A new era in recruitment TEXT: ARNE ADRIAENSSENS | PHOTOS: MEY PERSONEELSDIENSTEN
Like many other great businesses, MEY Personeelsdiensten (personnel services) was founded out of frustration with the state of the sector. Determined to turn the recruitment industry into a people’s business once more, its two young founders built their business on thorough screening and human interaction. “Our primary goal is to skyrocket long and steady careers”. When Yff Zwartepoorte flunked in secondary school in 2017, he decided to take a sabbatical to work and explore his options. “I ended up doing temporary jobs for a work office with a questionable 40 | Issue 70 | October 2019
reputation in our region,” Zwartepoorte recalls. “Companies were sent underqualified employees or even people who didn’t speak a single word of Dutch or English. Their only objective was to make as much profit as possible, regardless of the consequences for the employer or employees.” While working for this job office, Zwartepoorte met Stephan Broomhead, a fellow employee with similar frustrations about the business. “We thought: we can do better.”
Success stories With this mindset, the young duo founded MEY Personeelsdiensten, a recruit-
ment office unlike any other. “What sets us apart is our thorough screening of every company we work for and every candidate-employee whose resumé we receive. Whenever a company decides to work with us, we head to their offices and observe their way of working. This way, we know exactly what they are looking for. With the business profile that we assemble about them in hand, we hunt for the perfect match. Before we even consider placing a worker somewhere, we have a decent talk with the employee to get to know them and see their passion, experience and talent. Only if we are convinced that the company and