Whoever you are - people want to belong somewhere and be able to make a difference. Big or small.
That is one of the most important findings from the more than ten years of experience of HR pioneer Karin Van Roy. Because in those ten years, that whole HR landscape did change considerably.  

Before we dive deep into the subject matter, I'd like to get to know you, Karin, a little better. Everything will be about your professional life, but how might we describe you if we are not allowed to refer to your work?

For 61 years, I've fought not to be called "Karinneke" or "Karine." I'm a lawyer by training. People would describe me as a bit quirky. I like to laugh, I like to see the positive things in life. And in our society, there are many of those. But I do have a few quirks. I've been madly in love with my husband for years. He's a very loyal person—except for car brands. I'm a very sociable person. Me-time for me is spending time with people. We have an apartment by the sea, so every weekend is like a vacation for me.

People may not know Arvesta yet - can you explain again very briefly what exactly you do here?

We handle everything related to agriculture. Before I worked here, I never wondered where wheat or grass seed came from. Well, it all comes from us. Everything related to crop protection, how to manage plants – to make them grow faster and more nutritiously. Everything related to the tractor business, like John Deere, for example. Greenhouses: Hortiplan and Van der Hoeven. Neon, a large city in Saudi Arabia, completely self-sustainable, uses our greenhouses. That covers everything related to agriculture and horticulture. On top of that, we also handle fertilizers, animal feed, and then our well-known retail brands, Aveve and Eurotuin.

We are currently with 2200 employees in Belgium, the Netherlands, France and Germany. European player, but mainly Benelux.

If we really start looking at your professional career then. AB InBev, Pelican Rouge and now seven years of Arvesta. How do you look back on that? You didn't start in HR by any means, did you?

I started as a lawyer at the Brussels Bar. I was truly convinced I could help eliminate some of the injustice in Flanders. I really envisioned a romantic weekend movie. But that quickly proved to be untrue. Then I started thinking about what I wanted to do. Corporate lawyer seemed like the perfect fit, and that's how I got a job at what was then Artois.

That was a fantastic environment. I was immediately given a behemoth of a PC. It was on wheels. You were given that for four hours, and the next four hours went to a colleague. At Artois, during the merger with Piedboeuf, I discovered a whole new world. **At Artois, I was able to work in legal, in the contracts department, marketing, trade marketing, and sales. Then I moved to HR because it was a company that allowed me to try so many things. I immediately thought, "This is it," and since then, I haven't had a single day without enjoying it.

I made two particularly good choices in my career and that is to start at Artois and to leave Ab InBev on time.

And how long did it take you to get to HR?

About ten or eleven years, anyway. I came from sales and then became an HR business partner for sales. I knew the people, so they didn't have to tell me anything that wasn't possible for the business. Meanwhile, I'm still a strong believer in HR people coming from the business. I really like people from the business going to HR, and people from HR going to the business. If you do HR for HR, you'll be outsourced in no time because then you can do it anywhere, anyhow, anyway. You have to sense what the business needs and align your HR policy accordingly, and vice versa.

I've also worked for various countries. My last role was People Director for Europe. That spanned from Wales to Omsk. That was very instructive; I found it a strange realization that a person is a person, whether they're in Siberia or Wales. People love to go to work, like to be recognized, and like to get a pat on the back. People want to belong to something or someone and make a difference, no matter how small or how big. I learned that at Pelican Rouge too, whether you're roasting coffee or brewing beer.

Ownership comes back often doesn't it, letting people make their own choices?

That's true. It's not the sky's the limit, it's a closed box. I always say it's a tunnel. People can actually drive and try as much as they want in those tunnels, but you have to stay inside the tunnel. Trying to be a good employer also has an opportunistic side. If the business isn't doing well, it's not good for the people either. People for growth, growth for people. If you grow as a company, you can invest in people. They'll improve, and your company will improve as well.

Did you also sometimes have moments when things went in the opposite direction? Now you say that when things are going well in a company that you can give people more space.

Absolutely. InBev is known for restructuring more than regularly. Even there, if you do it with respect for people, it's often not a big deal. I've had to fire someone here too. You always have to make sure people remember their previous company as one that didn't screw them over. And people should also remember that you tried to help them with their next chapter. You should never be stuck in a job and live from weekend to weekend or from vacation to vacation.

Then it's actually too late?

Absolutely. Do something about that. Start talking about that. And if nothing can be done about that internally. Externally. The world is a big place.

That's also one of the questions I had for you. That's something that I think has changed. That people have become a little more self-assured and that employees believe more in their own position. Or do you not notice that?

You cannot underestimate what your environment has as an effect. Sometimes inhibiting, sometimes motivating. Private or work. I very much like to believe that da is not so here, but I would be lying. I'm sure in many areas it really still is.

That continuous listening is incredibly important. It allows us to talk to people extensively, and especially to listen to them. Not everyone feels called to speak up. If you don't build processes around that, you'll only hear from the employees who would have said it anyway. It's those silent employees you wouldn't otherwise hear from; you have to reach them.

Now you are CHRO at Arvesta. You talk about satisfaction, polls. What does an average day at your place look like today?

I hate getting up, but I love the quiet of the early morning. That's when I check my emails and can feel a bit organized. I have a fair number of meetings. I work a lot with my team and the business. Once a year, we draw up a plan for the next year. That also includes a budget file. It's like my guide for the entire year. Of course, it can be unpredictable sometimes. The plan focuses primarily on employee experience and how HR can contribute to customer centricity. Benchmarking: what are other companies doing? We also work on our employer brand. Lots of talking, lots of engaging with people.

We are now in the Arvesta headquarters, but there are lots of different hubs?

Seventy, eighty. At least. Because we really need to be very close to the customer for logistics costs and the short supply chain. If something happens at a farm, you can't afford to be far away. Our headquarters used to be two floors here, now it's just one. We used that money to furnish those hubs, to give them the look and feel of Arvesta.

I hate it when people say, "Oh, people aren't going to the office anymore, what about your culture?" If the only thing that makes your culture sustainable is your office, then you really have a problem. A culture is about behavior, what you deliver, and your mindset. We really try to support that through communication campaigns, among other things. Engagement is important to us. We have a Fit At Arvesta program. We offer all sorts of things—introductions to padel, training for a half marathon, you name it. That creates a community. That's what we're working on.

So that's independent of where you work. You want that culture to transcend place?

Absolutely. And that shouldn't be everything. If they have a nice publication locally, who am I to say it shouldn't be.

"If the only thing that makes your culture sustainable is your agency then you actually have a real problem. A culture that is the behavior, by what you deliver and your mindset."

Employees also have a lot of freedom to choose where they work from. They may work from a hub but also work from home if they want to?

The only thing we can't offer yet is working from abroad. That's due to regulations. We don't register your location. People do have to indicate their desk because we need enough space. We assume you come to the office an average of two days a week over a year. So, you might not come in for three weeks and then come in for one, for example. But we don't measure it. The most important thing is that you agree as a team. For example, payroll, that's agreed; they work in the office every Wednesday.

When Covid broke out, we were worried we wouldn't see people anymore. Then I thought: you can embrace our Arvesta way of working. As a boss, you get leadership training on how to practice leadership remotely. And the people who join, the employees, have to take a short ergonomics course. They'll receive practical tips. I don't want everyone returning to the office with back pain and headaches. There's also a program where people can purchase equipment, such as an office chair, at a discount.