Case Study: How We Closed a Complex Operations Role for De Nieuwe Gevers
De Nieuwe Gevers partnered with us to hire a hybrid Operations/Office professional - a role that required a rare mix of experience, autonomy, and hands-on execution. We approached the challenge by testing two outreach channels, simplifying the hiring funnel, broadening the candidate profile, and rapidly adapting to real-time data. This agile strategy allowed us to identify and secure the right candidate despite a naturally limited talent pool.
Client:
De Nieuwe Gevers
Industry:
Operations
Country:
Rijen, Netherlands
Service:
Recruitment
Background
De Nieuwe Gevers was looking for an operations generalist capable of owning daily workflow, maintaining structure, and supporting the team across multiple functions, while still being hands-on and flexible. The role required someone with 6–10 years of experience, enough maturity to work independently, and enough humility to engage in day-to-day operational tasks.However, candidates who were experienced enough were often too senior or too expensive, while those with less experience lacked the necessary ownership. Combined with the strict 40 km radius around Rijen, the available talent pool was extremely narrow.
Challenges
The role required a combination of qualities not commonly found together - maturity and independence paired with hands-on execution and flexibility. The geographic constraint further limited the pool, and early outreach showed that the hiring funnel needed to be reorganized for speed and engagement.
Finding a candidate with both experience and willingness to stay hands-on
Balancing 6–10 years of experience without exceeding budget
Strict 40 km radius around Rijen significantly limited options
Additional prescreen step slowed the funnel unnecessarily
Solution
We restructured the hiring approach to create a faster, more engaging process. We began with a dual outreach strategy - contacting candidates both as De Nieuwe Gevers and as OnHires to determine which channel built more trust. After analyzing reply rates, we removed friction from the funnel, broadened our target profile, and launched a second sourcing wave with fully client-led outreach.
Launched dual outreach (client-branded + OnHires-branded)
Analyzed reply rate differences to understand candidate behavior
Removed OnHires prescreen to speed up communication
Broadened the profile to include operational generalists and hybrid backgrounds
Second sourcing wave with all outreach sent by De Nieuwe Gevers
Results
Once we simplified the funnel and shifted all outreach to De Nieuwe Gevers, reply rates increased and the process became significantly smoother. High-fit candidates engaged faster, and the ideal match entered the pipeline during the second sourcing wave. Despite market constraints, the role was filled successfully.
Noticeable increase in reply rates during second sourcing wave
Faster funnel progression and higher-quality conversations
Stronger trust through client-led outreach
Successful hire within a restrictive 40 km radius
Improved funnel structure for future roles
Throughout the engagement, we continuously refined our sourcing and outreach approach based on real candidate behavior. We expanded the target profile, tested dual outreach, simplified the funnel, and launched a second sourcing wave with direct client messaging, which significantly boosted engagement. These changes allowed us to identify and secure the ideal candidate despite geographic and profile-related constraints.
Stronger funnel structure for future operations roles
Second sourcing wave: 53 additional candidates
Client-only outreach increased reply rates
Ideal candidate secured after optimized outreach
Stronger funnel structure for future operations roles
In summary, this project demonstrates how agile hiring driven by data, iteration, and close collaboration, can overcome even the most constrained talent markets. By removing friction, widening the profile, and adjusting outreach based on real engagement, we helped De Nieuwe Gevers close a uniquely challenging role in a very limited 40 km radius. This was a win not because the market was easy, but because the process was smart, fast, and adaptive.
"We appreciated how quickly the OnHires team adapted the process - their flexibility and hands-on approach helped us secure the right person in a very narrow market."
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