For a rapidly growing organisation, the HR challenges are great. How do you attract lots of new professionals who match your ambitions and culture in a short period of time? And at the same time: how do you ensure that sufficient attention is and continues to be paid to existing colleagues? ‘As an HR Advisor, you can make an impact on many fronts,’ says Mariska Kremer, HR Manager at Fullwood and JOZ.
With more than 20 years of experience as an HR Manager at corporations in the technical sector, it was time for Mariska to take on a new challenge. She set her sights on working in an environment in which growth is central, innovation is key and people are attentive to each other.
‘The internal politics I experienced at some other organisations wasn’t really my thing. I deliberately chose a smaller company, but one with an international growth vision and which is technically innovative. I wanted to make an impact in an ambitious organisation with short lines of communication. I really found all of that here.’
As HR Manager, Mariska and her team are responsible for establishing, professionalising and monitoring the HR policies of Fullwood and JOZ. One of the first projects she got her teeth into was optimising recruitment.
‘Both companies have experienced excellent growth in a short time, which is very positive. However, many vacancies remained open. Quite a few for a long time as well. In such a situation, you see that more pressure is placed on your current teams. People are assigned extra tasks and the workload increases. I therefore engaged professional capacity to boost recruitment marketing in the short term and actively search for people. With the aim of filling the vacancies quickly but sustainably. The fact is that we do really need new talent in order to achieve the growth we envision.
Mariska is proud of what she and her colleagues were able to accomplish in a short time. ‘We have already filled about 40 vacancies in the past few months. I soon noticed that what you set in motion can quickly make a difference to the business and the people who work here. I get an awful lot of energy from that.’
Mariska’s HR team deals with more topics and projects besides recruitment. ‘Growth, for example, also leads to change for your existing employees. I think it’s very important to bring people along in your story and provide clarity about the direction in which you’re moving. What do we expect from people? What should you expect from each other? Therefore, we are also working on optimising the organisational structure, result areas per function, job evaluation, our employer brand, a future-proof HR system (AFAS HR) and development opportunities for our people. All pillars on which we can continue to build in the coming years.’
Another theme is monitoring the work culture. People make the work culture, how do you protect it when others come in? ‘Fullwood has some of the traits of a start-up. The Middenmeer branch opened recently, so the work culture is still being formed here. But the foundation of JOZ’s work culture, the conviviality, the togetherness, is also tangible here. We are down-to-earth and put our shoulders to the wheel together. You are part of a winning team here, so there is a lot of positive energy. And you are really seen here, which is very nice. We will continue to focus on that.’
And her personal drive? Mariska considers it a successful day when she feels like she has set improvement in motion. ‘It might be at a highly organisational level, but it can also be at the individual level. What I love about the HR profession is working with people. You help the business move forward, by helping people move forward. When I feel like we have initiated improvement as an HR team, it gives me a lot of satisfaction.
To address the HR challenges ahead, Mariska also wants to further expand her own department. She is therefore looking for an experienced HR professional with whom to work. And to be successful as an HR advisor within these two organisations, a few things are important.
‘You will be happy here if you enjoy working independently and being the point of contact for all kinds of colleagues. You really need the necessary experience, expertise and self-confidence to be successful in this role. If you take that responsibility, you have a lot of freedom. On the other hand, you also have to be prepared to step in where needed, because we get everything done together here. Your involvement in HR includes both project-based and operational matters. Incredibly challenging.’