Willem, how did you come to Publieke Zaken (PZ), and can you describe your development within PZ?
Certainly, I came to PZ through René Leegte, the founder of Publieke Zaken. We both studied in Wageningen and always kept in touch. I was ready for a new career step and René and Thomas Truijens were looking for a director for the company. And so it happened, in April 2023 I started at Publieke Zaken.
For me, moving to PZ was a real career switch. Primarily, my role is to adjust and coordinate the structure as the company has grown rapidly in recent years. On a daily basis, this involves developing and managing colleagues, organizing activities, vacancy management, finances, administration and more. I also form the management team together with Thomas and René.
That sounds very versatile, can you describe a workday? And what was your best day at PZ so far?
My days are mainly characterized by conversations with colleagues and meetings with management, MT and stakeholders. At the moment, I am also immersing myself in the content of PZ's work. I try to gain as much knowledge as possible about what is going on and what we advise our clients.
My best day so far was a team meeting where we worked with Belbin's team role model. A beautiful, inspiring day where everyone was present and where we took steps to make the team even more successful working together.
When is your workday successful, and what would you like to accomplish at all within PZ?
My day is successful when I have accomplished at the end of the day what I set out to do at the beginning. I don't always succeed, because questions and unexpected things always come up. On the other hand, that makes it extra interesting and dynamic. My goal in the coming months is to create an appropriate and well-functioning structure that is clear and manageable for everyone at PZ and to realize the further growth of the company. Moreover, I think it is important to "just be there" for all colleagues and to facilitate that everyone works with passion and pleasure for this beautiful company.
A great pursuit! What makes this industry interesting to you, and what is the most valuable thing you learned at PZ?
In recent years I have worked in large companies in the financial sector. There, a lot was already regulated and organized. Here, it's all different. PZ has grown rapidly since its inception, which is not always easy and the structure of the company will also have to grow with it. That is super fun to supervise with the knowledge I bring with me from the past.
The most valuable thing I've learned is still hard to pinpoint, given that I've only been here a short time. But being able to think up, pick up and arrange all kinds of things myself, and especially the speed at which this is possible here, really gives me a boost.
In closing, you talk a lot about the connection between colleagues. What is your favorite topic to discuss with them?
We work with a relatively young team and we have lunch together every day. That in itself is great. I actually find all topics interesting, both developments in our field as well as stories about sports, vacations and random household facts.
