Bernadette Wijnings’ 5 tips for modern employers
As a strategy consultant, I witnessed how companies organised their employees. That’s when my mission arose: starting the ideal company to work for. I believe in the symbiosis between technology and human skills, both within our company and for our customers.
The ideal company to work for revolves around three pillars: diversity, freedom and responsibility. Aim for a diverse team and give them the freedom to take on their responsibilities. Because I believe that more companies can benefit from these insights, I am happy to share how I organise our business.
1: Avoid prejudices with smart applications
I like to promote equal opportunities. That is why the application process in our company is different from that in other companies. For example, applicants play serious games to measure quantitatively whether someone is suitable for a specific position. In this way, we prevent prejudice towards someone’s CV or background from playing a role in the hiring process.
2: No set holidays, a lot of freedom
We don’t have set holidays and I don’t count how long someone goes on holiday. Everyone is free to choose their own time off. I believe that if you are well-balanced, you are happier and perform better. This freedom also creates more diversity, because it enables us to meet more people’s needs in terms of working hours and flexibility. In addition, it is also simply more fun to work with people who feel good about themselves.
3: Ensuring extreme transparency
Try to be as transparent as possible towards employees. We provide a complete update every three weeks, in which we share all company figures and everyone can ask any questions. This provides clarity about the state of the company and ensures that we are working together on goals.
4: Monitor the culture, even if the organisation is growing
Although we are growing faster and hiring more and more people, I still speak to everyone we hire. This is how you keep your finger on the pulse and guard the culture. Our core values are flexibility, determination and inclusiveness (both in terms of customers and employees). In our hiring policy, we make sure that everyone embraces these values.
5: Use remote as a starting point
The COVID-19 measures mean that things cannot be done differently now, but we have let our people work wherever they like for a long time now. As a result, some colleagues work in their country of origin for a month or two, combining freedom and responsibility. Turn your office into a meeting place, where people meet with colleagues or come to work when the kids can’t go to the nursery. Now that we can’t see each other because of COVID-19, we organise a great online activity every month. When it will be possible, the monthly meeting will take place physically again. In the morning everyone participates in a substantive meeting, followed by a fun team activity. In this way we combine the useful and the pleasant.
This article has been published by Alles Over HR, HR Community and Brisk Magazine.
