Automate the internal internal recruitment process, filter the best candidates faster, hire long term efficiently. This is what the candidate screening software developed by startup Skeeled is all about. Its mission? Match human resources with companies’ recruitment necessities via web intelligence. We asked the two co-founders Mike Reiffers and Nicolas Speeckaert to give deeper insights about their idea, the purpose of the startup and the services they are offering to job seekers and recruiters.
(Featured Image: Nicolas Speeckaert and Mike Reiffers, co-founders of Skeeled / Image Credit © Skeeled)
What is the purpose of Skeeled? what are the main issues it is solving?
Skeeled is designed to tackle two core purposes: B2B and B2C. The core pain we tackle is the screening phase during companies’ recruitment process.
On a B2B side, it consists of receiving a huge amount of CV’s while promoting a job opening, followed by a time consuming and costly screening and selection process. We program customizable Software (SaaS) to support this specific phase. Our SaaS can be fully internally integrated and facilitates the screening process. A company will need to provide us with its job requirements, a description of the specific work environment related to the job offer and portray the company culture. Our advanced matching algorithm will calculate and understand the different variables of data collected on the job seeker’s side and on the company’s side, to offer the recruiter a selection of 5 to 20 profiles that truly match into their specific job opening. This advanced technology will not only shorten the time spend on screening all CV entries, it will also reduce costs allocated to this task and increase the quality of hire substantially. While eliminating the screening phase based on CV data only, Skeeled expands the insight of each profile by adding soft skills and a video interview of each applicant.
“We thought that for such important, and often life changing application phase, a CV would not be enough.”
On a B2C side, we develop a platform that reinvents how job seekers can display their employability profiles. Nowadays most applicants are simply judged on their CVs and Cover Letters during a recruitment process. We thought that for such important, and often life changing application phase, a CV would not be enough.
It is hence why, on the job seeker side, we developed a platform that allows each individual to create a much deeper insight of a profile. Our three dimensional approach is unique on the market. By offering first a newly modeled CV, we standardise and optimise all data collected. Secondly, each person undertakes a Personality Evaluation. Due to our partnership with Wonderlic we can illustrate hidden soft skills, abilities that no CV can show. The third and final dimension consists of a pre-recorded interview. Each applicant will have four questions to answer while recording himself by webcam in front of a PC. The interview consists of two open questions and two hidden questions that are randomly selected by our system. The package of four standardized HR questions, normally asked during a first phone interview, offers each individual to add a visual aspect to its profile.
By putting the above-mentioned three dimensions on one platform, Skeeled is reinventing the aspect of employability profile display fundamentally.
“The data store holds all data used by the system, which includes the users’ data and the data generated by the system.”
How does the software work?
Skeeled’s matching algorithm is developed to cross relate CV data and soft skills with working environment and company culture.
The Software infrastructure is composed of four fundamental components: the user interface, the general controller, the data store, and the matching engine.
The user interface is the user facing side of Skeeled, where both candidates and recruiters can interact with the system. We are giving particular attention to the design and usability, in order to make it simple and straightforward to use.
The general controller is the part of the software responsible for coordinating all users’ requests as fast as possible and interacting with other components. It is in this part of the software where most of the security is handled.
The data store holds all data used by the system, which includes the users’ data and the data generated by the system.
The final part of the software is responsible for computing all comparisons, rankings, data extractions, validations and ultimately the job/candidate matching. This engine is composed of computers exclusively dedicated to extract information from candidate data, and other computers that perform complex calculations to probabilistically rank candidates.
“We were suddenly confronted ourselves to look and apply for jobs, creating our profiles and/or uploading our CV’s to the many different existing job platforms. And they where all the same!”
How did you come up with this idea?
Nicolas and myself know each other for many years now and what linked us most, was the passion towards the entrepreneurial spirit and the thrive of creating a project that would change and improve the needs of society and businesses.
Thus it was only in our last year of university in Eada Barcelona, when we came up with this specific idea to enter the recruitment market. One mind changing fact hit us due to our own situation. We were suddenly confronted ourselves to look and apply for jobs, creating our profiles and/or uploading our CV’s to the many different existing job platforms. And they where all the same! The complexity of finding the right job and the fact of being judged simply on a peace of paper (CV) was devastating. We were shocked about the situation of how currently job seekers where forced and limited to look for jobs and how their application was reaching companies.
Additionally, Eada as a business school, offers in its Masters degree to write a Business Plan as “final year project”. It was the perfect stage for Nicolas and myself to let our entrepreneurial passion shine and start the adventure. It is hence why we decided to work and develop our Business Plan around this idea and the result was so encouraging and validating our idea, that we decided to create our own start up which is now known as Skeeled.
What is your business model?
Our business model is based on a B2B model. In other words our customers will be the enterprises. We mainly focus on large companies with high turnover in employees and a strong necessity in improving their first screening of candidates.
The business model is divided into two packages. Either a company can choose a full integration option, with customized Software specific to their Human Resource department’s needs or we offer the choice of buying a “package” of matches. This means that a limited amount of openings can be posted and Skeeled will do the screening and matching during a fixed time period.
It is important to mention that for job seekers the registration and creation of a profile remains totally for free!
“Skeeled has focused on a different strategy by positioning itself in between job boards and companies.”
Who are your competitors?
In the recent years, many players in the online recruitment market have focused their strategy on supporting and optimizing companies’ recruitment pipelines.
After our deep analysis of the current market, we came to a conclusion that there is a certain type of competition, but each player out there focuses on one dimension specifically. There are lots of platforms offering access on huge databases of CVs, there are some providers of Personality Evaluation and we have found some that offer video recordings.
Skeeled has focused on a different strategy by positioning itself in between job boards and companies. Our sole mission is to support growing companies in their process of screening candidates. Being the unique player in Luxembourg and among the first international players acting in this specific segment and uniting all the features on one platform, defines Skeeled strong competitive advantage and opportunity to obtain market share rapidly.
On this market, what is your main asset?
The main asset that Skeeled represent is the tool itself and the combination of the different features candidates and companies can take use of. The combined methodologies and processes unified on one platform make this Software stand alone.
A further strong asset is the related, and totally unique matching algorithm. The automated selection process, ranking of profiles and assignment algorithms design the new generation of recruitment platform that Skeeled represents.
Cool article! Matching people with their dream jobs sounds like a sustainable endeavour. For anyone interested in finding out more about the Luxembourg startup scene, check out <a href="http://magazine.startus.cc/luxembourg-startup-city-guide/“>Luxembourg Startup City Guide Lots of useful info there!
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