In the football world, we often talk about the ideal partnership between
numbers 9 and 10. In the world of technical secondment, you can think of Xelvin
Eindhoven and Brabant Engineering in the same way. A combination that just
works. We say ‘just’ because this relationship is based on mutual trust and an
excellent click between the two companies. In today’s world, this is a unique occurrence
in the secondment sector.

People Manager, Tom van
Brabant Engineering confirms this. ‘It is fantastic to see these two guys
(Maikel Schellekens and Tim van den Heuvel, operational manager and managing
consultant at Xelvin) doing everything possible to provide us with suitable
candidates who match our company. I also notice Maikel and Tim complement each
other so well. A heavy-hitter and a real people person, they’re a golden duo
for us! “

Brabant
Engineering

Tom has been employed as a
people manager at Brabant Engineering for three years now. It is imperative to
him that a candidate fits the company in terms of their character: “We
have an informal atmosphere, and there is no hierarchy. There has to be a click;
the people at Xelvin have a good idea of ​​what that click means. “

Development

Personal development is vital
for Brabant Engineering: “A candidate must be a 70% fit regarding our
company culture and have 30% of the knowledge of the specific technology. We
are happy to teach him or her the rest. You must be prepared to develop
yourself. Otherwise, there is little chance of success. “Tom tells how he
gives the new people a clear vision of their career:” We want to ‘push’
starters up as quickly as possible to create space for new ones. In the past,
someone would take about seven years to take the next step in his or her
career. Now you can expect to do that in 3 or 4 years. “

International
Recruitment

The working relationship
between Xelvin and Brabant Engineering received a positive boost this year
through International Recruitment: “At the beginning of the year, I always
visit the contact people from our customers to see how the land lies. Tom
indicated that he would need to strengthen the workforce later in the year, but
given the profile, I could already see that it would be difficult to fulfil
these needs with Dutch employees. We can accommodate progress, but Brabant
Engineering wants to expand fast, so we need to look at other avenues, such as
International Recruitment. “

Maikel has been working at
Xelvin since March 2016. He started as a recruitment consultant, and he grew
from managing consultant through to operational manager today. His focus is on
development engineering. He says he began at Xelvin right at the right time:
“At that time, the job market was not very good, what better way to learn?
In times like that, you have to stand out against the competition. Otherwise,
you’re not going to get anywhere. You learn a lot during such a phase. This
experience helps me in my work, even now. In recent years, we have grown from
35 to 50 projects in our department. A remarkable increase of which we can be
proud. “

Highpoint 2018:
Portugal

The two companies experienced
a high point in their partnership last August. Maikel and Tim were going to
Porto for a few days to have a session with several candidates. They invited
Tom (people manager from Brabant Engineering), a project manager and the
technical manager to accompany them on the trip. Maikel says: ‘It is an
excellent way to get a clear image of a candidate in his or her own
environment. Joint trips with our clients are also a unique opportunity to get
to know each other better, which contributes to an even better assessment of
whether a candidate fits our client. “

Successful
placements

The journey was certainly not
a waste of time. Judging by the new employees, both companies can call the trip
a success for their business. Of the 14 candidates seen, ten were deemed
suitable, and in the end, six candidates started at Brabant Engineering. Tom
says: “From our perspective, you naturally want this to work. Xelvin
invited us to come along, so it’s a bonus if we get a good result. The
candidates turned out to be very suitable. “

Shared
responsibility

Our companies share
responsibility for the consequences of hiring such a large number of employees
from abroad, according to Maikel. They work together to support the integration
of the people: “It is crucial to react quickly to ensure that the process
runs as smoothly as possible. Taking a job in another country is a big step.
Guidance about business culture and social aspects is essential. Tom agrees
“We hadn’t gone through any international recruitment for a while
(2011-2012), so we had to get used to it again. Now we notice, for example,
that it is a good idea to schedule regular meetings, to see if we can help and
to ensure that our new colleagues remain satisfied.”

Strong Bond

Maikel explains that the trip
abroad has cemented the already strong bond between Xelvin Eindhoven and
Brabant Engineering. “The bond was already good, but such a trip brings
you even closer together. There’s just a good click between us and that means
everything works well”. Part of having success is, of course, about
celebrating and enjoying it. Toasting our achievement is part of that, says
Tom: “We had a nice dinner and a drink together, and we enjoyed a good
laugh. That makes your job enjoyable, and that’s the best thing there is.
“

This strong bond ensures that
Tom also makes deliberate choices: “We’re not going to do this sort of
thing with another party any time soon. I know what I get from Xelvin, and that
costs me the least energy and stress. My first choice is always Xelvin and only
if that doesn’t work out will I look at other parties “.