Approach Ecolab project in Spain
Pressure at work: we all know that feeling. Many team leaders may be tempted to keep his or her team mainly up and running to get the job done. At H.Essers, we prefer to opt for flexibility. By doing so, we not only help our customers grow, but also our own employees. A good example is the approach to our Ecolab project in Spain. Kathleen Quintiens and Melissa Nouwen are happy to explain. Curious? Read more here below!
“If you want people to grow, you have to give them the chance to do so.
As team leader, Kathleen Quintiens manages a motivated team of employees. Based in Genk, they are responsible for the administrative and planning tasks for our customer Ecolab on a daily basis. After the takeover of the Spanish company Coral Transport & Stocks, H.Essers decided to set up a new branch for Ecolab in Barcelona. Kathleen then asked her colleague Melissa Nouwen to help steer the project in Spain in the right direction.
Melissa and Kathleen are two experienced, well-matched colleagues in a team of twelve employees under Serge Moors. “We take on all the administrative tasks for Ecolab,” says Kathleen, herself. “We monitor incoming and outgoing goods and are in constant contact with the customer. We do that with twelve team members, and even then the tasks are quite challenging.” When our company acquired Coral Transport & Stocks in Spain in September, it also created an opportunity for the expansion of Ecolab’s business. It was no easy task to cope with this with the current team. Nevertheless, Kathleen decided to send an experienced colleague to Spain. “This way we were able to supervise the expansion process optimally.”
React rapidly
Melissa turned out to be the perfect person to travel south. “I have been on location there for about three weeks,” she says, “and in March I will be going for another week. So far, the set-up of the new Ecolab department has gone smoothly. Of course, the Coral team worked differently, but because we had communicated our guidelines and input beforehand, the switch was made quickly.” Whether the language barrier played a role in that communication? Melissa: “It does. We can speak English to each other, but more complex terms sometimes caused some confusion. It is therefore important to be on the ball and to be physically present on a regular basis in order to keep everything on track.”
Giving opportunities
In March, the Ecolab hall in Spain will be fully operational, requiring the presence of Melissa – and perhaps a second colleague. Not a problem for Kathleen, who feels it is important that, despite the busyness in her own department in Genk, our customer can also count on the right expertise in Southern Europe. “We work as a team on our customers’ projects,” says Kathleen. “It’s not just the customer who benefits from this, because if you want people to grow, you have to give them the opportunity. We are very happy to do that at H.Essers.” Melissa agrees: “If every team member does his or her bit, the whole team moves forward.”