Easier Hiring and Internal Mobility: KPN Implements SmartRecruiters with worldofwork™

The Challenge

KPN is a diverse digital company with more than 10,000 employees working in a wide range of roles; from retail and helpdesk staff to specialists in networks, data, and security, as well as employees in corporate departments. Each recruiter at KPN focuses on specific roles or on internal mobility.

The existing ATS (Applicant Tracking System) no longer met KPN’s needs. “The system was difficult to use—you could easily get lost in it,” Ana explains. This negatively affected manager engagement. “Yet the goal was to shift more responsibility to managers, for example by letting them initiate the recruitment process themselves.”

KPN also wanted more consistency in its recruitment approach, as methods varied between recruiters.

Internal mobility was another key focus: vacancies needed to be easier to publish and more accessible, and KPN wanted to proactively reach out to internal talent. At the same time, the company aimed to improve its referral process and build talent pools for both internal and external candidates.

And on top of that, there was the challenge of integrating the new ATS with the existing Oracle HR core system, which would remain in use.

The Solution

KPN chose the intuitive recruitment platform SmartRecruiters. As a SmartRecruiters partner, worldofwork™ supported KPN’s project team throughout the implementation. Ana explains: “It was a large project with very specific requirements. SmartRecruiters knew the project was in good hands with us. We had just completed a major implementation together at a well-known financial services provider and have been working successfully together for five years.”

Ana and her colleague Jorien Verlaan (project manager) ensured that the new system was fully aligned with KPN’s needs. The existing external job site was retained and integrated with the new ATS. They also supported the setup of an internal career site, complete with a built-in referral tool that allows employees to easily recommend candidates for a variety of roles.

To manage internal and external talent pools, SmartCRM was added. Ana explains: “With SmartCRM, KPN can run targeted campaigns and engage candidates more effectively through talent communities. Although this tool is primarily designed for external candidates, KPN also wanted to use its features internally.”

Ana and Jorien also contributed to the functional integration of the ATS with the Oracle HR core system, including data migration. Ana: “For example, employees now automatically gain access to the internal portal, while new hires are directly entered into Oracle.”

The Result

KPN went live with the new system right on schedule. Ana looks back with satisfaction: “The go-live went very smoothly, thanks in part to KPN’s high level of involvement.”

With SmartRecruiters, KPN now has a modern, user-friendly recruitment solution. Recruiters, hiring managers, and both internal and external candidates can all navigate it with ease. Recruiters now work in a uniform way, while hiring managers are more empowered to contribute proactively to creating and managing job postings.

Scheduling interviews has also improved: “Thanks to calendar integration, interviews can be scheduled in just a few clicks. Candidates can even select their own interview time via self-scheduling.” The internal career site and talent pool make it easier and faster for KPN employees to find new roles within the organization.

“We fully tailored the system to KPN’s needs—ease of use, engagement, and flexibility were central. And all of that is seamlessly integrated with their existing HR systems,” Ana adds.

A possible next step is expanding the solution with an AI matching assistant. “It’s already set up—we’re just waiting for approval from the works council to launch it.”