Talkpush Moves to Vonage Voice and SMS APIs for High-Volume Recruitment

As recruiters well know, processing job applications can often be impersonal and overwhelming. Especially when it’s for large, global companies that hire a high volume of new employees on a regular basis. Using the common practice of starting with resume screening may help, but companies then run the risk of eliminating great candidates before ever interacting with them. Thankfully, that model for screening job applicants may soon be a thing of the past, replaced by an innovative recruitment paradigm from Talkpush.

Talkpush was launched in 2014, to help fast-growing employers optimize the process of high-volume hiring. The company’s first product was a web-based interactive voice response (IVR) system that enabled the initial screening of candidates. From there, Talkpush evolved into a multi-channel CRM that supports conversational engagements with candidates through a chat and voice. Talkpush is applying some of the latest technology in Natural Language Processing (NLP) and voice-to-text transcription to make exchanges and communications between recruiters and candidates easier, more authentic, and more informative than ever before.

According to Max Armbruster, CEO of Talkpush, “Enterprise customers invest enormously in their employer brand. The conversation they have with their talent pool is an integral part of that brand. One-sided transactional exchanges through email and resumes, based on a static set of information, are a thing of the past. We enable recruiters to easily receive valuable input by listening to candidates via recorded audio, video or via a live conversation. It provides a more accurate, human and emotional connection with the applicant.”

Armbruster believes that by allowing candidates to verbally express themselves and their goals at the beginning of the application process, recruiters can consider factors that a resume alone can’t provide, such as communications skills, level of motivation, and overall personality.

Switching to Vonage

Currently, Talkpush uses Vonage SMS and Voice API for two-way SMS and outbound IVR calls. An SMS message is sent to initiate a conversation with a candidate who applies for a job through online channels such as a job boards, an ad on social media or a Google form. Using the candidate’s phone number, Talkpush starts a conversation via Vonage SMS, asking for pre qualifying data via an automated SMS chat. That conversation can also be handled over the phone, with an automated IVR or via Facebook Messenger.

For Romain Verbeke, the Head of Engineering at Talkpush, there were several reasons that they made the change to Vonage APIs. “Vonage has made it very easy for us to open a new region when needed,” said Verbeke. “We just buy a phone number and plug it into our system. Vonage takes care of all the heavy lifting and makes sure our SMS communications are being delivered and that our calls are reaching candidates.”

Verbeke cites Vonage’s experience of working in countries around the world as a major benefit. “Vonage knows the ins and outs of unique issues such as how to deal with restrictions in some countries, and their level of support has been exceptional. They have always been extremely responsive and helpful. Vonage knows how to deal with challenging situations that can arise when working in countries such as the Philippines or Dominican Republic, for example.”

Vonage has offered these particular benefits as Talkpush has grown and expanded its business, according to Armbruster. He highlighted how Vonage’s broad experience has shone through. “The partnerships that Vonage builds with telecom operators—especially in emerging markets where we do a lot of business—is essential and has helped us to grow our volumes tenfold in the last two years,” said Armbruster.

When Talkpush made the decision to move to Vonage, they were able to make the transition within two days. “It was very fast,” said Ambruster. “When we switched onto Vonage, all it took was a day or two of development and testing, and then we were good to go. And immediately, we saw improvements in terms of the quality of the audio and a reduction in errors.

“Vonage’s responsiveness and breadth of experience is excellent. And, from an economic standpoint, we’ve found that Vonage’s model of charging on a per-second basis is a big advantage.” According to Armbruster, “better quality, stronger local support, and more competitive rates, are major factors in why I would highly recommend Vonage.”

“When we switched all of our activity for the IVR and the voice work onto Vonage, all it took was a day or two of development and testing, and then we were good to go. And immediately, we saw improvements in terms of the quality of the audio and a reduction in errors.”

MAX ARMBRUSTER, CEO, Talkpush