VanWonen declared ‘Great Place to Work’ for fourth consecutive year

“We conduct the Great Place to Work employee survey every year. This gives us insight into the level of trust, pride and happiness our colleagues experience. Our ambition is to create homes and living environments for the healthiest generations. As a ‘9+ organisation’, an organisation that is committed to customer experience excellence, we believe that happy employees contribute to happy customers. It is therefore fantastic to know that 92% of our colleagues say that, on the whole, they consider VanWonen a Great Place to Work organisation,” says Miranda Venekamp-Brandt, Director of Marketing, Sales & Rental Operations.  
 

Everyone has given their opinion

“At VanWonen you can make a real impact, you have the freedom and space to grow: this is the working environment we seek to create. It is precisely in these areas that we score high marks. And that’s what we want to maintain. Because we believe this is the way to contribute to the happiness and health of our employees. I am pleased that everyone completed the survey, everyone made their voices heard,” says HR adviser Mariët Oosterveld. “We use the results of the survey to continue to grow as a Great Place to Work. For this, we look at several dimensions: the level of trust (credibility, respect and fairness), the shared sense of camaraderie in the relationship between employees, and the relationship between employees and their job, based on pride.  
 

It goes without saying that a safe workplace is very important. Regardless of your background or position, you are always seen as a full, valuable team member. VanWonen scores high on the dimension of trust: colleagues experience trust and a high level of responsibility. Barbara Dorren, Coordinator of Marketing, Sales & Rental Operations, says: “I have been with the company for three years now. What immediately stood out to me was the attention that is paid to employees. It makes that I have trust in our team. And even though we have grown considerably, this personal attention remains steadfast. To give an example, I was pleasantly surprised by the Vitality Package that VanWonen offered us. I chose a healthy food package; which resulted in hilarious kitchen scenes at home. The vibe in the Sales team is good and when I feel that something could be done differently or better, there is room to discuss it. My colleagues are approachable and helpful. Together we have a big task; and sometimes we have to push hard to get everything done on time. We always put our shoulders to the wheel together, we trust each other and that is a great feeling.”

Sense of Camaraderie

94% of the VanWonen employees say they take pride in their work and experience camaraderie. “Despite our growth in our area of operation and in the number of colleagues, we continue to invest in ‘togetherness’ and connectedness. For instance, we work in project teams and have organised various fun activities in the past year, such as a project visit, the celebration of our 5th anniversary and several running and cycling events,” says Mariët. 
Project developer Hans Bonekamp adds: “I love complexity. We put in the miles by working together on our projects and area developments. One example is the De Waalhoven project in Nijmegen, on which we work together as a specially assembled team. Particularly in the current market conditions, everyone’s expertise is required to keep moving forward so that we get to the point of selling the first homes as soon as possible. In these circumstances, it’s great that you can count on your colleagues when you need them, and vice versa. 
Recently, during an extensive acquisition, I really noticed this: each of us went the extra mile to achieve the best result. And the MT was always readily available for coordination. This allows for quick action, makes you flexible as an organisation and creates a positive atmosphere.  Everyone in their own role, with their own expertise: it is how you build a strong team, so that everyone’s efforts contribute to the best VanWonen result. In recent years we have proven that we are able to deliver; now there will be the challenge of also keeping things on track in the face of headwinds. Given our open culture, connectedness and commitment, I am confident that we will keep succeeding.”  

Pride in your work

As area developers, we contribute to the housing task in our country. This pride is seen in the survey results. 89% of the VanWonen colleagues say their work has meaning and is not just a job. And 86% feel they are making a difference. This is a remarkable increase of 17% compared to the previous year.  
Matthijs Brouwer, Development Manager, reflects on this: “Through my work, I feel I contribute to society, by developing attractive residential environments and buildings. But also in a social sense; by contributing to liveable, affordable, sustainable and healthy living environments. We make a difference by working together with the municipality of Groningen, RuG, Hanze University of Applied Sciences and the lectureship The Healthy City. Through concrete research in VanWonen projects, we create even healthier living environments. Or by providing accommodation for 160 Ukrainian refugees in Assen. I enjoy working together to make an impact, for instance with municipalities, housing associations, social organisations and other market players in my region. Only by working together you will accomplish more.”

Together towards 9+

“These are great results. They underline our aim to become a 9+ organisation: an organisation that delivers customer experience excellence as well as employee engagement excellence. We will therefore maintain this course and our VanWonen way of working,” Mariët concludes.