Combell is strongly committed to a sustainable personnel management policy

There is good reason why the people who work in a company are called 'collaborators': they all contribute to the development of that company. And it is the company's responsibility to offer them the best possible conditions (both physical and mental), so that they can play their part in the growth of the company, as well as in their personal development. Combell is strongly committed to a sustainable personnel management policy, but how exactly do we approach this?

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Horizontal organisation makes direct dialogue possible

Combell puts its teams first. This means that each team member has a team lead who is a trusted point of contact for passing on suggestions and raising problems. This creates a healthy horizontal organisation, which promotes open communication.

We believe in an open feedback culture. Collaborators can thus receive feedback (both formally and informally), but most importantly, they can also provide feedback.

Collaborators can also regularly express their opinions via staff surveys, where any points for improvement can be immediately turned into action points.

Personal development thanks to career path

Although the company has been booming in recent years, Combell still wants to retain the atmosphere of one big family that it has created since its inception. A family where collaborators feel at home, and where they can further blossom, learn and grow. Every new employee is assigned a mentor, and we also provide in-house training to ensure that the newcomer quickly feels at home in his/her new job.

But Combell collaborators who are more experienced also get the chance to develop their careers. This can be achieved within their own team, but also outside, by holding a different position. Combell invests in training courses and external conferences, which is something technical profiles find particularly interesting.

Sadly, many congresses and events have been cancelled in 2020. But that is where webinars come in handy: Combell itself has also taken the opportunity to pass on the knowledge of its experts to customers and prospects by holding webinars.

Maintaining a family atmosphere despite strong growth

All of this contributes to a pleasant working atmosphere, especially as Combell manages to maintain it: in a recent satisfaction survey, 99% of the surveyed collaborators said they were happy. This is again confirmed by the low staff turnover: only once in a while does an employee leave the company. What is more, 3 or 4 colleagues who left have actually returned after a few years because working at Combell is so much fun!

Combell manages to maintain the atmosphere of one big family, despite its phenomenal growth. And the satisfaction surveys prove this.

Ensuring physical and mental health

Healthy workers feel more comfortable in their own skin – and that is true for both physical and mental health. That is why Combell organises various workshops to make colleagues aware of the importance of ergonomics and stress relief at work – the right posture to sit at your desk, the necessary relaxation for your eyes when you are doing a lot of computer work, breathing exercises, and so on. Last year, we even scheduled a laughter yoga workshop, which was an incredibly relaxing experience!

We also planned a lot of activities for 2020, but due to the COVID-19 crisis, we were forced to cancel them all. However, we at Combell are not standing idly by: we used the break in these group activities to devise a comprehensive wellbeing programme for 2021, with the help of an external partner. This will allow us to tackle a particular topic on a quarterly basis, such as healthy exercise, healthy eating, mental wellbeing, etc.

HR is currently collaborating with team leads to improve the mental wellbeing of employees by scheduling a Zoom call with team leads every 2 weeks, so that we can check how the team is doing in these peculiar times.

All hands on deck for the coronavirus action plan

2020 will forever be remembered as the year of the coronavirus pandemic. Since last March, this has caused a major upheaval. Where in 'normal' circumstances, people occasionally worked from home, teleworking suddenly became compulsory. Quite a change as far as the working environment is concerned, but also from a mental point of view. The daily routine is completely disrupted, you miss the relaxing moments and the chats at the coffee machine – social contact is virtually non-existent, and no Zoom conference can remedy that... 

Combell immediately addressed this issue, and the HR business partner regularly called the employees at home to check how they were doing. HR also gave the teams various tips on how to organise homework and much more. In April, each collaborator also received a gift basket to thank everyone for their efforts. This was followed by a consumption voucher in September, which employees could use for cultural activities or refreshments in restaurants and cafés. This was a great opportunity for Combell not only to thank its collaborators once again, but also to support the horeca sector and cultural activities.

When employees were able to return to the office, they were immediately given a welcome gift – a basket containing disposable masks, two cotton face masks and a small bottle of hand sanitizing gel. This was intended to make the transfer to the office even safer.

In the office itself, everything is COVID-proof: hand sanitizer dispensers are available everywhere, and the necessary measures have been taken to be able to maintain the 1.5 metre distance at all times. We determined the maximum number of people allowed per island on each floor, and this is how Combell guarantees optimum security.

Unfortunately, we are still living in uncertain times, with measures that vary from one week to the next, or even from one region to another, depending on whether the situation gets worse or better. It is unclear how long these restrictions will apply – and what their impact will be on working conditions, social interaction between colleagues and team spirit. But Combell's HR teams are ready to deal with them. Of course, we keep a close eye on the measures imposed by the government, but we always pay extra attention to the wellbeing of all our employees, which remains our main concern. Together, we will get through it. 

Be part of the Combell passion

One thing is clear: Combell is well aware of the importance of the wellbeing of its staff within the company. Not only because happy employees are the best way to contribute to the company's growth. But mainly because it wants to stay true to the company's founding principles: at Combell, people are key.

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