Deurne’s approach to staff shortages is an example for other municipalities in the Netherlands

The successful approach of the municipality of Deurne in finding new staff appears to be an inspiration for other municipalities in the Netherlands that are struggling with a lack of candidates for the many vacancies. At the end of 2022, the municipality of Deurne was looking for almost thirty new employees for various positions, but the municipality’s contemporary approach successfully broke the stagnation in finding suitable candidates.

“When we had quite a few vacancies a year and a half ago, we came to the conclusion that the way we always did it no longer worked,” says organizational development advisor Betty Helsloot of the municipality of Deurne. “This was the moment for a change and the start of a different and especially more contemporary way of recruiting personnel. The situation forced us to look at the labor market with different eyes and come up with creative solutions.”

Talents
An important change in the process of filling municipal vacancies was the shift from the focus on the CV and work experience of a potential employee to the talents of someone. “People are more than their CV. We therefore looked further than just that information and focused attention on the talents, qualities and skills of the candidates,” Helsloot explains.

This new approach was initially deployed within the organization of the municipality itself. “We always first look internally for vacancies for employees who want to change roles or want to progress in a different way. We then held a Talent Market for this, where we used a contemporary approach,” says Betty Helsloot. According to her, this yielded surprising results not only for the municipality as an employer, but also for the employees: “Because we talked to them and identified their talents, there turned out to be many more matches with positions where the candidate might hadn’t thought of that.”

Tinder
A component that also looked more broadly at people’s employability is the Talents Tinder. “We really looked ‘out of the box’ for a method that you might be less likely to expect from a municipality. To do this, we had to move away from the traditional way of thinking about recruitment. The Talents Tinder turned out to be a modern and playful way.”

Its principle works in a similar way to the dating app. The candidates are shown on a card a number of characteristics and skills that you need for a specific position. “They were on the front and when they turned the card over, they saw the name of the position associated with it,” Helsloot explains. She says that for most people there are many more starting points if you show them which talents suit a position. “Candidates drop out purely based on the job title because they think they have no training for it and therefore don’t have a chance or perhaps have the wrong idea of a job and therefore don’t even try.”

‘Peat cutter mentality’
Betty Helsloot explains that the search for suitable employees in the new way looks more broadly at the person as a whole: “Of course training and work experience play a role, but with the focus on talents you discover much more. About what people have learned in both their work and private lives. For example, someone who is active as an informal caregiver or does other volunteer work may have certain qualities that suit a particular position.”

According to Helsloot, a change in the method of staff recruitment is desperately needed by organizations such as municipalities. “We noticed in Deurne that we were stuck and there was a need to make a new start. That’s the great thing about a municipality like Deurne. In this region there is clearly a ‘peasant mentality’, where people really get to work and make do with what they have, but in the meantime get things done with few resources. You also see this internally with the many municipal employees who were immediately willing to roll up their sleeves and help with, for example, the Talent Market.” It was first held internally and later in March 2023 it took place for external candidates and attracted around 300 visitors.

Of the thirty vacancies that the municipality of Deurne had at the end of 2022, 75 percent were ultimately filled. “The more contemporary approach has certainly paid off and it is also nice to see that Deurne now serves as an example for other municipalities. Modernization has also ensured that people see the municipality less as ‘that dusty organization’. However, there is still a lot to be gained and we will therefore continue to refresh our image as an employer in the near future,” concludes Betty Helsloot.