Talent development outside your comfort zone

25 May 2023

"The biggest key to development lies outside your comfort zone." It's a strong statement from our HR colleagues that holds a lot of truth. Therefore, we see training as a fundamental part of the compensation package because it allows us to invest in both our employees and our competitive position.

Not job hopping, but having a flexible role is important

"It is often said that people will no longer work for the same employer for forty years. I don't completely agree with that – it’s just that people will not perform the same job for forty years. It is up to us to provide our employees with opportunities to evolve throughout their careers." These words come from Tommie Duyvejonck, HR Director at Callens.

He strongly emphasizes collaboration with education at all levels, not only through internships, final projects, and activities for children, but also through workplace learning.

"Our HR strategy is an extension of our overall strategy. Therefore, we not only create tailored solutions for our clients but also for our employees. That's why we have moved away from the idea of 'this is your job, these are the boundaries within which you operate.' Using a personal training plan, we determine – together - which direction our people want to follow and what training is needed to reach their goals."

Hard and soft skills deserve equal attention

A training plan is established, among other things, based on the assessment we conduct with all new employees. Jonathan Vergauwe from the concept department says, "I first came here for my bachelor's thesis in Electromechanics. When I officially started working here as an employee, I worked with HR to determine which hard and soft skills I wanted to develop further."

Callens is partly responsible for providing the training but also collaborates with experts. As a result, it can offer its employees a wide range of opportunities for self-development. "This gave me the opportunity to discover which working method suits me best," explains Jonathan. "And I am still learning: because the market is evolving."

 

Sustainable work

"We want to focus even more on internal knowledge sharing," says Tommie. "And we still have a lot of dreams: maybe one day we will establish our own academy. Training will always remain a fundamental part of what we offer our employees. This ensures that their work remains sustainable and that we always remain competitive."

 

Interested in learning more about the Callens culture?

Check out our job page

 

Article and photos by Pom West-Vlaanderen