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After a 30-year career in the fruit and vegetable trade, Jan Willem Tolhoek moved into recruitment five years ago. As the owner of FreshRecruitment, he has now reached his five-year milestone while continuing to work within the same sector. During that period, he has seen the recruitment profession change considerably, particularly with the rise of AI. Yet, according to Tolhoek, the business ultimately remains about people. "AI simply cannot assess whether someone fits a company's culture."
This does not mean he ignores the possibilities of AI. "It has become part of everyday life, and I also use it to ask questions. For me, the key condition is that you always personalize it afterwards. Otherwise, you completely miss the mark. Candidates regularly tell me they are approached with automated messages, while a quick look at the job profile would already show that the approach is unnecessary."
According to Tolhoek, this confirms that recruitment is built on trust. "Candidates are approached by recruiters extremely often, and there are quite a few 'cowboys' in this market. That is exactly why it is so important to know both the people and the sector. I speak with every candidate confidentially. It has to be that way, because many of them are still employed elsewhere and want to discuss their future. I often give them advice before they go into an interview with a company. For many candidates, it is ideal that they can come to us with their questions as an independent sparring partner, rather than immediately exposing everything to a potential employer. That is something AI will never replace. Even when drafting job profiles, it is ultimately about choosing the right words. AI can be a useful tool, but it is certainly not a ready-made solution. You have to remain authentic and avoid using fashionable language if it does not match your style."
Assumptions and advantages
Over the years, Tolhoek has become familiar with the prejudices surrounding recruitment. "There are certainly recruiters who simply forward CVs, but you cannot judge everyone the same way. At the same time, companies and candidates work with recruiters more often than they did about ten years ago, because they increasingly recognize the added value. However, many assumptions remain. Recruiters are still frequently grouped together with temporary employment agencies. Supplying, for example, 200 strawberry pickers is a completely different line of work from what we do."
One thing that has not changed over the past five years is the tight labor market. "What I do notice is that age is a major issue for many companies. In practice, many businesses struggle to hire people aged 55 and over. Personally, that surprises me, because these are individuals who often still have more than ten years of their careers ahead of them. A company may focus on hiring people in their thirties, but what guarantee is there that they will still be working there in three years' time? Senior professionals are often more loyal, sometimes more flexible regarding salary, and bring a great deal of experience. In my view, the ideal workforce would consist of roughly one-third under 30, one-third between 30 and 50, and one-third above 50. If possible, there should also be a healthy balance between men and women. Especially in commercial departments, that balance is still far from common."
The tight labor market has also led to a growing presence of international employees within fruit and vegetable companies. "They are absolutely essential. However, many companies still require candidates to speak Dutch. That can cause friction, because international students from Wageningen University, HAS University of Applied Sciences, or Van Hall Larenstein often only speak English. At the same time, we Dutch also need to reflect on our own behavior, because we tend to switch to English immediately when speaking with them. On the other hand, you sometimes expect foreign candidates to be a bit more proactive. If a candidate from Chile has not converted their driver's license after four years, you wonder why that was not arranged earlier."
Tolhoek also points to the rapid changes taking place across the fruit and vegetable sector. "The industry is evolving very quickly, with strong consolidation both in retail and in production. In trading as well, more companies are collaborating or setting up joint ventures with foreign producers. Despite this vertical integration, the trading element will always remain part of the sector. That is simply inherent to our product. You also see that professionals from sectors such as floriculture or other related industries sometimes find it difficult to integrate into the fruit and vegetable sector. They understand that it is a dynamic trade, but actually working in it is another matter. And it also makes a difference whether you are dealing with oranges that can be stored for a month or raspberries that need to leave cold storage the same day. Because I come from the sector myself, I can usually sense quite well which candidate fits a particular company and its culture."
For more information:
Jan Willem Tolhoek
FreshRecruitment
Mob: +31 (0) 6 821 831 03
[email protected]
www.freshrecruitment.com
