Faced with a growing workload and critical understaffing in their customer care department, TOPdesk needed to radically overhaul its recruitment strategy. By replacing traditional screening methods with BrainsFirst's objective, game-based assessments, they successfully hired 18 new supporters in a single year—a six-fold increase from the year before. This data-driven approach not only solved their capacity issues but also uncovered a diverse pool of high-potential talent they would have otherwise missed.
TOPdesk’s support department was under significant pressure. In 2021, they managed to hire only three new employees, which was not enough to keep pace with the growing demands. Their traditional recruitment process, which focused on strict requirements like specific educational levels and work experience, proved ineffective in a scarce talent market. This talent bottleneck limited the team’s service capacity and left little room for personal development or complex projects, threatening both employee well-being and customer satisfaction.
To break this cycle, TOPdesk partnered with BrainsFirst to implement a revolutionary hiring process. They integrated four game-based assessments (the NeurOlympics) into the initial selection stage, shifting the focus from CVs and motivation letters to raw potential and cognitive skills. By deprioritizing the CV review until later in the process, they lowered the barrier for applicants and committed to a truly objective evaluation. This allowed them to identify candidates with the right cognitive aptitude for the role, regardless of their background or experience.
The results were immediate and transformative. TOPdesk exceeded its hiring goal by bringing 18 new supporters on board in 2022, a 600% increase compared to the previous year. This influx of talent significantly enhanced the support team's capacity and service levels and increased the diversity in origin, gender, and age among new hires. The success of the data-driven approach was so convincing that TOPdesk has since expanded the use of BrainsFirst to other vacancies.
As TOPdesk noted in their award submission, the change uncovered hidden gems:
"Candidates we might not have invited in the past now turn out to be the new stars of our customer service."
By looking beyond the resume and measuring cognitive potential, TOPdesk turned a critical staffing shortage into a strategic success. Their story proves that the best talent isn't always found through traditional means. Uncovering what someone is naturally capable of reveals a much stronger predictor of future success.
Jan Willem Wiersma – strategic recruitment advisor at the Municipality of Rotterdam
