Everyone has that mindset in our team." ---------------------------------- Key Insights:

• NOWJOBS has grown from startup to industry leader in just eight years, now serving 1 million+ flexible workers across three countries.

• Their digital-first approach generates an average of 15 applications per vacancy, solving the traditional recruitment sector's candidate shortage.
• The company's four core pillars - changers, team players, goal-getters, and grateful - drive continuous innovation.
• Future focus on AI integration, instant payments, and expanding flexible work opportunities across Europe.

---------------------------------- How did you find your product-market fit in such a competitive market? Eline: "We wanted to build a completely digital recruitment agency, but that's quite a broad concept. For permanent jobs, face-to-face conversations remain vital - you're making a long-term commitment. But flexible jobs are different: they require enthusiasm, speed and adaptability. In student jobs, for example,  there's great willingness, agility, and they're usually not the most complex tasks. They were ideal for our digital approach. We were fortunate that the flexi-statute came into being in 2018 in Belgium, which was a huge boost for our app. The statute allows people to combine their fixed job (and even their retirement) with a flexible job in certain sectors. This flexible way of working is beneficial for both workers and the labour market, where deficits remain very high, and companies need solutions." Tell us about your candidate pool. You mentioned one million users? Eline: "Yes, the influx to our app is huge. The secret is bringing supply and demand into balance. In general, there's great scarcity - finding candidates remains very difficult. With us it's often the opposite. We have an average of fifteen applications per vacancy. The more companies that work with our app, the faster we can grow, because we can offer more jobs to our community." What technology do you use for candidate selection?  How do you keep innovating? Eline: "We have four pillars that guide everything we do. The first is 'we are changers' - embracing continuous improvement and innovation. Then 'we are team players' - collaborating effectively across departments. Third is 'we are goal-getters' - ambitiously pursuing and achieving targets. And finally 'we are grateful' - appreciating the journey and successes. The 'changers' mindset means everyone contributes ideas. We have tools created by team members who spot optimisations.  We start every meeting with our core team asking what you've used AI for in the past week, to keep AI top of mind. Everywhere we can, we try to add efficiency. But human power remains essential. And wherever it is needed, we use human strength. Our customer success team is truly available 24/7. When people call, we pick up and help, even during the weekends. We support our human power with technology as much as possible. In that way we want to make the process as efficient as possible." What innovations are in your pipeline? Eline: "We have a very long and well-filled pipeline. We talk regularly with our community about improvements they'd like to see. Step by step, certain things are being released, including around our instant payment. Being paid immediately after shifts is an ambition we have for all jobs. We still have efficiency improvements we can make in the app around pool building. Seventy percent of companies now have flexible pools of more than five people so when there's need, they can make a call-out. The reality is that most of the jobs we fill through the app aren't easy to screen people for, because it’s often manual labour. Only when someone is actually doing the job, you can be sure whether they’re good at it.  That’s why we launched a review system that makes screening easier: companies can see check reviews that previous employers have given the candidates that applied for a job. they can also see whether  someone has already worked via the app. This makes a huge difference and makes the candidates we propose even more reliable." You started in Belgium and expanded internationally. Walk us through that journey. Eline: "Exactly today we started eight years ago in Belgium. The next country we launched in was the Netherlands. After that, we made an acquisition in France - Staff Me, actually Staff Me powered by NOWJOBS - because it's a large country, so we didn't have to start from scratch. We also launched NOWJOBS Germany briefly, but that proved not to be the right moment. The economy wasn't ideal, so we unfortunately had to stop there. Currently we're active in three countries: Belgium, the Netherlands, and France." Any other countries on your radar? Eline: "For now, the goal is to first become successful in these three countries. In Belgium we have strong growth in Brussels and Wallonia. There's still lots of potential." Do you notice differences between markets? Eline: "In Belgium we're very fortunate. The student statute and flexi-statute only exist in Belgium and are so interesting for entrepreneurs. Other countries are looking at Belgium to see how they could implement similar systems." How do you see the future of staffing and recruitment? Eline: "We're all going to work longer. That comes with lots of fluidity and flexibility. You can see it in younger generations - many people working part-time or having side-hustles, embracing flexi jobs." Eighty percent of flexi-jobs through our app involve people doing something completely different from their main profession. People consciously choose variety so work remains pleasant. The flexi job story offers people opportunities to easily get a taste of other sectors. This promotes fluidity and wellbeing." What about diversity and inclusion initiatives? Eline: "The advantage is that because the app matches, we propose all candidates who fit the predetermined profile. Any form of discrimination is completely excluded. Everyone sees all vacancies and can respond to all vacancies. That's a very nice aspect of our app that we're quite proud of."   This conversation reveals how NOWJOBS has revolutionised recruitment by focusing relentlessly on user experience, maintaining the perfect balance between digital innovation and human support. Their journey from startup to award-winning industry leader demonstrates what's possible when visionary thinking meets exceptional execution. As the recruitment landscape continues evolving, NOWJOBS remains at the forefront, shaping the future of flexible work one digital match at a time.

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