Joke de Graaf, Head of HR & Organization at HeadFirst Group: "Growth and development of our employees is key."
"Attracting and retaining talent with whom we can realize our ambition together, both in the Netherlands and internationally, is one of our spearheads," says Joke de Graaf, Head of HR & Organization. "HeadFirst Group is growing fast, so we are constantly looking for people who want to contribute to shaping the new world of work. We invest in their development and provide a nice workplace."
What is the aspect of HR that intrigues you the most?
"The common thread in my career is the love for 'people'. After studying hospitality & leisure management, I started in a commercial sales position at Philip Morris, an international company. I worked there for ten years and had the opportunity to take on a different role every two years. During that time, my motto arose: "You can learn anything, as long as you have the will to immerse yourself in new things. In my last role, I was responsible for a sales team, focusing on continuous growth, both of the business, the team and the individual. From there, I moved into the HR profession. The combination of experience with business/commercial and HR now brings me the advantage of bringing knowledge from the business and from the 'people'."
"I have now been working in HR for almost 20 years, the last six of which have been with HeadFirst Group."
"As Head of HR at HeadFirst Group, I am responsible for shaping and executing our HR strategy. Together with my team, I provide a positive work environment for over 450 employees. We aim to develop talent, foster engagement and cultivate an inclusive culture that contributes to the success of our company. My passion for 'people' revolves around encouraging employee development so that they take a step forward and grow every day."
"I am practical-minded and driven to achieve concrete results. I find it important to have good HR policies that contribute to the organization. At the same time, I get my satisfaction mainly from the hands-on approach and making a direct impact on the growth and development of individuals within our organization so that they move forward and become a little better every day."
What are currently the main challenges in your work/role and how do you see the future of the industry?
"HeadFirst Group is growing fast, both organically and through acquisitions. By 2023, we have achieved 21% growth resulting in revenues of 2.6 billion. We find it important to maintain our open culture and strive to create an environment where employees can continuously develop. One of our core values is therefore "learn every day. The challenge lies in actually providing opportunities for continuous development, in which the leadership of our managers is crucial. How do you get employees to join you in an organization that is growing larger and more complex? This is only possible by truly integrating development into our processes, actively managing behavior and actually creating opportunities that are taken advantage of."
"We find it important to be an employer that employees enjoy coming to. Through the 'Great Place To Work' survey, we measure the work climate at HeadFirst Group. In recent years we scored almost 100% satisfaction on our work climate. We want to maintain this by paying attention to it every day. Our HR Business Partners have an active role in this by being visible within the teams on a daily basis and discussing points of improvement within their own circle of influence. This is the only way we can make an impact.
"As I mentioned, HeadFirst Group is growing fast. The growth in the number of employees is therefore challenging. It remains important for us to hire the right people, so rather wait a little longer for the right match than hire someone too quickly. Sometimes this is tough, for example when a team is understaffed, but we stick to this. Attracting and also retaining the right talent, both in the Netherlands and internationally, is one of our major spearheads."
How do you encourage training and employability?
"Within HeadFirst, we work with a training budget. In addition to fixed trainings, this budget also allows for individual development. Fixed trainings with us include onboarding, leadership training, Yellow Belt and we have our own Academy where employees can follow trainings."
"Broadening and improving the employability of our employees is also a theme for us. We have seven different entities within HeadFirst Group with their own brand name and proposition. This offers employees, who want to develop, the opportunity to work at a different brand within the group with a different type of service in a different role. Thanks to the growth of our organization, we have the opportunity to grow our talents internally."
How important is employee engagement to you, what do you see as its benefits, what are you doing about it, and how do you measure it?
"One way we measure it is through the 'Great Place To Work' survey and then implement the outcomes. For HeadFirst Group it is important to be and remain attractive as an employer. Therefore, we give a lot of attention to this through training & development, the right terms of employment and creating the right work-life balance. In addition, we find it important to celebrate successes and let employees come together. We organize big parties, monthly get-togethers, celebrations and sporting events. A lot of initiative comes from our employees themselves which we as an employer respond to, because we are happy with employee engagement. For example, we organized a padel tournament in which over 100 employees participated. Every year we participate with our colleagues in the Dam tot Damloop and cycle or walk the Alpe d'huZes for charity. These are all ideas that originated with our own people. These activities have a binding effect and contribute to our vitality."
"We see that people, who are looking for a new job and challenge, know how to find us better and better. We were still relatively unknown in the Netherlands, but we notice that our brand awareness is growing. With our employer branding campaigns we are going to pay even more attention to this in the coming period."
What do you think is the ideal manager of a branch or team, and how do you ensure that they want and stay with you?
"For HeadFirst Group, the ideal manager is someone who wants to get a little better every day and guides and encourages his/her employees in this. We are a fast growing organization in which it is expected that as a manager you are entrepreneurial, flexible, but also open and honest. You have to be critical and dare to challenge. The downside of a rapidly growing organization is that not all employees can always keep up 100%. Empathy, commitment and patience are therefore also important qualities to be successful as a manager with us."
How do you handle work-life balance and (preventing) absenteeism?
"For me, work-life balance is all about job satisfaction. We have embraced hybrid working which allows our people to decide where they work. I like to see that colleagues actually choose to work in the office. That confirms to me that we are a nice place to work. We give attention to being able to relax at work. For example, we have our own gym, offer a healthy lunch every day and have created nice places in our office where you can sit quietly or challenge colleagues at the soccer, or ping pong table. In addition, four moments are important. Every month we have a themed get-together where we reflect on our successes. In this way we emphasize that development is central, both of the organization and the individual. That makes me happy, it gives me job satisfaction."
"Working hard gives me positive energy, but I also try to work smarter and gather good people around me. This is how I create my own balance in my work. On the weekends, I plan fun things, which also gives me real distance. And if I notice that something doesn't feel right, I listen to this. Then I know there needs to be balance and I intervene for myself. Sometimes that's a small thing, sometimes it's something bigger. An important lesson for myself and I think for everyone is: keep listening to your feelings and do something with them."
Who or what is your inspiration? What drives you?
"My interest in people forms my basis for inspiration and is my intrinsic motivation. When someone is open and positive it gives me a lot of energy. By the way, I also get a lot of energy from nature, being outside. Spring is therefore a fantastic time of year for me. From my role and interest in the HR profession, I participate in various HR meetings. I enjoy talking about our wonderful profession with fellow professionals and being inspired by others and great examples."
What are you most proud of and what have you found difficult?
"I am really proud of the growth our HR department has experienced over the past few years. As a team, we have made great strides and achieved wonderful results. Looking back personally, I'm also proud of the decision I made when I was seventeen to go into my room to study. That was a big step for me at the time. I learned that it is important to step out of your comfort zone and take on things that you find exciting. That's exactly when you grow as a person."
"In my role, of course, I also make mistakes sometimes and I still learn every day. For example, we worked with a startup in developing an app. In the end, unfortunately, it was disappointing. It took us a long time and I learned to brief more clearly, so that we know at the beginning whether an idea is feasible or not."
"In addition, cases with employees can sometimes be difficult, although that is part of our responsibility as an HR department. Then it's nice to have colleagues to spar with."
How do you harness and encourage the potential of technology such as AI, for example?
"HeadFirst Group is an HR Tech service provider. Traditionally, we have been a contracting company. Now we are in full transition to a platform and online service provider. Technology is in our genes, we don't do anything else. AI and technology is the future in our eyes. All technological developments are going to affect jobs and roles. There will be even more automation. We too are constantly looking at what can be easier and more efficient. We work on technology in projects throughout the organization; so it is not invested in one department. If a technical development is interesting, a project group starts a pilot. When it is successful, we roll it out in the organization. Innovation is an important topic for HeadFirst, however, always from the idea 'tech enables touch'."
What HR topic are you curious about?
"I'm curious about the impact AI will have on work in a general sense. What is in store for us?"