Having many employees who have been with us for the longest time is the very best compliment. Staff shortages? At Teamplast, that's fortunately not a problem.
Lisa Benthem
21 februari 2023
Having many employees who have been with us for the longest time is the very best compliment. Staff shortages? At Teamplast, that's fortunately not a problem.
Lisa Benthem
21 februari 2023
Our very first employee is Alan Koning, who has been a driving force in our team for over 25 years. He is sometimes difficult to track down in the 8,000 m2 building, where his expertise is called on for many things. From thinking up creative personnel trips, itemising our energy consumption, to his valued vision on the quality of the coffee. A project manager in heart and soul, Alan combines his technical knowhow with managing extensive improvement projects. Nothing is too difficult for this all-rounder, and his positive energy and enthusiasm reverberate around the building.
In my interview with Priscilla, I ask her about the much-discussed personnel shortages and how Teamplast tries to attract, but above all retain employees. I discover that she often uses her employees' networks, which often means that posting a job vacancy is not even necessary. For her, our own employees are the most reliable referrers.
Priscilla Koning
For over 25 years, Piet Pater has been known within the walls of Teamplast as someone who thinks in terms of solutions. The hustle and bustle of a production company does not make it easy for him to keep a cool head, but his willpower and perseverance are unrivalled. A continuously operating machine park presents new challenges every day which Piet is happy to embrace. In his role as Production Manager, he leads a team of 30 people who describe him as a good guy who also shows an interest in and understands things outside work.
The company has an active Personnel Association to which all the employees pay a monthly contribution. Besides a yearly celebration of anniversaries, every three months an activity involving everyone is planned that contributes to our team spirit. For example, at Teamplast we regularly organise a Foodtruck for a communal lunch, or a healthy walking lunch with delicious products from Luchtig. To mark every 5-year Teamplast anniversary, we celebrate in style with a weekend away with colleagues and partners. According to Priscilla, Teamplast is good at combining work with social activities and relaxation, which helps boost employee satisfaction.
Working well together and feeling understood by your colleagues contributes to job satisfaction. Employee satisfaction is very important to Teamplast, whose aim is to actively contribute to the job satisfaction of its employees. "We obviously get people grumbling or disagreeing sometimes, but really wanting to do better every day and devoting attention to people makes a great difference," says Priscilla.
People are regularly added to the teams, but as we said, Teamplast doesn't regard this as a problem. So, how do you keep things personal in an organisation with around 100 different faces in the building?
Priscilla proudly describes the onboarding programme in which all the departments help provide a warm welcome.
You know the score: you're new, you don't know very much and after 1 day you've forgotten someone's name.
At Teamplast, they have a solution in the form of a buddy, who will answer any questions.
Someone who, after 25 years at Teamplast, knows exactly how things work is Rein Vosselman! He is the man driving the forklift truck, and nothing escapes him when it comes to the quality of the incoming and outgoing goods. As the first emergency response team member in the company, he plays an important role with respect to safety and takes this responsibility very seriously. But fortunately, you can also rely on Rein for a laugh too.
A good gauge for employee satisfaction is the fact that many people have been with Teamplast for a long time and turnover is low. The best compliment that an employer can wish for, and which is hugely appreciated.
Priscilla realises that there are organisations which have difficulty recruiting and retaining good employees.
"I am sure that companies can do even more to improve job satisfaction and therefore ensure that they retain their workforce. Try a different approach one year and spend your recruitment and selection budgets on the employees you already have. And most importantly… Keep in touch, have that chat and ask people how they are doing!"