Hunkemöller, one of Europe’s leading lingerie brands with stores across more than 10 countries, is transforming its hiring approach. Facing increasing application volumes and evolving candidate expectations, the team set out to build a more inclusive and future-ready recruitment process. By partnering with Equalture, they are embedding a fair, engaging, and data-driven solution into their global talent strategy.
50%
Decreased time-to-hire
+12%
Increased productivity
4.3/5
Candidate experience
92%
High-fit retention at 90 days
“We managed to change people’s view on talent. Was that easy? No. Because we didn’t just change tooling. We had to fundamentally change people’s way of thinking. ”
Daphne Koning-Olde Dubbelink
Global Head of Talent Acquisition & Employer Branding at Hunkemöller
Challenges
Why Hunkemöller re-evaluated their process
“About ten years ago, we introduced video interviews into our process. At the time, it was progressive and highly successful. But over the years, we noticed a shift. While some candidates still appreciated the format, others started to feel uncomfortable with it.
On top of that, we faced growing application volumes, and we wanted to continuously improve our candidate experience. That combination prompted us to take a step back, reflect, and explore alternative solutions. We wanted something more inclusive, scalable, and innovative.”
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High mishire rate
Gut feel, not science. No way to objectively predict fit. -
Candidate drop off
Video interviews felt very stressful and intrusive. -
Recruiters & managers overwhelmed
Hours spent on manual CV-screening and interviewing a lot of candidates.
10+
Countries
700+
Stores
3,500+
Hires a year
175,000+
Candidates a year
Why Game-Based Assessments
Engaging candidate experience with science-based, data-driven insights
The games measure cognitive abilities and behavioural traits in a way that feels natural rather than intimidating, making them especially suitable for high-volume retail hiring.
01 | Candidate love it
Rated 4.3 out of 5 stars by Hunkemöller’s candidates. Turns candidates into brand ambassadors through a fun & inclusive experience.
02 | Workforce Intelligence
Scoring models built from Hunkemöller’s own workforce, benchmarked against the industry. Every hire makes the next decision more predictive.
03 | AI-resistant
A game-based assessment cannot be manipulated with the help of AI.
“The platform first analyses what makes your top-perfomers successful, and uses this input to find new hires with the same traits. After each hire, the model learns from how well they perform and stay, so every new hiring decision we make fuels the platform’s level of intelligence.
Finally, their strong emphasis on diversity and inclusion made the choice clear. That’s a value we hold close at Hunkemöller, and we saw that reflected in Equalture’s approach.”
Daphne Koning-Olde Dubbelink
Global Head of Talent Acquisition & Employer Branding at Hunkemöller
Candidate Experience
What our candidates say about it
Real feedback from Hunkemöller candidates after completing Equalture’s game-based assessment.
From manual screening to AI-powered hiring
Results
Hunkemöller's results with Equalture
Let’s be honest: none of us likes screening thousands of candidates. It’s fine to automate certain steps of the process, as long as you can guarantee fairness and transparency. That’s exactly what we do.
‘’We hired people who would have never made it past a CV screen. Some of them are now our best performers.’’
– Recruiter
‘’I’ve learned through this retail hiring process revamp that true talent often isn’t visible on paper.’’
– Hiring Manager
goals
Why Equalture
Equalture enables Hunkemöller to move beyond CV-based hiring and focus on what truly drives performance.
“Our two main goals are to improve the quality of our hires and to make our process more efficient and cost-effective.
But beyond that, it’s about creating an inclusive, candidate-friendly journey that reflects who we are as a brand. We want applicants to feel engaged and valued from the very beginning.
Equalture helps us reduce manual screening, benchmark competencies, and focus on what really drives performance and retention. That means our recruiters and hiring managers can spend their time where it matters most — connecting with top talent.”
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Improve quality of hire
Focus on competencies that drive real performance -
Increase efficiency
Reduce manual screening and streamline decision making -
Enhance candidate experience
Create a more engaging and inclusive hiring journey -
Enable scalability
One system for both store-level hiring and HQ decision-making, not two separate processes.
A shared vision for fairer hiring
“What really excites me most about our partnership with Hunkemöller is that we share the same view on how candidates should be treated: fairly, inclusively, and with respect for their potential. I truly admire that Hunkemöller dares to make fundamental changes to its recruitment process in order to achieve that.
We also see more and more retailers moving towards this way of applying, which is very promising for the industry as a whole. It shows that candidate experience and smart, data-driven hiring can go hand in hand, and I’m proud that Equalture can help lead that transformation together with great partners, like Hunkemöller.”
Fleur Melkert
Co-Founder at Equalture
