04/09/2023 | Written by: Emma | Category: Uncategorized

Belfius calls on Select Beople to select future in-house manager

An employee expresses ambition and wants to grow. He or she is extremely motivated, you think he or she has the right capabilities, but you are not 100% sure. Then an independent assessment centre can provide the decisive answer. Belfius called on Select HR & Select Beople to objectively assess the internal candidates for the role of manager.

Assessments have become an integral part of employee development and growth in many organisations. Thanks to an assessment, employees can be assessed independently. Are they suitable for a new role in the organisation? What areas of work remain? What training courses are appropriate?

‘Within Belfius, our COMMV attaches great importance to the development of employees, allowing them to grow from starting positions to more challenging and complex roles, and even to manager,’ says Stijn Buelens, manager COMMV. ‘Naturally, we handle such career jumps very carefully.’

‘At Select Beople we immediately had a good feeling’

Four employees had expressed their ambition and wanted to progress to manager. To make an informed choice, Belfius enlisted the help of Select HR, who in turn called on the Select Beople colleagues within Select Group. ‘We went over a number of issues together. Capacities or characteristics relevant to a business manager. This also already largely corresponded to the capacities that Select Beople itself considered relevant.’

Belfius and Select HR are no strangers to each other. Select HR already looked for and found the right profiles for several offices. For this assignment, Select HR called in the experts of Select Beople, which, like Select HR, is part of Select Group. Select Beople was able to bring the right references to the table in terms of assessments. Nevertheless, Stijn and his colleagues made a comparative study between three parties beforehand. ‘With Select Beople we immediately had a good feeling. You can have the right tests technically and be able to perform and interpret them well, but in such exercises emotional or social intelligence is also very important,’ Stijn explains. ‘I had the impression from the start that Liva and Annemie are very performant people, whom I could trust completely.’

‘I was amazed at how good that description was’

The assessment centre itself took just over half a day. The four prospective business owners were tested in a variety of areas. Caroline, one of the participants explains what exercises were on the programme: ‘It started with some tests we had to prepare at home including a personality test and a motivation test. At the office itself, we were given a big case to test our analytical ability, two role plays, a SWOT analysis and a general interview.’

After an intensive day, assessors Annemie and Liva took the time to give extensive feedback to each candidate. ‘We received some brief feedback immediately after the exercise and afterwards we each received an extensive personal report that we went over together in a call. I was amazed at how, based on not even a full day, they could describe who we are so well. It seemed like they had known us like our colleagues for eight years. Consequently, the working points and strengths largely matched what I expected for myself.’

For the participants, besides being an eye-opener, this is also a learning experience. ‘You don’t do this every day,’ Caroline explains. ‘By being presented with a case like this, you also learn how you would deal with it. These are situations you’ve never had to deal with before. It certainly wasn’t easy, but it was very instructive.’

There are few areas for improvement’

An assessment centre stands or falls with the assessors who steer everything in the right direction. For Stijn, that aspect was the deciding factor. You can still do all the tests correctly. If you don’t interpret them correctly, the result is only half as good. That is precisely what Select HR & Select Beople is so strong in: high-performing people who do the right thing in the right way. That combined with the result, the process made it a very pleasant experience. There are few areas for improvement.’

Caroline also agrees: ‘Annemie and Liva created a pleasant environment where I really felt at ease. An assessment is always exciting. You want to do your best and are quite nervous. But they still put us at ease by explaining the exercises well and communicating very clearly.’

For Caroline, the assessment already proved positive. Together with a second colleague, she came out of the assessment positively. Soon we will be sitting down with head office to discuss the rest of this process in more detail. Which working points came out of the assessment and which coaching can we adapt to these? In January 2025, I will then officially make the move.’

We wish Caroline and her colleague every success and would like to thank Stijn and his colleagues at Belfius for their trust in Select HR & Select Beople.

Want to know more about assessment centres? Don’t hesitate to contact us!

What do you do when the traditional channels no longer work? When your job posting barely generates any applications and you can't reach the right candidates? With vacancy marketing, Select Group strategically markets your job posting. Antwerp-based company Solvio was one of the first to use our service and found the two candidates they had been searching for for months within a few weeks.

High Demand, Low Supply

After the covid 19-pandemic, companies started to hire again in full force but the job market couldn't provide the right talents. "We also notice at Select that the number of job orders has increased significantly in a short period," says Jelle Destoop, Commercial Director at Select Group. "The COVID-19 crisis was very unpredictable. Companies paused ongoing hirings or canceled plans to hire new employees. As soon as the economy started to pick up again, the number of job vacancies increased."

"Today, we are inundated with requests. Our clients are once again searching for employees. The high demand for workers combined with a limited supply of candidates makes the situation very challenging. We can't change the market, but with vacancy marketing, we can attract the right candidates more quickly."

"Vacancy marketing allows us to attract the right candidates more quickly."

Solvio was one of the first to experience this. Solvio is a well-established company in the Antwerp region, specializing in property management and administration for both individuals and businesses. They were looking for a property manager, preferably with some experience, a challenging task given the current job market.

"For a property manager at Solvio, you are responsible for managing many properties, which is quite a challenge. The job is not for everyone," explains Olivier Blockhuys. "We were looking for someone with experience, and they are not easy to find. To find our new employee, we turned to Select Group."

Using Conventional Methods

"We started with Solvio just like any other job posting: after a thorough interview with Olivier, we created a job posting and placed it on our job boards. Additionally, we searched for candidates in our own database and through other sources," says Steffi, Lead Consultant at Select HR in Belgium. "We quickly realized that this would be a tough search. The number of candidates for this type of position is very limited. Not many people can or want to perform this job, and this vacancy required someone with experience, making it even more challenging."

Steffi began the search in April, primarily focusing on LinkedIn. "You need to approach such challenging profiles personally." From this intensive search, they found a good candidate who received an offer but ultimately decided to stay with their current employer. So, in July, they started the search again.

"Urgently Wanted: Property Manager"

After the summer vacation, they faced a new challenge. "Another property manager had left our organization," explains Olivier. "So, we were not only looking for a new employee but also urgently needed a replacement. We asked Select Group if they could do more." At that time, vacancy marketing at Select Group was just getting started, and Solvio became the first client to use this service.

"In the current job market, simply posting a job online and waiting for applicants is no longer sufficient. You need to be where your potential candidates are," Steffi explains. "At Select Group, we can rely on our experience: we know that one profile is more likely to be found on Indeed, while another might be looking at job listings on LinkedIn. As a result, we publish job postings in a targeted manner. Vacancy marketing takes it a step further."

"With vacancy marketing, we start even more from the candidate."

With vacancy marketing, the focus is even more on the candidate. An analysis of the job market determines which media channels the candidates you are looking for frequent, how the job posting should be crafted, and what additional campaigns we can undertake. In short, it's a customized marketing campaign for your job vacancy.

What Is Vacancy Marketing?

Select Group's core business is the recruitment process: finding candidates, identifying their talents, and matching them with what employers are looking for. The human aspect is central to this process: taking the time to truly get to know your candidate, looking beyond their CV. However, to do this, you need an adequate pool of candidates. In a tight job market like this, it requires additional expertise.

Select Group found this expertise with EN HR Solutions. In the spring of 2020, Select Group acquired this Dutch RPO (Recruitment Process Outsourcing) player. One of their strengths? Vacancy marketing. They ensure that a job vacancy is viewed, read, and that the right candidates apply. In essence, they handle everything that comes before the actual application. Select Group and EN HR Solutions complement each other nicely because once the application reaches the recruiter, they can ask the right questions and make the match with a potential employer.

First Vacancy Marketing Campaign a Success

Back to Solvio's story. Olivier was presented with the idea of setting up a vacancy marketing campaign.

The campaign went live in early September. Just three days later, the first application arrived. The job posting was viewed 143 times in the first two weeks. For comparison, in the two weeks before the campaign, it was viewed only 20 times. During the campaign, 13 candidates applied for the position. One week after the campaign's launch, one property manager received an offer. The second one applied at the end of the campaign and signed his contract a few weeks later. A search that had lasted more than six months was concluded in less than three weeks.

"We were extremely satisfied with the campaign," Olivier says. "The need became very high with the imminent replacement. During that period, we also approached other parties, but no one could provide the right candidates quickly enough. By launching vacancy marketing, we were able to attract many more candidates in a short time."

"It was something new, but it worked! And Select Group kept us informed of the results every week. Additionally, we could continue to rely on the service we were accustomed to from Select: they screened the applicants and introduced us to interesting candidates who matched the job requirements and our company culture. We could confidently place the entire recruitment process in Select's hands."

Are you currently looking for candidates? Turn to Select to find the right candidate! For more information, contact Commercial Director Jelle Destoop at jelle.destoop@selecthr.be or +32 3 612 22 91.