Hilaire Van Der Haeghe
“Continuity is one of the drivers of a successful enterprise”, comments Christian Vanderhaeghe, former director and current Chairman of the Board of Hilaire Van Der Haeghe (HH). “When we realised that my move would coincide with the departure of two other executives, we decided to arrange timely and efficient succession. We also wanted to offer development opportunities to existing talented employees.”
Three individuals with high potential would in time take on the roles of general, financial and commercial directors. HH wanted a reliable partner to help with the development process. Via DIP, which has provided staffing support at HH for many years, the company was put in touch with SD Worx.
“Not only was our consultant familiar with the day-to-day operation of an SME, he was also a trusted individual whom everyone felt free to talk to."
The proposed solution
SD Worx assisted the employees throughout the different stages prior to taking up their new positions. Once the ideal profile had been determined for each position, the three employees were assessed in order to identify their competencies and areas for improvement. During the next stage SD Worx supervised the personal development of the high potential individuals in order to prepare them for their new positions. The focus was on coaching at both individual and team level. How could the candidates apply their new skills in practice and cooperate in the best possible way?
“The SD Worx consultant played a major part in making the project successful”, states Christian Vanderhaeghe. “He steered us back in the right direction when it looked as though we might be distracted by operational matters, and continually kept the project on track. Where necessary he corrected our candidates during personal interviews and always managed to respond to our queries. Not only was he familiar with the day-to-day operation of an SME, he was also a trusted individual whom everyone felt free to talk to.
According to Christian Vanderhaeghe the three candidates have now built up reliable skills that are still being refined. The managers they will be in charge of are currently also undergoing training supervised by SD Worx.
