Team

Our people make the difference. Each employee makes a unique and valuable contribution to the joint work of Heijmans. It is precisely the mix of different disciplines and backgrounds that makes us strong. We look at complex assignments together and from all angles. This often leads to innovative solutions. If necessary, we expand our knowledge and skills by adding new competencies. We are always open, curious and inclusive. This is how we get the best out of ourselves and each other every single day.

Leadership and adaptability

Our managers play a crucial role in guiding the changes needed to realise our strategy. This is why we give them the support and space they need to effectively involve their teams in these changes. It is important that they convey the right information and message to their colleagues. We encourage our managers to connect with teams throughout the organisation. This helps ensure that employees are and remain involved and can get the best out of themselves.

Unifying leaders

Heijmans is making the move to become a sustainable leader, one that plays a prominent role in the continued development of the Netherlands. This requires a different approach from our managers. For example, they need to be able to switch smoothly between realising today's goals and what is needed for tomorrow.

We ask our managers to show ownership and encourage their colleagues to get the best out of themselves. At the same time, it is still their job to manage teams to achieve the best results. Unifying leadership is essential in this, with a very clear focus on effective cooperation between teams and departments. Of course, we provide managers with the tools and training they need for their own development. We are evolving our leadership vision and implementing it in our existing leadership programmes.

Talent development

Heijmans sees talent management as an integral part of our long-term strategy. We focus on attracting, developing and retaining talent so they can make the best possible contribution to the goals we have set out in our ‘Together towards 2030’ strategy. Focusing on talent is more important than ever in a tight labour market. Of course, this starts with retaining our current employees and is essential when recruiting and selecting new employees. With this in mind, we launched an innovative labour market campaign at the end of 2024 that is closely aligned with our brand strategy.

Talent programmes

We invest in recruiting and guiding young talent, including trainees, apprentices and other newcomers to the labour market. Every year, we launch a talent programme across the entire Heijmans organisation for so-called young potentials with approximately three years of work experience. The ‘Leaders of Tomorrow’ programme has been specially designed for the group of advanced management potentials. We carefully select the participants for this programme on the basis of a development reviews. They must also be eligible for their next career step in the short term. This is how we encourage well-trained and motivated talent to continue working with us.

In addition to these broad talent programmes, our business units also have their own development activities for talented professionals. These include skills training, personal development and coaching and in-depth sessions on specific strategic themes. These activities, organised and supervised by the management of the business units and supported by HR, are aimed at investing in current and new talent and stimulating advancement within the organisation. We measure this using a KPI based on the percentage of internal appointments to key positions: the top 10% of our workforce. We once again achieved the target for this – 60% – in 2024 with a figure of 71%. We deliberately recruit the remainder from outside the organisation. After all, this ensures fresh input and a fresh perspective on things.

Future-proof skillset

Heijmans' strength has always lain in the versatility of our disciplines, the integrated use of these and our professional competence. Of course we will do everything we can to retain these strong characteristics. But changing circumstances, such as the ageing population and the tight labour market, as well as new ways of working, also require us to be adaptable. Rapid developments in the market, society and technology mean we have to redefine roles on a regular basis. We expect many of our colleagues to have jobs in 2030 that did not even exist in 2020.

Of course, we will guide our colleagues through every phase of their development, making sure they are well prepared for the future. We will focus on critical technological and digital skills and competencies in the field of sustainable development. We will carefully map out the differences between current and future roles to ensure we are optimally prepared for the developments of tomorrow and the day after tomorrow.

Learning and development

In the development of our employees, we are seeing a shift from formal learning through education and training to informal learning. Practical experience, new technologies such as AI and learning from each other are becoming increasingly common. Nevertheless, it is still very important to have teachers to maintain professional competencies. This is why employees with extensive practical experience spend part of their working time training future generations. In addition, we encourage colleagues to take steps in their own development and to make the most of their talents. We support them by offering a wide and varied range of internal training courses, both online and on-site. In Veenendaal, for example, we have combined our electrical engineering courses for our professionals.

Feeling good about yourself

A vital lifestyle helps with professional growth and the development of new skills. As an employer, we therefore see it as our duty to promote health and vitality. Depending on their age, every Heijmans employee receives an invitation to a Periodic Occupational Health Examination (PAGO) once every two or four years. This is a preventive examination of the personal health of employees, intended to assess lifestyle and any health risks. We have incorporated the most common risks from the Periodic Occupational Health Examinations of recent years into an organisation-wide vitality programme. This programme pays particular attention to living a healthier life, achieving a healthy balance and preventing and managing risks.

These themes are also reflected in the programme of activities that the ‘Vitality’ working group organises throughout the year. In 2024, the programme included a workshop by the Nutrition Academy, including a ‘sugar challenge’, and inspiration sessions with Thijs Launspach (author of ‘Staying Mentally Healthy in a Disturbed World’), former hockey player Maartje Paumen, and Marco Hoogland (author of ‘Get the Best Out of Yourself Physically and Mentally’). Our internal communication channel Viva Engage also has a group called ‘Vitality’, where colleagues share information and inspiration on the theme of vitality.

Diverse and inclusive employer

Everyone should feel welcome at Heijmans. That is why diversity in our workforce is one of our top priorities. We are convinced that a mix of employees in terms of age, gender and physical abilities makes our organisation stronger. Less visible differences, including culture, philosophy of life, sexual orientation, character, talent and experience, also increase the versatility of our company. We want to make further progress on this front in the run-up to 2030. This is based on our conviction that the diversity of colleagues with different backgrounds and perspectives can help us come up with better solutions for complex problems.

Celebrate our differences

We take advantage of various opportunities to make colleagues aware of the benefits of diversity in the workplace and to promote a culture of inclusion. We do this under the motto ‘Celebrate our differences’. The main principle is that everyone is equal, but not the same. Diversity at Heijmans means that we value and celebrate these differences. Last year, this was expressed in the workshop ‘Getting started with inclusion in the workplace’ and a well-attended breakfast session on diversity, inclusion and social safety. Every year, we focus on initiatives such as Diversity Day and International Women's Day. In addition, individual departments at Heijmans launch their own initiatives to promote inclusion. An example of this is the use of a VR experience, which gives colleagues the opportunity to put themselves in situations of social inequality so they can increase their understanding and awareness.