Engagement is the ultimate ingredient for a top organisation

The world is changing faster than ever. In addition to, among other challenges, the aging population, shortages in the labour market, digitalisation, and different generations sharing the workplace, HR is now also getting a fair portion of disruptive events on their plate almost every day. The role of human resources is therefore evolving rapidly, and agility is no longer just a buzzword. If we want to become and remain a top organisation, we must be flexible in responding to the needs of our employees. Key ingredients in doing so: strong leadership, high employee involvement and a lot of attention to well-being at work.

Leadership

Today already, trust is at the core of our company culture. We have a getting-things-done mentality, encouraging team spirit, a sense of responsibility and the general involvement of our employees.

From our managers we expect a clear vision, the will and ability to continuously improve themselves, an entrepreneurial mindset, and strong communication skills. We deem all these qualities necessary because we are a team that works hard in order to achieve results, yet one that takes a soft approach to interrelationships as well. Making mistakes, we feel, is a normal part of the learning process. This attitude – coupled with various training programs – gives us a solid foundation to provide a safe working environment day in, day out.

Engagement

We also regularly organise pulse engagement surveys to see how we can keep our employees satisfied and involved in our organisation through global group actions and local initiatives. In that regard, the daily efforts of our motivated local management teams and engagement ambassadors make all the difference.

Well-being

Happy people do their job with passion and are therefore naturally more productive. Today, the well-being of our employees is higher than ever on the list of priorities at What’s Cooking? Of course, we have been implementing a zero-tolerance policy against violence and (sexual) harassment in the workplace for some time now. But we have also noticed a growing need for mental health support. Our range of workshops, digital training, psychological guidance, ... therefore continues to increase every day. We want our employees to feel confident, to be agile, and to maintain a good work-life balance.

Recipe for a high-performance organisation

To become a top organisation at the highest possible level, we must not lose sight of our soft skills as an employer. What’s Cooking? fully embraces strong but empathetic leadership and an open, hands-on culture with a strong focus on the well-being and commitment of our employees. All basic HR ingredients for success are already strongly present in our organisation today, and we are using them well.

Siebren De Schutter HR Manager

What’s Cooking? Annual report 2022