Ambitious professionals work at Milgro who work on our sustainable mission every day. What does it mean to work for a purpose organization? And how does this mission find its way into everyday life? We asked several colleagues to describe a day at Milgro.
Today it is Charissa Twigt's turn. She is an HR advisor at Milgro and is occupied with the well-being of her colleagues. From absenteeism to onboarding and from training to talent development. She is also one of Milgro's Privacy Officers.
At 7 o'clock I hop out of bed, do some stretching exercises, drink a cup of tea and eat my breakfast. At least, that's how I would approach it in my dreams. In reality, I shoot out of my warm bed somewhat disoriented as soon as my son starts the day at an impossible time. That should not spoil the fun, so we are getting ready to go to school and work.
Home and Office
Out of my five workdays, I work from home for three, but I always look forward to working in our office on the Pittsburghstraat. It is nice to have pleasant colleagues around you and to work in a special office. Our furnishing is constantly changing and consists of products that are given a completely new and functional life with us, for example in the form of a desk or collaborative workspace. Still more inspiring than the kitchen table.
The HR-team
Our HR team consists of four hardworking and fun colleagues. Two HR Officers, an HR Manager and an HR Advisor. That last one, that's me. I deal with a wide variety of subjects; from absenteeism to internal communication, from onboarding of new colleagues to talent development. In addition, I have been fulfilling the role of Privacy Officer since 2021, together with our CQSE Manager, Vera van Elteren.
Working at Milgro means, among other things, working with colleagues who want to make sure that you immediately feel welcome; from getting acquainted to understand the structure of the organization to familiarizing yourself with our systems and working methods. As an HR team, we are involved from the first moment of contact to the moment when you decide with a backpack of experience to continue your career elsewhere. From the quick and personal contact during your application procedure, to an extensive introduction program and a colorful bunch of flowers on your first working day. From thinking along and advising in your development, offering a listening ear during difficult and sad moments to celebrating successes.
Projectstart
On Mondays and Thursdays we have a project start as a team; a more extensive consultation to catch up with each other about the things we are working on and that play in the organization. The other days we start with coffee moments, to chat about anything and everything between all the hustle and bustle.
After the start of the day, I check which appointments I have. Then I determine my priorities for that day on the basis of my mailbox and to-do list. The nice thing about working in HR is the contact with people. That also means that a day cannot be predicted, I try to take this into account as much as possible in my planning.
Reintegration colleague
Now it is time to get started. I start my first meeting with a steaming cup of tea next to me. I made an appointment via Teams with a colleague who is reintegrating after a period of absence. We discuss how things are going, how the build-up has gone in the previous two weeks and look ahead to the coming weeks. Especially with colleagues who are absent for a long time, I think it is important to maintain close and personal contact; you may feel insecure or nervous during your reintegration, I will gladly help you to keep the threshold to work as low as possible and to give you the confidence to take up your position again step by step. After half an hour we finish - I will work out the conversation report later - and walk downstairs where Vera from CQSE is already waiting for me in the VG Windmill - one of our collaborative work places. The VG Windmill owes its name to the table that consists of the part of the wing of a windmill. Just one example of the many beautiful spaces and special furnishings that we have in our office buildings.
Privacy Officer
We have recently completely revised and updated our privacy and (information) security policy, the next step is to include the rest of the organization in this information and their responsibilities. After a short chat, we start working together on creating a privacy e-learning for our colleagues. Our goal is to take our colleagues along in an understandable way through e-learning and regular online or live sessions in the usefulness of privacy legislation, the responsibility we have as an employer and as an individual, but also the possible risks we face on a daily basis. may have to deal with.
Seamless complemantation
The morning has flown by. We take a walk outside with a group of colleagues, have something to eat and go back to work. My next appointment isn't for another hour, in the meantime I'll update my mailboxes. Laura – our HR Manager – comes in for our consultation. Together we develop the ideas from our earlier brainstorm into a concrete format. Where I am the creative, Laura is good at strategic thinking; sometimes that clashes, but usually they complement each other seamlessly and we come up with great ideas! After two hours we think it was nice. It is now 4:00 PM. I finish early to be able to exercise for a while before I pick up my son from daycare. After he's in bed, I open my laptop to work out this morning's conversation report. I schedule a follow-up appointment between my colleague and the company doctor and conclude.
Room for growth
I have now been working at Milgro for 2.5 years. I haven't finished learning and working here for the time being! The colleagues, the space to develop yourself and, above all, the ambitions we have as a team and organization, mean that I am more than at the right place here.
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