Published on: 25 January 2019 Select Projects is growing. After a well-filled 2018, with the start-up of the Industry business unit at Select Projects and the creation of iStorm Projects, focusing on IT project sourcing, Wallonia is becoming a new focal point for the project sourcing branch of the Select Group. Hence, the arrival of Jérôme Segers. At the beginning of his technical career, this former chemist retrained as an expert in the field of recruiting. His next mission? To expand the audience of the Select Projects story to the other side of the language border using his background in engineering and project sourcing.
‘I worked in the industry for four years as a chemist and lab technician. But the work was too routine for me,’ says Jérôme Segers. He hung up his lab coat and went off to evening school. With his bachelor’s degree in Marketing Management, he was hired by a temporary employment agency. ‘As the Office Manager there, I learned a great deal about the commercial aspects but also about recruiting and legislation. After four years, I went and started utilising this expertise in engineering, but in a very specific branch.’
Charlot, the Director of Select Projects, also sees this experience as an asset: ‘The combination of technical experience and expertise in the field of recruitment and selection makes Jérôme the ideal person to further expand our Walloon division. What's more, Jérôme already has experience starting up a project sourcing office. So, he knows exactly how to tackle this challenge.’
Unwavering attention to values
Jérôme came into contact with Select Projects via his network. ‘The Select Group operates at a very high quality standard and has an extremely good reputation regionally.’ In addition to that, a company's values are also very important. According to Jérôme: ‘Many companies present great values to the outside world but do not live up to these values internally. At Select, it's different. As soon as you push open the door to the office, you know it's no bluff.’
It is these values that Jérôme wants to continue to bring to all Select Projects employees. ‘For us, it is not an option to find someone employment without he or she knowing who we are. What's more, we also want to strengthen the bonds amongst the employees themselves.’ Even though our employees are working on different projects, Jérôme believes in the added value of Select Projects, in the assembly of talents. ‘Yes, of course, working on a project is great, but sharing knowledge with colleagues, asking questions, meeting together, going for a drink, these are things that allow Select projects to make a real difference.’
Smooth cooperation with regional offices
Jérôme will make this his primary focus and the focus of Select Projects’ technical employees in Wallonia. ‘With our 200 employees, we have a strong foundation of committed people who continue to work for us in the long term. They choose us, among other things, for the values, culture, knowledge sharing and training we offer. And now, it is time to expand this commitment to Wallonia. Thanks to the support from the regional Select offices in Mouscron, Liège, Gosselies and Mont-Saint-Guibert, we can quickly gain a solid foothold here with existing customers.’
Differences between Flanders and Wallonia
Jérôme sees that these customers have the same concerns as the Flemish customers. ‘There are too few candidates, and there is insufficient budget for permanent hiring. As a result, companies are increasingly forced to think in terms of projects and to work with external staff.’ In those cases, Select Projects can be a stable partner. ‘What we at Select Projects absolutely want to avoid is body shopping. We want to be there for our employees, to support them from a distance and to build a strong relationship with them. Where other project sourcing firms sometimes underestimate this task, we make the human aspect our principal focus.’
Charlot, Director of Select Projects, is convinced of the match with Jérôme: ‘He understands our DNA and where we want to go with Select Projects. We share the same vision. Jérôme is an extremely forthright person, and he is loyal and authentic. So, I have the utmost confidence in placing our Walloon project staff in his hands.’