We look for people who want to innovate and improve

Linda Cornelissen (39) is Witteveen+Bos’s HR adviser for the Infrastructure and Mobility sector. She is also group leader for Labour Market Communications and ‘SROI chief’. What it all comes down to: engaging people.  

Entrepreneurship

‘For as long as I’ve been working here, Witteveen+Bos has been faced with labour market shortages. That’s why we pull out all the stops to attract and retain technically gifted people. My job largely consists of asking questions and digging deeper: Where do your interests lie? What would you like to do? What did you enjoy during your studies and what didn’t you enjoy? I then ask myself: Can we offer that? We believe it’s important that there’s an entrepreneur inside every employee, because not everything’s fixed, not everything’s mapped out. We look for engaged people who are keen to look for chances and possibilities – who want to innovate, improve and add value.’

Internal vacancy portal

‘I was given that freedom myself and I made good use of it. In 2007 I began as a junior adviser. I then built up experience, switched sectors and was eventually given my own group: Labour Market Communications. This group brings our vacancies to the attention of the right target groups, not just externally but internally too. In 2022, for example, we launched an internal vacancy portal – a means for making development opportunities within Witteveen+Bos more visible. Initial reactions from colleagues have been very positive.’

SROI

‘Government clients want us to invest part of contract sums in SROI: social return on investment. Among other things, this means that we offer work to people distanced from the labour market, such as new arrivals to the country or former benefit recipients. It fits in with our core value of providing value for society. You can do that by designing sustainable buildings but equally by being good to people. We also benefit from it. Witteveen+Bos serves the whole of society, so it helps to have different voices and backgrounds in house. Why, then, do we still need government clients that require SROI? I believe it’s extra motivation. Because we want to but also have to, the number of nationalities represented at Witteveen+Bos has increased in recent years.’