Seamless data migration at Timing with RecruitNow & zvoove

“Timing’s ambition is to be the Netherlands’ leading staffing partner. That calls for the best systems and processes. Our search for the right supplier led us to RecruitNow,” says Koen Zandbergen, Portfolio Manager & Lead Product Owner at Timing. Alongside its move to RecruitNow’s Cockpit recruitment software, Timing also chose Kentro, the back-office software from Pivoton, another member of the zvoove group. “We really want best-of-breed solutions: systems that lead their segment and integrate seamlessly with each other. That also gives you the best data quality.”

Datamigration

The three experts agree on one thing: data is the gold within your systems. When moving to new systems for recruitment, back-office operations, finance or other business functions, a key question is how to transfer that data securely while also cleaning and enriching it.

Timing’s data migration was far from a small move. For this major staffing organisation, it involved more than 20 million records. Given that scale, completing the implementation and migration within four months was “incredibly fast”, says Koen Zandbergen. “Data migration is hugely complex. Choosing best-of-breed solutions like Cockpit and Kentro also means aligning the way you work more closely with the processes built into those systems. That was quite an eye-opener for us. It’s a major improvement, but it also means you have to adapt a lot of data.”

According to Bas de Ruijter, successful data migration starts with a constructive dialogue between zvoove as the supplier and Timing as the customer. “Of course, the essentials have to be right: accurate invoices, correct payroll and so on. We have enough experience with this to keep the risk of errors under control.” But there is more to it, he explains. “You want to get from A to B. What steps will that take, and what goals do you want to achieve? That needs to be clear first.”

The next step is to make sure everything aligns, with software fields named correctly so the systems work together. “Ultimately, you want a database that supports effective matching.”

“Transforming data takes a lot of time. We spent many sessions working on this with Timing,” adds his colleague Jannis Koutsoglou. “Improving data quality was a particular focus. We worked together to get the data into Cockpit in the best possible shape, enabling the best possible matching for Timing.”

A boost in quality

Koen Zandbergen: “What I really appreciated about the collaboration was our shared understanding that data migration is not an end in itself. You do it because you want the system to work the way you need it to—in this case, to support effective matching.””

Take vacancy publishing, for example. At the time of the migration, Timing had around 2,000 vacancies online. “One system structures job descriptions in a certain way, while another uses a different format. Simply renaming a field won’t solve that. Rewriting job descriptions takes an enormous amount of time. We used an AI-powered job description generator to process them, resulting in consistent descriptions and improved SEO. That’s how you turn a migration into a real boost in quality.”

Zandbergen stresses the importance of keeping the end goal in mind. “You use the systems and the data to achieve your ultimate goal: providing the best possible service to temporary workers and clients, and becoming the Netherlands’ leading staffing partner.”

7 tips for successful implementation and data migration

Implementing a new system is complex, and getting the data migration right is crucial. Here are seven tips:

1. Appoint an internal project manager who keeps the dialogue going with all internal stakeholders.
2. Build commitment through involvement and management support. This is essential for change management, as implementing new systems and migrating data always brings changes.
3. Keep competing projects to a minimum and stay focused. These projects can easily take more than a year.
4. Start small with a clearly defined scope, then apply what you learn as you expand the rollout. Be open to learning along the way: try things out, learn quickly and make adjustments.
5. Communicate from day one. Explain the purpose of the project to everyone in the organisation who will use the systems, including what is expected of them and how their ways of working will need to change.
6. Work closely with suppliers and experts. Build a strong connection between internal and external teams. Ask for advice, opinions and proposals, and establish mutual trust and open communication.
7. Keep employees at the heart of the process. Ultimately, a new system’s success depends on its users. People remain essential. Make sure advanced technology and personal interaction work hand in hand.