Working in blended teams

Talent from Conclusion Consulting given the chance to develop at Conclusion Enablement. That takes time and dedication, but both companies reap the benefits. For instance, it brought business consultant Beau de Graaf in-depth knowledge of IT services. Together with Nick Mollen of Conclusion Enablement and Martijn Baak of Conclusion Consulting, she shares her experiences of this cross-pollination within the ecosystem.

Nice mix of people

Hiring young talents fits Conclusion Consulting's vision of having ‘a very infectious mix of people within the club’. Ask director Martijn Baak about how he views talents like Beau and his already no small enthusiasm spontaneously sparks further. ‘When you see how much ambition and energy Beau entered our company with, you want to give her every opportunity. Impactful roles with our clients, however, require a tough CV. As a starter in the job market, you simply don't have that yet. That's where Nick and I found each other. He is someone who wants to give young people opportunities not only with words, but also with deeds.’

Overcoming the first hurdle

Nick Mollen is Division Manager Customer Experience at Conclusion Enablement. From that role, he is responsible for several delivery teams that together serve a dozen clients. ‘Last year Beau worked in different roles in one of our client teams. Young talents like her often do not yet have that ‘minimum three years of IT work experience’ that is asked for. However, that does not detract from their knowledge and motivation. I like to help talents overcome that first hurdle by giving them a fair chance and guiding them personally.’ Beau hooks up: ‘If you are given the opportunity to take ownership and responsibility, you can grow as a professional and discover where your passion lies.’

Pragmatic collaboration

The collaboration between Conclusion Consulting and Conclusion Enablement is taking shape. There are now several ‘Beaus’ walking around at Conclusion Enablement. ‘Last year, we started with three business consultants, early this year we extended the cooperation and put it in the form of a six-month traineeship,’ says Nick. For Martijn, this is a great example of the pragmatic cooperation between the Conclusion companies. ‘We develop talent and we bundle our propositions, serving clients even better. Along the way, our co-creation becomes more and more concrete. Together, we let talents grow and then they choose their own career path. That can be either at Conclusion Consulting or at Conclusion Enablement.’ So isn't Martijn afraid of losing talented business consultants? ‘I have been working within the Conclusion ecosystem for ten years and have had the opportunity to guide quite a few transfers. In the end, such a transfer is only good for the ecosystem and for the development of the person concerned. We at Conclusion Consulting make a nice celebration of that. We then have another ambassador within the ecosystem.’

Inspiration for the Conclusion ecosystem

Looking over the ball, Nick and Martijn hope that their collaboration inspires other Conclusion companies. ‘The more initiatives like this, the more attractive we as Conclusion become for young talent,’ says Nick. ‘There is a lot of talent walking around, but you have to dare and be able to give them the chance. This way, we prove that talents can develop in all directions within the ecosystem.’ Beau sees the win-win: ‘Nick can fill out his teams and we crawl into the capillaries of a beautiful IT company and experience the dynamics there. At the same time, we discover the ecosystem. I grant it to every starting colleague to develop yourself in this way.’ Meanwhile, Beau works for clients outside Conclusion. ‘Enablement as a first client was fantastic,’ she reflects. ‘I learned at lightning speed about IT services in the areas of development, cloud, workspace and security services. I take that knowledge with me to my new assignments, where I can have the conversation about business, IT and the impact on people in the digital transformation on a level.’