Our CHRO Andrea Bodstein-Walenciak and Head of Talent & Organisation Magdalena Miedzianowska explain how Kramp is addressing a challenge affecting industry at large: recruitment and retention. 

Andrea Bodstein-Walenciak
Magdalena Miedzianowska

“We have certainly found it more difficult to attract and retain people in the last year, particularly at the start of 2022,” says Andrea. “So, we had to look at our offer to existing employees and candidates. 

“We do have highly engaged staff who typically stay a long time, but in a very competitive market, some colleagues moved on. It’s then very important for us to understand the reasons behind that decision and make improvements accordingly.  

New approaches to recruitment and retention

“What made recruitment even harder,” adds Magdalena, “is that we had not faced such challenging conditions recently. We decided to move to an internal recruitment model in the last quarter of 2022, for a faster, more efficient service with more focus on the candidate experience. 

“Other changes include standardising recruitment processes across the organisation in the future we will be giving hiring managers more training and digital tools, and increasing our social media presence for visibility. We also took steps to make our rewards packages clearer, reviewed our flexible working options, expanded our training offering and introduced a learning management system. We’re also involving our own people in creating more eLearning. We have always actively encouraged ambitious career progression, and are now creating more formal paths to make possibilities clearer.” 

“The way we introduced our new values was important here, too,” Andrea says, “boosting engagement, with lots of opportunities to come together – which is the Kramp way.” 

“For 2023,” Magdalena concludes, “we have planned a big chunk of improvements. More transparent sharing of vacancies to encourage internal recruitment. More data to guide recruitment and retention, rolling out multiple-language training across all countries, and refreshing our brand as an employer.” 

> Career at Kramp

A colleague’s experience

Emma Slagter – O'flaherty, Assistant to CHRO and COO, is born in Australia and started at Kramp Groep in Varsseveld at the beginning of 2021. Watch the video where Emma shares her story how she ends in the Netherlands and has experienced her Kramp journey so far.

Olena Zakharenko, Manager Finance & Control, started at Kramp Ukraine and moved in 2022 to Kramp Groep in Varsseveld. She shares her Kramp journey so far. “I joined Kramp Ukraine in March 2021,” says Olena, “after a recruiter contacted me about the role of Manager Finance & Control for Ukraine. “I wanted to work in an international environment, and Kramp offered that.” 

Olena Zakharenko

A very human approach

“My expectations of Kramp were exceeded. What I found was a large company but with a very human approach. The people I work with support me in my professional development, and my personal wellbeing too. You are seen as a real person with a life and your overall happiness matters. To feel that you are being taken care of in such a big company is quite remarkable.” 

An international opportunity

“I became Manager Finance & Control for Kramp Groep in November 2022, and moved here from Ukraine. At first, I had my doubts about the new role in a foreign environment, but I was excited about the new challenge. From a managerial point of view, it was certainly a step up. I now manage a team of Dutch people; I am just starting to learn Dutch, and you need to take the time to understand the people and their culture. Working in another country is something I always wanted to do – I studied for my MBA in the USA - so I was excited to make this move. 

“I’m proud to work for a company that tried to help in so many ways."

“The work is challenging in a good way, and I know I can develop and progress; I feel I can do a lot at Kramp – the opportunities are there. I’m also grateful for the support that Kramp offered to colleagues in Kramp Ukraine since the day the war began. I’m proud to work for a company that tried to help in so many ways.” 

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