Xelvin en Brabant Engineering pushing back boundaries together, literally and figuratively

In the football world, we often talk about the ideal partnership between numbers 9 and 10. In the world of technical secondment, you can think of Xelvin Eindhoven and Brabant Engineering in the same way. A combination that just works. We say ‘just’ because this relationship is based on mutual trust and an excellent click between the two companies. In today’s world, this is a unique occurrence in the secondment sector.

People Manager, Tom van Brabant Engineering confirms this. ‘It is fantastic to see these two guys (Maikel Schellekens and Tim van den Heuvel, operational manager and managing consultant at Xelvin) doing everything possible to provide us with suitable candidates who match our company. I also notice Maikel and Tim complement each other so well. A heavy-hitter and a real people person, they’re a golden duo for us! “

Brabant Engineering

Tom has been employed as a people manager at Brabant Engineering for three years now. It is imperative to him that a candidate fits the company in terms of their character: “We have an informal atmosphere, and there is no hierarchy. There has to be a click; the people at Xelvin have a good idea of ​​what that click means. “

Development

Personal development is vital for Brabant Engineering: “A candidate must be a 70% fit regarding our company culture and have 30% of the knowledge of the specific technology. We are happy to teach him or her the rest. You must be prepared to develop yourself. Otherwise, there is little chance of success. “Tom tells how he gives the new people a clear vision of their career:” We want to ‘push’ starters up as quickly as possible to create space for new ones. In the past, someone would take about seven years to take the next step in his or her career. Now you can expect to do that in 3 or 4 years. “

International Recruitment

The working relationship between Xelvin and Brabant Engineering received a positive boost this year through International Recruitment: “At the beginning of the year, I always visit the contact people from our customers to see how the land lies. Tom indicated that he would need to strengthen the workforce later in the year, but given the profile, I could already see that it would be difficult to fulfil these needs with Dutch employees. We can accommodate progress, but Brabant Engineering wants to expand fast, so we need to look at other avenues, such as International Recruitment. “

Maikel has been working at Xelvin since March 2016. He started as a recruitment consultant, and he grew from managing consultant through to operational manager today. His focus is on development engineering. He says he began at Xelvin right at the right time: “At that time, the job market was not very good, what better way to learn? In times like that, you have to stand out against the competition. Otherwise, you’re not going to get anywhere. You learn a lot during such a phase. This experience helps me in my work, even now. In recent years, we have grown from 35 to 50 projects in our department. A remarkable increase of which we can be proud. “

Highpoint 2018: Portugal

The two companies experienced a high point in their partnership last August. Maikel and Tim were going to Porto for a few days to have a session with several candidates. They invited Tom (people manager from Brabant Engineering), a project manager and the technical manager to accompany them on the trip. Maikel says: ‘It is an excellent way to get a clear image of a candidate in his or her own environment. Joint trips with our clients are also a unique opportunity to get to know each other better, which contributes to an even better assessment of whether a candidate fits our client. “

Successful placements

The journey was certainly not a waste of time. Judging by the new employees, both companies can call the trip a success for their business. Of the 14 candidates seen, ten were deemed suitable, and in the end, six candidates started at Brabant Engineering. Tom says: “From our perspective, you naturally want this to work. Xelvin invited us to come along, so it’s a bonus if we get a good result. The candidates turned out to be very suitable. “

Shared responsibility

Our companies share responsibility for the consequences of hiring such a large number of employees from abroad, according to Maikel. They work together to support the integration of the people: “It is crucial to react quickly to ensure that the process runs as smoothly as possible. Taking a job in another country is a big step. Guidance about business culture and social aspects is essential. Tom agrees “We hadn’t gone through any international recruitment for a while (2011-2012), so we had to get used to it again. Now we notice, for example, that it is a good idea to schedule regular meetings, to see if we can help and to ensure that our new colleagues remain satisfied.”

Strong Bond

Maikel explains that the trip abroad has cemented the already strong bond between Xelvin Eindhoven and Brabant Engineering. “The bond was already good, but such a trip brings you even closer together. There’s just a good click between us and that means everything works well”. Part of having success is, of course, about celebrating and enjoying it. Toasting our achievement is part of that, says Tom: “We had a nice dinner and a drink together, and we enjoyed a good laugh. That makes your job enjoyable, and that’s the best thing there is. “

This strong bond ensures that Tom also makes deliberate choices: “We’re not going to do this sort of thing with another party any time soon. I know what I get from Xelvin, and that costs me the least energy and stress. My first choice is always Xelvin and only if that doesn’t work out will I look at other parties “.

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