Organize recruitment marketing: with software or through an agency?
Keep innovating and moving with the times
Bochane Group has been a well-known player in the automotive industry with car dealerships, bodyshops, car rental and car leasing since 1984. With 55 branches - from Groningen to Roermond - and 1,000 employees, they take care of customers in the field of mobility.
As an automotive company, Bochane Group knows better than anyone: "What is good enough today is obsolete tomorrow." The world of mobility is constantly changing and you have to keep innovating to meet the changing mobility needs. It's the same in the labor market. Marieke van den Bosch, Corporate Recruiter at Bochane Group, says: When I joined Bochane Group 1.5 years ago, recruitment was still in its infancy. We have since then developed a lot, for example our work-at-home site and recruitment marketing strategy. We have about 100 job openings on an ongoing basis, and more than 80% of them are technical positions. Our biggest challenge is to reach this target group, trigger them and bring them out of anonymity. To do this, we need to apply innovative strategies, such as RMA."
Outsource to a media agency or do it yourself with software?
Because of the large recruitment needs and associated challenges, Marieke started looking for solutions in the spring of 2024. "I simply started googling for ways to organize our recruitment marketing. In doing so, I came into contact with a media agency and - because of the positive stories from 's Heeren Loo and ABS Autoherstel - with MrWork. After a few conversations with both parties I started to compare. The choice was clear to me pretty quickly: I chose software," says Marieke.
"A recruitment marketing agency does not offer the tooling for lead tracking and building talent pools, for example, while that is very important to us. Also because we are still in the process of implementing an ATS. With MrWork, we have one solution for multiple needs."
Marieke van den Bosch, Corporate Recruiter at Bochane Group
Reason 1: being in control
Having a grip on your recruitment marketing was the number one reason for Marieke to choose RMA software: "I am the type of person who likes to be in control. The idea that I can turn the knobs of our campaigns myself at MrWork really appealed to me. You are then not dependent on, for example, our marketing colleagues or an external agency."
Reason 2: proprietary data
Being in control was not the only reason for Marieke: "By working with MrWork, all the data is transparent and ours. With the media agency we talked to, we would get leads forwarded, but we didn't own the campaign data. Then you miss a lot of valuable information anyway."
Reason 3: saving time
"I already notice with some things I can't do myself - like editing a recruitment video - how much time it takes to explain exactly what you want and find alignment with others on details. So I think we also save ourselves a lot of time by fixing our recruitment marketing ourselves using software," Marieke said.
Reason 4: a total solution
Marieke found in MrWork not only a way to execute campaigns, but also a lead generation tool with automation flows for follow-up. "A recruitment marketing agency does not offer that tooling for lead follow-up and building talent pools, for example, while for us that is very important. Also because we are still in the process of implementing an ATS. With MrWork we have one solution for multiple needs," Marieke indicates happily.
Reason 5: fixed and lower costs
Last but not least: the cost picture. Marieke explains, "With the media agency our expenses would fluctuate monthly. They couldn't offer us a subscription with a fixed price. With MrWork, the license costs are clear and fixed. That gives peace of mind. And I expect working with software to be more advantageous."
Live at lightning speed
At Bochane Group, they like to follow through. Once MrWork was chosen, it didn't take them long to go live. Marieke explains, "One of our hiring managers wanted to be visible during the summer period, so a quick implementation was crucial. MrWork facilitated us very well in this. They provide the right information, give clear training (which can also be watched back, very nice!) and follow everything up adequately. It also helps that the software is very user-friendly. You don't have to do any crazy tricks, you can find your way around. As a result, our first vacancy campaigns were live in no time."
Accessibility works
Bochane Group only recently started using the lead generation module in MrWork, but it is obvious to Marieke that it works tremendously well. "Last Monday a car mechanic appalled us asking if we were still looking for people in a specific region. We then acted very quickly: he went for an interview that same afternoon and had a walk-in day a few days later. Now - about 10 days after his first email - he has the employment contract in his mailbox. Without lead generation this would probably never have happened, because the threshold to get in touch would have been too high for this experienced mechanic," says Marieke enthusiastically.
Marieke has more such success stories. For example, a silver medalist - last year's applicant - recently asked to come for an interview after all. Marieke talks about lead generation: "It is very accessible for candidates and that is exactly what our technical target group is looking for. If someone sends a message, you can respond quickly and concretely."
Although a chatbot is also a form of lead generation, Marieke has a clear preference: "Previously, we had a chatbot, but we see that young people and technicians prefer to app. Chatbots feel less personal because you regularly get automated answers. In addition, you lose such a chatbot if you close the web page or lock your phone, whereas you can always find an app and answer it later."
"One of our hiring managers wanted to be visible during the summer period and therefore a quick implementation was crucial. MrWork facilitated us very well in this. They provide the right information, give clear training (which can also be watched back, very nice!) and follow everything up adequately. It also helps that the software is very user-friendly."
Marieke van den Bosch, Corporate Recruiter at Bochane Group
The investment already recouped
Marieke likes to share successes like this in the monthly board meetings. She explains, "With the data we very easily get from the MrWork platform, we can show what the results are already now, but also what we are doing to make it easier and faster to hire people in the long run. Before, our visibility on social media was 0.0 and now we are getting past our target audience much more. We don't have everything set up properly on our end to measure through exactly yet, but I can say that we've already gotten several assumptions out of the RMA software now. So actually the investment has already paid off!"
Next steps
Befitting their corporate culture, Bochane Group doesn't stop there. It can always do even better. The following optimizations are high on the agenda for 2025:
- Orienting the use of an ATS to more efficiently set up the recruitment process;
- Employer branding campaigns run through the MrWork platform, including with video testimonials;
- Set up automated flows for lead follow-up so that, for example, candidates living abroad can be handled efficiently.
Marieke is happy with the partnership with MrWork to take the next steps in their recruitment strategy: "MrWork - just like us - never stands still. The software is constantly being further developed and they give very good advice and tips. For example, I recently published a WhatsApp campaign and asked a question about it. I immediately received advice and practical examples of how I could approach it. I am very happy with our choice for MrWork," Marieke concludes.
Get your recruitment strategy into top gear with RMA too: watch our demo videos or plan your personal road trip through the MrWork platform.
