The Challenge
Friesland Campina was looking for forty trainees. Worldwide. A great assignment, you would think, until within three weeks 23,000 applications came in from 18 different countries. From China to Nigeria, from Pakistan to all across Europe, with more cultures and time zones than the team could ever have anticipated.
And the question that nobody really knew how to answer: how do you process 23,000 candidates in a fair and objective way? How do you make sure someone from Vietnam gets the same fair chance as someone from Amsterdam, and that everyone hears back within three weeks without compromising the quality of the selection? On top of that, there was the AI Act, which prohibits the automatic rejection of candidates by an algorithm in Europe.
The Solution
Because not everyone has WhatsApp, Selection Lab opted for an accessible web chat that candidates could start from any time zone and at any moment. The chat flow immediately tested the hard requirements: work experience, proficiency in English, and a number of basic criteria. All based on facts, not based on a CV or a name.
After that came intelligence, language and personality assessments, fully integrated into the flow, including an avatar that made the process feel personal and accessible. This created a desired drop-off, not random but based on verifiable criteria and without bias or gut feeling. Of 23,000 candidates, 250 ultimately remained for the interview round.
And then there was the AI Act. To comply with European legislation, the automated decisions were converted into a form managed by people, so that candidates are never rejected by an algorithm but the process remains fully automated. An approach that is unique in the Netherlands, and one that Selection Lab is among the few to offer.
All of this was up and running within one month. From the first conversation to a fully live selection flow for 23,000 candidates worldwide. For an organisation used to lengthy implementation projects, that was a surprise in itself.
The Results
Of 23,000 candidates, 250 made it through to the interview round, and from those, 40 trainees were ultimately hired, without a single human being involved in that first selection round. Everyone received feedback and everyone was treated fairly, regardless of where they came from.
Where a CV check previously took three minutes per candidate and a phone intake fifteen minutes, that has now been reduced to zero. Across 23,000 candidates, that adds up to more than 10,000 hours saved and a quality of hire that turned out to be 23% better than before.
But the most beautiful result cannot be expressed in hours. 98% of candidates felt positive or neutral about Friesland Campina after completing the assessment, and 95% rated the assessment as a positive part of the application process. Candidates described it as fair, interactive and surprisingly personal, which is not something you hear often about a selection process with tens of thousands of participants.
"Fun and interactive way for the first stage of the hiring process!"
"I really liked the video format of the personality test. It made questions feel more natural, helping candidates to understand themselves better. Very engaging."
81% of candidates experienced the assessment as an objective way to determine whether they were a good fit for the role. And that, for a worldwide campaign with 23,000 participants, really says it all.
The Results
23%
Better quality of hire
4.000+
Hours saved in the process
