Netherlands Railways (NS) is the national railway company of the Netherlands. They promote the use of public transport and keep the Netherlands moving. NS works for travellers to make their door-to-door journey as pleasant and sustainable as possible. To keep making this possible, NS continuously needs an influx of talent. That is why NS offers, among other things, traineeships for multiple disciplines and increases internal mobility with the person profile.
Increasing internal mobility with the personal profiles
NS strives to be a frontrunner when it comes to an innovative and progressive approach to HR. ‘We were looking for a way to look further in matching supply and demand. We wanted more information about (future) employees that would give direction to a well-suited, but perhaps not obvious next step in their career,’ says Ronald Bleeker. In doing so, the company had been looking for some time at other ways of looking at its own people, as well as the recruitment of employees from outside. Instead of emphasising the CV and cover letter and thus experience and education, there was a desire to also look at competences, drives and potential. Veenbrink: ‘For the colleagues who stay, we want to promote internal mobility. ’Therefore, the transport company started the person profile in 2021. Ixly helped NS develop and set up the person profile. Each employee can complete an online ability test and two questionnaires, gaining valuable information about themselves. NS intends to use the person profile to match supply and demand via a matching tool in the recruitment system, to promote internal mobility and thus make the organisation's talent even more flourishing.
‘We wanted more information about (future) employees that provides direction for a well-suited, but perhaps not obvious next step in their career.’
Ronald BleekerManager Corporate Recruitment @ NS
More efficient selection of candidates for the traineeship
Trainees at NS actively contribute to sustainability and mobility in the Netherlands. They have the freedom to develop themselves personally and have an impact on society. Candidates for a traineeship at NS go through a robust selection procedure, including an assessment. Since many candidates go through the assessment, Ixly was asked to make a ranking of the total candidate pool. In consultation with NS, Ixly selected an online personality questionnaire, motivational questionnaire and an intelligence test and matched them to the NS personal profile.In addition, Ixly developed a calculation model that weighs only the most relevant assessment results. This allows NS to get a quick overview of the entire candidate pool based on the test results and makes the process much more efficient. Moreover, the assessment of candidates for the traineeships takes place in an objective and standardised way, giving everyone equal opportunities. NS administers more than 750 personality, motivational and drive questionnaires every year.
