“Equal opportunities for all!”

Take a look behind the scenes: The start-up founders Justin Bous and Marco Verhoeven have, in cooperation with proINject, developed a unique matching algorithm for the platform.

Mr. Verhoeven, Mr. Bous, together you have introduced a matching algorithm for job placement. How can it be transferred to the interim sector?

Mr. Verhoeven: Our business field is primarily long-term placements in classic occupations. In the field of interim management, it is all about temporary engagements in demanding projects and senior positions. In collaboration with proINject we have developed a matching algorithm targeted towards the specific requirements of such engagements. The objective is to support proINject in digitalizing their service.

Mr. Bous: The fundamental idea was enabling a matching process, which considers the professional qualifications, as well as the soft skills of an interim manager. For especially in interim management, the personality of a manager plays a crucial role in determining the project outcome.

How does the algorithm work?

Mr. Verhoeven: At the heart of the algorithm lies the individual strength analysis (ISA), which every manager must complete before they are accredited for the network. With 28 questions about work behavior, and preferences in the work environment, we establish strengths and preferences for project success. The theoretical framework for our method comes from the Team-Management-Profile; a scientifically backed model for work-related personality analysis. The algorithm checks the general suitability of a candidate by using the classic ‘Hard facts’ of their professional qualifications. Furthermore, the formula considers the candidates’ statements about their work-related personality in the holistic scoring. Does a candidate prefer team-work or working alone? Are they flexible or structured? Practical or creative? For both hard and soft facts, a percent value is calculated that determines the probability of a successful partnership between a candidate and a company, in the context of a particular project.

Mr. Bous: ISA not a conventional personality analysis tool. There is no publicly accessible profile. The 28 answers given in the context of the analysis serves as the foundation of the algorithm. Every user can rest assured that the algorithm processes all answers about qualifications and personal strengths to find fitting projects for the candidate. A project can be seen as a unique lock, and ISA finds the fitting key. Additionally, it is important for our users to know that no metadata will be collected. Exclusively the provided answers will be utilized. This means that users have full control over watch we use as the foundation for our matching.

Are features such as “extroverted” and “creative” in high demand? Does this create a biased presentation of the candidate profiles?

Mr. Bous: The questions are designed in such a manner that there is no such thing as a bad answer. ISA is not about competence, but rather about preference. How do I work best, which working style suits me best? Consciously presented yourself in a false manner here would not be conducive, because there is no optimal profile. The system finds projects which fit specifically to an individual’s style. These then in turn promote their reputation. For every project inquiry the algorithm considers all candidates in the network, meaning that all candidates have the same chance every time.