Increasing Employee Satisfaction with Simply

A journey begins

In May 2023, Simply began its journey with Staan Finance, a partnership that would ultimately redefine the way recruitment is managed at one of the leading finance staffing firms in the Netherlands. What began as a simple LinkedIn message evolved into a full-scale collaboration, culminating in a tailored AI solution that significantly reduces the burden of administrative tasks for recruiters. This is the story of how Simply and Staan worked together to bring this vision to life, and what other staffing agencies can learn from it.

Identifying the pain points

The connection between Simply and Staan Finance began when our co-founder, Jojo, reached out to a Senior Manager at Staan. The discussion centered around the challenges faced in the recruitment industry, specifically the repetitive and tedious administrative tasks that burden recruiters and keep them away from their true passion: connecting with people.

Staan had recently conducted an employee satisfaction survey, revealing that boring administrative work was a significant source of dissatisfaction for their recruiters. Tasks like manually logging conversations, formatting CVs, and keeping the CRM up to date consumed hours each week. Simply's promise to automate much of this workflow through AI-powered summaries and automatic CRM data entry came at precisely the right moment.

The road to MVP

From the outset, Staan's leadership showed enthusiasm, but they were also practical. They knew that implementing AI solutions would involve trials, tests, and perhaps some growing pains. Discussions focused on how Simply could specifically adapt to the Staan workflow to ensure maximum efficiency. This led to the creation of a Minimum Viable Product (MVP), tailor-made to meet the needs expressed during the initial discussions.

What followed was a year of intense collaboration. Simply built prototypes, Staan tested them rigorously, and the process iterated based on feedback. For the first few months, the use of Simply actually increased the administrative burden, as recruiters had to provide detailed corrections and feedback. However, the promise of a smoother workflow down the road kept everyone motivated.

"The first few months were tough," recalls Ronald, Technology Manager at Staan Finance. "But seeing how fast Simply was improving, we knew it would be worth it in the end."

Seeing tangible results

By early 2024, the dedication began to pay off. Simply was consistently saving Staan recruiters time in their day-to-day operations. The quality of output, whether meeting summaries or detailed candidate notes, began to surpass anything produced manually. Ronald notes: "There was a point at the start of 2024 where we started realizing that the notes produced by Simply were often more detailed, and more insightful, than what our recruiters would typically write." Thanks to the insights Simply generates, recruiters also gained a better understanding of candidate qualities and their own interviewing skills.

But the real game-changer came when Simply expanded beyond meeting summaries. The AI started handling other time-consuming tasks, including the automation of candidate CV creation. "One day, the Simply team asked about how we handle candidate CVs," Ronald recalls. "When I explained that they were done manually and took a lot of time, I was not expecting anything beyond sympathy. To my surprise, within two weeks, Simply had an AI-driven solution to automate CV creation. It was something I did not think would be possible yet with current AI technology."

Time savings and increased satisfaction

By mid-2024, the impact of Simply could no longer be ignored. Recruiters using the platform were saving hours every week compared to those who had not yet been onboarded. The difference in both data quality and recruiter satisfaction was significant. "Our employee satisfaction has skyrocketed," says Ronald. "Now that recruiters are not bogged down by mundane administrative tasks, they spend more time doing what they do best: connecting with candidates and clients." Through omnichannel recording, they could record conversations via phone, Google Meet, and Teams without switching workflows.

This significant reduction in administrative work allowed recruiters at Staan to engage more deeply during conversations, focus on candidate experience, and spend more time understanding the needs of clients. It has made their jobs more meaningful and rewarding, creating a ripple effect of positivity throughout the company.

To infinity and beyond

By September 2024, the use of Simply was no longer limited to recruiters. Account managers had also begun to see the benefits, using the platform while speaking with clients about new vacancies. This organic expansion was made possible by the collaborative relationship between Staan and Simply, which continues to evolve and refine the product. Thanks to transparency in the output, where every summary can be traced back to the source recording, account managers also fully trusted the generated information.

"What really makes working with Simply so fulfilling is their dedication to our success. They do not just hand us a tool and walk away; they are invested in our journey. I envision a future where recruiters can focus solely on building relationships with candidates and clients, while the administrative work takes care of itself. If anyone can make that dream a reality, it is the team at Simply."

What other agencies can learn

The journey with Staan reveals three things that are relevant for any staffing agency. First: employee satisfaction and productivity go hand in hand. By removing the most tedious tasks, recruiters became not only faster but also happier. Second: AI implementation requires patience. The first months were harder, but the system's continuous learning led to results that surpassed manual work. Third: start with a specific use case. Staan started with conversation summaries and only expanded to CV formatting and data extraction once the initial results were visible.

A vision for the future

The partnership between Staan and Simply is far from over. Both teams continue to collaborate to further refine the product. Simply is now a core part of Staan's vision for the future: a future where the recruiter's role is to build relationships, create meaningful connections, and add true value, unburdened by repetitive tasks. With enterprise-level security, all data is protected according to the strictest standards.

Frequently asked questions

How did Simply improve employee satisfaction at Staan?

By automating the most tedious administrative tasks (conversation notes, CV formatting, CRM data entry), recruiters could focus on the human part of their work. This directly led to higher satisfaction scores in internal surveys.

How long did it take for Staan to see results?

The first months were an investment in training and fine-tuning the system. By early 2024, after about nine months of collaboration, Simply's output consistently surpassed what recruiters produced manually.

Which Simply features does Staan Finance use?

Staan uses AI summaries, CV formatting, CRM data entry, and omnichannel recording via phone and video.