SMS has become an essential medium for many companies. It can be used for marketing purposes to orchestrate advertising campaigns, but its immediacy and unmatched deliverability make it a reliable and powerful relationship marketing tool. Proof of this can be found at La Financière Connectt, which uses the Docoon messaging platform to send targeted SMS messages. Xavier JAMOIS, Organization Manager at La Financière Connectt, kindly answered our questions.
Hello Xavier, can you introduce La Financière Connectt?
XAVIER JAMOIS: Hello, La Financière Connectt is a holding company operating under the name Groupe Connectt, which comprises three entities: Connectt, Bref Service, and MyConnectt. Connectt is a network of 25 multi-specialist temporary employment agencies based throughout France, operating in a wide variety of sectors: IT, industry, transport/logistics, hospitality/catering, healthcare, construction, services, and retail. We offer support and advice to temporary workers and the companies we work with. Bref Service is a network of seven temporary employment agencies specializing in construction and electrical trades. Finally, MyConnectt is the Group's digital entity. It is developing a digital platform that facilitates connections between temporary workers and recruiting clients. We recruit temporary workers, but also place them in fixed-term and permanent positions.
The Connectt Group has now been operating for 18 years in France's largest cities and in 2023 achieved a turnover of €80 million with 170 employees. Bref Service has been in existence for over 45 years, and the Group acquired the company in 2019. As for me, I hold the position of Organization Manager, working directly with senior management on corporate strategy. I oversee several departments: HR, management, organization (quality, CSR, security, GDPR), and all "tool support" activities.
What was the Group's initial problem?
X.J.: We use ERP software to manage our candidate database, our corporate clients, and all our temporary contracts. We used email to offer assignments to candidates registered in our database. Then, at a certain point, our candidate pool became enormous, and we wanted to deploy SMS to speed up and facilitate the process of connecting applicants and companies. Our concern was to find a solution that could connect to our ERP system to manage large volumes of SMS messages.
To meet our needs, we chose to use Docoon – Odyssey Messaging at the time ¹ – which offered us a solution capable of managing bulk SMS messaging. We continue to use SMS, which is a real advantage in our business, as some of our clients post very short assignments that need to be filled very quickly! Thanks to Docoon's messaging solution, we can instantly reach out to our pool of candidates and temporary workers to get as many responses as possible in a short period of time, enabling us to meet the priority and very urgent needs of some of our clients.
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What are the benefits of the solution?
X.J.: Well, obviously, the immediacy of SMS. Before using the Docoon solution, we would call the first 15/20 candidates available for an urgent assignment... I also remember the days when we used to send candidates offers by email. SMS has become commonplace and is an ideal tool when you want to follow up with an applicant for a quick hire. In addition to the fact that Docoon manages bulk SMS messaging, the fact that the Docoon messaging platform can also send emails and faxes is a big advantage. We send proposals to our clients and prospects by email or fax. Another advantage is that when we have a candidate with an interesting profile, we can very quickly send their application to our client base. This also allows us to refine our clients' profile requirements.
What's more, we wanted a tool that could easily connect with our ERP software, which is the case with Docoon. Today, we can train employees to use the tool very quickly. I have to say that before we had the Docoon solution, sending bulk messages to candidates was a real headache! The solution is easy to configure.
In terms of benefits, we can also maintain contact with the temporary worker much more easily. Our database and tool allow us to follow up with candidates based on their profiles. And sometimes, we can be a source of proposals for them. Following up also allows us to update their availability. Previously, a candidate might not hear from us for several weeks or even months. Now, candidates hear from us almost every week, which is essential to show them that we are responsive.
Finally, as soon as you send an SMS, email, or fax, you receive an email report showing which recipients received, opened, and clicked on the message. This is essential because we need to analyze the responses; otherwise, we cannot measure the added value of our message and the tool.
And how is the collaboration going?
X.J.: Very well. We are supported by someone who is very responsive, which is a real strength at Docoon. If there is an incident, a malfunction, a problem, or something that is a little complicated to analyze, we have a responsive contact person, just like the "support" team at Docoon. For example, we have very busy periods when we are recruiting and need to open up access to the platform to new employees. Our requests are always dealt with quickly. In addition to monitoring, the person who supports us at Docoon also helps us configure our emails, for example, to improve their quality.
Thank you, Xavier, for these explanations.
(1) In 2022, Docoon brought together under the same brand the Odyssey Messaging group (specialist in multichannel communication) and its brands DPii Telecom and Docoon, specialists in digitization and electronic signatures, respectively.
