The Challenge

Ballast Nedam, one of the Netherlands’ leading construction companies, partnered with Real Links to tackle a persistent industry challenge: engaging field-based workers in recruitment and transforming the way employees support the employer brand.

With teams split between office and construction sites, traditional approaches to employer branding and referrals weren’t reaching those on the ground. Posters on walls and email announcements were being missed or ignored. And despite multiple hiring drives over the years, employee referrals from field teams remained low and inconsistent — generating less than 10% of overall referral activity.

“We wanted to break through the noise and really engage our field workers — not just with posters on the wall, but with something they’d genuinely care about and talk about on-site,” says André Fahner, Recruiting Manager at Ballast Nedam.

Ballast Nedam had a clear set of objectives:

• Increase engagement among site-based employees with a fresh approach

• Create buzz on construction sites to boost participation

• Make hiring more social, visible, and rewarding

• Empower employees to actively support the employer brand

They needed a solution that was simple, mobile-first, and fun — something that truly spoke the language of their workforce.

The Solution: Gamified Referrals and On-Site Advocacy

Together with Real Links, Ballast Nedam launched a high-energy, gamified referral and advocacy campaign that ran for three months. The key hook? Anyone who shared job opportunities, relevant content, or referred candidates was entered into a competition to win a VIP match experience in a skybox at Ajax — one of the country’s most iconic football clubs.

Real Links supported the campaign with:

• A mobile-friendly referral platform that didn’t require a desktop login

• On-site materials including posters, QR codes to support, but focus on mobile-optimised content

• A real-time leaderboard to fuel friendly competition

• Automated nudges and campaign updates to keep energy high

This approach made referrals and advocacy not just accessible, but exciting. Football — a shared passion across teams — gave the campaign cultural relevance and kept it top of mind on the job site.

The Results: A Cultural Shift in Referrals and Engagement

The campaign delivered impressive results:

• 70% increase in referral participation among field workers

• 3x more hires generated from on-site employee referrals

• 85% of employees felt more connected to the company’s hiring efforts

• 25% reduction in average time to hire for referred candidates

• 40% decrease in agency usage for site-based roles

• Application-to-hire rate for referrals was 5x higher than average

• 60% of referred candidates were invited to interview vs. 12% overall

Why It Matters in the Age of AI-Driven Applications

With the rise of AI-generated job applications flooding recruitment funnels, quality referrals have become even more critical. Ballast Nedam’s campaign didn’t just increase volume — it increased precision. Referred candidates were 5x more likely to be hired and 5x more likely to reach interview stage, helping the hiring team focus on real talent instead of filtering out irrelevant or automated applications.

Transforming Employee Advocacy to Power the Employer Brand

Before working with Real Links, advocacy was ad hoc. Less than 15% of employees actively shared job posts or branded content, and most of that came from office-based teams. Field workers were rarely part of the conversation.

This was a missed opportunity. Advocacy content shared by employees is 3x more trusted than content from brand channels — and with limited reach into passive talent pools, Ballast Nedam needed employees to amplify the message.

With Real Links, they achieved a step-change:

• Advocacy participation grew from 15% to over 60%, with field teams included

• Mobile-first sharing made it easy for everyone to participate via WhatsApp or social media

• Gamified incentives encouraged ongoing engagement, even beyond referrals

This marked a shift in how employees viewed their role in hiring — not just as workers, but as ambassadors.

“Our people are our best advocates. When they share opportunities and stories themselves, it’s simply more authentic. Real Links made that possible in a way that finally included our field teams.” — André Fahner, Recruiting Manager

What’s Next: Scaling Advocacy Across the Business

After the success of the Ajax campaign, Ballast Nedam is planning to embed more gamification into recruitment and scale advocacy efforts across the business. Together with Real Links, they’re exploring:

• New campaign ideas designed specifically for construction environments

• Scalable frameworks that reach both site and office teams

• Clear reporting and insights to optimise future efforts

This partnership is proving that when you speak your employees’ language — and give them the tools and reasons to engage — referrals and advocacy can thrive, even in traditionally hard-to-reach environments.