Ellen te Walvaart started as team leader in the finishing department within HFI last September. Once trained in pedagogy, she ended up working in production at a technical company. As team leader, she can perfectly combine this technical knowledge and social skills.
HOW DID YOU END UP AT HFI?
‘Before this, I worked at Philips Lighting for over 27 years. Here I started in production and worked my way up in small steps through more and more responsibilities to team leader. Due to a reorganisation in which the entire production moved to Poland, I actually had to look for something else. At that point, you start looking around for opportunities. Then HFI came my way and I went for an interview, and now we have been here since September. The product we make here and the process involved is very different from my previous job. The fine mechanical industry is a lot more sophisticated work. That piece of fine practical knowledge I had built up in 27 years at my previous job was something I missed at first. You can’t expect that of yourself, but I am a perfectionist and that sometimes made things difficult at the start. In a new job, you do come up against yourself for a while. That also means that I can now empathise better with new employees.
WHAT DOES YOUR ROLE WITHIN HFI ENTAIL?
‘I am mainly involved in restructuring the department. Recently, we have been growing tremendously as a company. When I started there were 10 people in the finishing department and now six months later there are already 17. We had to restructure the department. Both in the process and in the rules, agreements had to be made to work together more effectively and better. For some, this change process goes faster than for others. This is logical, because people have to make a change and that takes time. As team leader, I have to deal with this and make sure people go along with it. I also try to make it clear to them why we are going to do things differently and what the overall aim is. In doing so, I hope that over time people will then come up with improvements themselves. In addition, my goal as team leader is to ensure that people enjoy coming to work. I want them to come in with a smile and also go home with a smile. Anything that happens in between, that can make you not go home with a smile, we have to discuss that.’
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO PEOPLE LOOKING FOR A LEADERSHIP ROLE IN THE TECH INDUSTRY?
‘You have to build a nice team around you and appreciate people around you and recognise their qualities. If you know you have someone who is good on quality then you need to put them there and give them that trust and recognition. Then, as a team leader, you get that back too.’
‘I don’t have all the knowledge of the products now and then I admit that honestly and openly. There are people in the company who do have that knowledge and I ask them for help. Value the knowledge they have, then they will value you more too.’
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE HFI AS A COMPANY?
‘It is an open company. By open company, I mean open communication. We are honest with each other and communicate. We are with a nice and friendly club and are good at working together. We know where our areas for improvement are as a company and are open to addressing them as well. You are allowed to make mistakes here as long as you learn from them. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you do within HFI, you notice that everyone is appreciated because everyone contributes. At HFI, people come first. It may sound stupid, but I really feel at home here.’