Jacques van den Broek Transcript

Jacques van den Broek’s career has evolved over three decades in tandem with the growth of Randstad, the global consulting firm where he has risen through the ranks to CEO. He has both shaped and been shaped by the Dutch company’s values and vision, which today extend throughout a decentralized network of nearly 5,000 branches with core competencies that include: temporary staffing, outsourced HR services, assessments, and training. The publicly held company provides workforce solutions across sectors including engineering, accounting and finance, healthcare, human resources, IT, legal, life sciences, manufacturing and logistics, office and administration, and sales and marketing.

About Randstad’s unique workplace culture and philosophy.

The consulting company, which operates in 39 countries, still hews to the forward-looking vision of its founder, 88-year-old Frits Goldschmeding. It was his belief that companies don’t “have the right to exist if they’re not valuable to society.” And because consulting services are in some respects invisible, trust and integrity are knit into the company culture as a top priority. Reputational excellence is key with 40,000 employees today generating € 20.7 billion in income annually, placing as many as 2 million workers in offices across the globe each year.

Some of the trends Jacques sees on the horizon.

The current scarcity of available candidates in the job market has been something Jacques anticipated, based on demographic shifts and technological developments. Randstad has a talent pool that now exceeds 200 million individuals with whom recruiters are regularly in touch. Artificial intelligence has also proved a key tool for the industry, helping Randstad keep worker profiles current and options readily available. While jobs, for now, are abundant (especially in the healthcare, e-commerce, and education sectors) Jacques also sees writing on the wall for white-collar employees in certain industries with repetitive tasks that technology can replace (such as government, insurance, banking).

Who is responsible for you and your career and where’s it all heading?

Randstad surveyed several thousand people who were asked who was responsible for their careers and providing their family livelihood. Only 25% of respondents said it was up to them. The other 75% said the responsibility lies with their government or employer. “And that’s a big, big misunderstanding. Because it is 100% you,” says Jacques. This coincides with “The Great Resignation” which has seen post-pandemic workers shift expectations and impose new workplace demands. Jacques suggests workers might want to stay clear about the fact that AI is coming for many white-collar jobs. There are, however, strategies moving into this next phase of automation: 1) Look for career paths that require personality; something robots cannot replicate (such as sales or customer care). 2) Check out blue-collar jobs, which in the case of repair and installation, for example, are seeing a rise in demand and wages. 3) Be open with your employer about your job’s trajectory and alert to which industries (sustainable energy, healthcare) are burgeoning.

The power – and role – of optimism.

Covid19 initially sent the recruiting and temp industry – like so many others – into a tailspin. Randstad saw 50,000 staffers lose jobs overnight. There was a pause to reorient, but Jacques quickly moved from a “how bad is this going to get” mentality to “what are the possibilities.” He contemplated what opportunities would arise, such as a huge tidal wave of activity and need in the health care and medical research sectors. “I always call it ‘worried but safe,’ you know? Happy with yesterday, but not happy with tomorrow. And that’s a subtle balance,” says Jacques.

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Jacques is not afraid to bring vulnerability into the mix.

Staying human and sharing personal insights are part of a leadership style that Jacques believes keeps people enfranchised even through the roughest of times. He’s not afraid to admit that certain tasks still make him nervous. It offers employees comfort and a sense of solidarity while also modeling what it is to face fears and overcome them. No topic is off-limits for Jacques, who confides stories from his own career, his wife’s career, and family life. It’s a balancing act – being a leader who instills confidence with being a co-worker offering empathy. It all traces back to the company’s core values, which are about trust and leaving space, even for failure, mistakes, setbacks.

Be who you are … because you can’t really be someone else.

Jacques places more value on authenticity than just about anything. Honesty makes it possible to change, grow and improve. And for Jacques there’s another HUGE ancillary benefit: When you tell the truth, there’s no need for lies or obfuscation. It frees up the mind and clarifies the playing field. Society has acculturated people to fear showing vulnerability, but Jacques the results can paralyze people and creativity. Who wants to go out on a limb with a bold idea if it entails tremendous risk? By fostering safety within the workplace culture, Randstad is offering a point of entry for proactive employees to shine.

He weathered THIS mistake and recovered!

Jacques shares a painful anecdote with a happy ending. On his advice, Randstad made an investment that ultimately hemorrhaged $150 million. The silver lining, he took out of the experience? Perspective. Although the initiative failed, the impulse wasn’t wrong and the lessons learned were not lost. Jacques may have underestimated some influential factors, but he’d still checked all the boxes. The research was solid. The play might have been aggressive, but the takeaways were tremendous and what Jacques describes as part of “the road to glory.” Resilience is a leadership trait: “You go out again and go to clients and ask, ‘Okay, so this didn’t work. You didn’t want to buy that. But where would you be happy?’ ” And then you’re prepared to do precisely that at the next opportunity.

Why it’s important to push beyond fear of failure.

Both coming up through the ranks and as a CEO, it has always been Jacques’s philosophy that it’s better to push the envelope than cut short possibilities. It’s worthwhile to propose any well-conceived idea and, even when the boss says ‘no,’ to push a little farther. “If you’ve got a good idea … and your boss says, ‘You know, that’s not great. Not now,” then you should still do it. Because you believe in it,” says Jacques. “Don’t ask for permission, ask for forgiveness.” Often the way of innovation includes requisite barriers, skepticism, and sometimes failures. But Jacques believes long-term success is all in the trying – and persistence! Boldness often engenders tremendous upside – and new opportunities. Side Note: Not all CEOs share Jacques’s philosophy. It’s important to read the room and know your own corporate culture.

In wrapping up …

Jacques believes the workplace landscape is still settling out. Executive management is coming to grips with demands from employees for more of the overnight virtualization and flexibility pandemic that gave rise to and finding the right balance for a hybrid office-home culture that will build productivity and employee satisfaction … And speaking of satisfaction, Jacques suggests staying alert to workplace fit. If you’re in the wrong job or unable to be authentic if new ideas aren’t welcome or the dialogue with management isn’t open? It may be time to consider a switch. Life is short and opportunities are abundant!

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There are 6 trends that are transforming leadership forever do you know what they are and are you ready for them? Download the PDF to learn what these 6 trends are and what you should be doing about each one of them. These are crucial for your leadership and career development in the future of work!

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