Patricia Gielis is the HR Director at Radboud University in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. She started her HR career in the financial services sector, at Rabobank and ABN AMRO Bank.

How is Radboud University reducing bias in the hiring process?

In the past 12 months, we have been adjusting vacancies and the words we use.

We have experts within the university looking into the language used and analysing the words we use in our job vacancies, we are also looking into using different words to invite others who we really want to welcome within our university.

We are analysing which parts of the labour market potential candidates are currently working in, actively searching for them, connecting with them and inviting them to an interview within the university. This helps us to find out what they need to relate to the university, our mission and goals. 

We have a pilot programme, where we have started to facilitate anonymous applications. We do not ask for an address, a name, age, gender, etc. Based on a anonymous resume and letter we invite potential candidates for an interview.

Finally, we’ve also adjusted the composition of the recruitment committees, ensuring it’s an inclusive committee with a diverse variety of male, female, national and cultural backgrounds, and different views, to give candidates a sense of belonging and to have different insights and opinions of everyone at the table.

What does your university do to raise awareness around mental health and wellbeing?

We have a number of initiatives. Twice a year we organise vitality weeks. This is an opportunity for students and employees to attend to lectures, workshops, training, and sports activities, as well as given advice on healthy food, the power of sleeping and how to breathe. We want to raise awareness on how you can take care of yourself and what you might need to improve your health or wellbeing. 

We also use flyers to prompt thoughts, for example, making the suggestion to use the stairs instead of the elevator. We give advice on how to cook and eat well, and we offer vegetarian and vegan meals; which is also related to our sustainability goals. The Dean of the University uses the vitality and wellbeing aspect often in his blog and our weekly newsletter to promote this.

Finally, the employees often organise meetings about research or host lectures, where they invite students and employees to share their thoughts and advice around wellbeing and mental health, and it relates to social safety and how it can contribute to your mental wellbeing.

One of the topics we are struggling with in the University at present, is reducing work stress. This can lead to a possible burn-out and create an unsafe environment to work in. Our HR strategy for the University is based on creating the best place for you to work in - meaning you can use your talents and grow in whatever direction suits you at that time in your life. We want to support you and also challenge you to keep on learning from your colleagues. Therefore, you have to build a safe environment to be able to learn and grow for this to be achieved.

How do you see the Dutch economy evolving in the next three to five years?

Looking at the Dutch and global economy, I recognize a couple of shifts causing insecurities on different levels. For instance, financially, social safety and labour related.

Inflation and high energy costs have presented themselves and I expect these will stay on the agenda for the upcoming year. Similar to the pandemic, the current global topics and challenges can be seen as a “black swan;” you didn’t see it coming, the impact is enormous and will change the world. I believe a mind shift is necessary to combine different views and opinions and build toward joined solutions.

When I look at the labour market, in The Netherlands (but also globally) we have an ageing population on one hand, and on the other hand, we see an increasing number of people who have to leave work due to burn-out caused by work-related stress. In addition, an increasing group of employees experience a mismatch regarding current and future skills. I feel employers should take responsibility in guiding employees towards the future, preparing them for change to come and build an environment where employees can learn and grow. This will contribute to sustainable employability and wellbeing.

Translating these topics into the way they impact the university, we as an employer have to find answers regarding work related stress, financial insecurities, sustainable employability, and continuous learning. And now I am only mentioning a few of the themes our current HR strategy is built on.

We want to build a safe (body and mind) environment in which people can grow. We have launched a code of conduct that explains how we can and want to relate to one another, also how important safety and a social safe environment is to grow.

What would you say is the most rewarding part of your role?

The most rewarding part for me is building organisations with people and enabling my colleagues to get the best out of themselves and therefore reach the organisational goals. For me it’s important that the organisational goals have a societal impact, and it is possible to contribute as an individual and with a team.

I have a background within the financial industry. This sector also has a part to play within the economy, to keep the economy balanced and support people in realising their dreams by making sure their money is safe. Economy is -for the largest part as I see it- emotion, and trust. Banks and financial institutions have a responsibility in supporting that. 

Having said that, the University has a different mission, but with the same underlying goal – to contribute to a sound society, in which people can fulfil their dreams and prepare them for it. The most rewarding part for me in my profession is to enable organisations and the people working within them, to reach their goals.

I feel energised when I see change happen. This can be on an individual level, but also when I see change happening for the better on a larger organisational scale.

What tips would you have for others in achieving work-life balance?

Love what you do. Otherwise, seek to change jobs or career. Remember you are in the driving seat.

Listen to feedback, as people mean well. Manage your schedule and take good care of yourself, which also means sometimes you’ll have to be firm with yourself. When you can see a disbalance
- this can be self-caused, therefore, reflect on the current and desired situation and set your priorities.

What is your favourite business motto and why?

My favourite business motto is: “Be the change you want to see in the world.” This has been my favourite motto for a very long time.

In HR, we have an important role to play with regard to taking care of our people & our organisation.

Find the balance between building and co-creating and addressing challenging topics you know can cause friction. This takes courage and perseverance.

In your opinion, what does the future of HR look like?

I believe we will grow towards having an impact on the cultural and organisational development.

When looking at the developments within the future of HR, 70% of the work we currently do on a daily basis will be digitised, leading towards a shift in jobs and what we contribute to an organisation.

We have a couple of challenges, and in coming years, we will increasingly use artificial intelligence and data, combined with our responsibility to take care of our people and to guide the organisation towards cultural change, organisational growth, and development.

There will be a shift with regard to our profession, and our daily business currently reflects on that, as we have skills that we need to build on. We spoke about the skills or knowledge in talent mismatch earlier – this is something that’s happening within the HR profession due to digitalisation. When we see this happening, we can prepare ourselves for it.

I believe the human dimension will be increasingly more important for the HR agenda. Over the past decade, we have designed and standardised processes from the perspective of one-size-fits-all. Today we are building towards a one-size-fits-me approach and employee experience.

We can of course use data to predict what will happen when we intervene in different ways, and combine this with the human dimension. In the upcoming years, I feel this will become more important for our HR agenda.

Thank you to Patricia for speaking to our HR recruitment team in the Netherlands, led by Katie Insley. 

Views and opinions contained within our Executive Interviews are those of the interviewee and not views shared by EMEA Recruitment.