On 2 July 2018, engineering and consultancy firm Witteveen+Bos opened its first mobile office, referred to as ‘Hop-On-Hop-Office’. The initiators, Maarten Buurmans, Peter Puttkammer and Coen Teeuw, symbolically handed over the key to the mobile office to Managing Director Karin Sluis.

This summer, the Hop-On-Hop-Office will be used to enable employees to do office work in locations where this may not be very easy, and as a special way to showcase Witteveen+Bos. With this initiative, Witteveen+Bos shows that entrepreneurship is welcomed at all levels of the organisation: the initiators came up with the idea themselves, and the new office is now available for use by all colleagues.

Maarten Buurmans, Peter Puttkammer and Coen Teeuw explain: ‘In February we heard about Witteveen+Bos’s plans to open pop-up offices in locations close to our clients and the employment market. We wanted to take this one step further and develop a mobile office, so we can work anywhere we want. Over the coming period, for example, we will be taking it to the port of Antwerp, where we wouldn’t have had any suitable meeting location otherwise. We can now also plan appointments on building sites where there are no facilities yet. Thanks to our Hop-On-Hop-Office we can inspect the site, consult with others on the spot, and then get to work there as well.’ This prevents unnecessary travel time halfway through the day, since the Hop-On-Hop-Office is a fully equipped office with workstations, an internet connection and kitchen facilities.

Managing Director Karin Sluis: ‘It is really exciting to see how colleagues have given shape to this initiative in their own unique way. They convinced me in fun way, by showing me an old camper van that they had turned into an office. I really liked the idea right away – we want to get closer to the employment market as well as to our clients, and this is a very effective way to achieve this. There were a number of financial and legal hurdles to overcome, but they have since transformed a conceptual idea into an office on wheels with a professional appearance. I really appreciate and admire their efforts, particularly because to Maarten, Peter and Coen the mobile office is a means to fulfil their own ambitions. And that is what we want: for Witteveen+Bos to be the platform where our people can make their own dreams come true.’