Mikael Lindmark, CEO of Nétive: “Many people underestimate how far the shift in the workforce has already progressed.”

For a long time, VMS systems (for external talent) remained in the shadow of ATS systems (for permanent employees). However, in recent years a fundamental shift has taken place.

Mikael experienced this shift first-hand. Before joining Nétive, he spent six years working on the development of ATS systems. He observes that many organisations still lack a clear, holistic view of their external workforce.

Mikael has now been living in the United Kingdom for 26 years and originally comes from Sweden. “I once thought I would become a lawyer, and studied accordingly. Ultimately, however, I ended up in the software industry, where I have spent my entire career. At various companies, I have witnessed the development of the industry up close.”

Total Workforce Strategy

According to Mikael, Total Talent Management is more relevant than ever. “In many organisations, a third to as much as half of the total workforce now consists of external talent.”

“The wider public still does not fully realise how far this shift has already progressed. In some sectors, it has become almost impossible to find certain profiles who are still willing to work in permanent employment. Professionals with highly specialised and scarce skills, in particular, are increasingly choosing not to commit to a permanent role.”

This reality forces organisations to fundamentally rethink how they view talent. “Only by managing flex, services procurement/SOW and permanent employees in an integrated way can you truly develop a strategic view of your total workforce.”

Clear Challenges

Because Mikael spent the past six years deeply embedded in the ATS world, he has seen how surprisingly basic many systems still are. This is precisely where he sees enormous opportunities: “With smart functionalities, we can rapidly increase the value we deliver to customers.”

At the same time, he also sees clear challenges. One of these is the huge influx of applicants, many of whom are not suitable for the role. “This was already an issue before the rise of AI, but has only been amplified since. Candidates can now use AI to easily tailor their CVs and motivation letters to almost any role. As a result, recruitment teams sometimes have to work through hundreds, or even thousands, of applications to determine who they actually want to speak to.”

According to Mikael, this calls for a sharper vision of the talent an organisation wants to attract, and where that talent can be found. “The earlier and more personally you reach them, the greater the chance they will see your organisation as a logical next step in their career.”

Time-to-hire also often remains a bottleneck. “From initial application to offer and onboarding, the process often takes 50 to 60 days, with an additional 10 to 15 days for onboarding itself. For many sectors, that is simply too long. This process can genuinely be accelerated.”

AI Capabilities

In recent months, Nétive has worked with various partners to explore where artificial intelligence can deliver immediate value within the VMS domain. This has resulted in a broad range of AI capabilities that will be rolled out in the coming period.

The company also sees significant opportunities within its own software development. According to the engineering team, the use of AI is not only about speed, but equally about safeguarding quality.

One of the first concrete outcomes is a new tool that uses AI to collect and validate implementation data. “Anyone who has ever been involved in a VMS implementation knows how chaotic that process can be. This tool automates virtually the entire data flow and makes the validated dataset immediately available in a new environment.”

Nétive Beyond Borders

The Netherlands remains Nétive’s home base, while at the same time the company is actively building a network of partners and customers in Belgium. Nétive is also now firmly established in the United Kingdom. “The international journey had already begun, but we are now truly accelerating.”

The next step is a major one: the United States. “In the coming year, we will enter the US market,” Mikael explains. He sees enormous opportunities there, precisely because Nétive brings something distinctive to the world’s largest VMS market: speed, innovation and a total workforce approach.

“Notably, US VMS providers tend to focus primarily on multinationals, leaving the SME segment underserved,” says Mikael. “And that is exactly where our model fits perfectly.”