HeadHunter optimizes recruiters by 15% with Start Link

2025: Start Link Implementation

HeadHunter reduced the time spent by recruiters when collecting documents by 15% using the remote hiring module Start Link (part of the personnel ecosystem). E-DOCUMENT FLOW HRlink - HR The department uses the solution both to collect the necessary documents online and as part of the process of adapting new employees. HRlink announced this on March 13, 2025.

The introduction of Start Link for HeadHunter was a logical stage towards the complete digitalization of recruiting processes as part of the development of the HR ecosystem hh.ru - the company launched the HRlink HR EDO service to speed up the process of signing documents in HR, and the next step was to automate HR processes in terms of hiring and onboarding employees.

The launch of the Start Link implementation project is primarily due to the desire to streamline the work with documents that come from candidates when selecting for the company - recruiters received completed forms in different instant messengers and by e-mail, which complicated their processing. The Start Link functionality forms a single window through which all candidates send the correct package of documents for hiring. 

In addition, 70% of the state operates in a hybrid format at HeadHunter, so the introduction of a remote hiring module was logically embedded in the company's digital strategy. 

During the pilot phase of the project, the HRlink team customized the Start Link module to meet customer requirements. For HeadHunter, the solution was improved in terms of software: added the capabilities of two-factor authentication, setting the duration of the client session, as well as automatically creating an individual card in the 1C system. 

At the user level, Start Link has tools for collecting information that is used by HeadHunter in the process of adapting newcomers - columns were included in the questionnaire to download an employee's photo, as well as collect interesting facts about him, so that it would be easier for beginners to talk about themselves at the onboarding stage. In addition, a clause was added to the questionnaire indicating the size of the T-shirt, which is included in the corporate welcome-box.

The pilot stage of the project, including the refinement of the solution, lasted three months, after which in June 2024 the Start Link module was scaled up to the entire HeadHunter recruiting process. 

As of March 2025, we have completely switched to "digital" in terms of hiring new employees - admission and registration of newcomers takes place only through Start Link. At the beginning of the project, recruiters expressed concerns that interaction through the module would increase the number of rejections from offers: candidates will not be able to understand the system and will throw filling halfway. But the doubts did not justify themselves. In practice, both beginners and recruiters themselves were satisfied, who, before the introduction of Start Link, had to manually process a huge amount of heterogeneous documentation, - commented Irina Suprunenko, head of the HeadHunter personnel administration department.

With Start Link, companies can significantly reduce the time and improve the quality of data entry during the hiring phase. At the same time, automation of the hiring process works for the company's HR brand - newcomers are already at the entrance faced with a technological approach in cooperation with employees, which in the coming years will become the absolute norm for each team, "added Dmitry Makhlin, partner and development director of HRlink.