“Ten thousand people who keep each other on their toes”
Five questions for Human Resources Director Corrie Scholman about the ideal employer
1. Why did you actually join UMC Utrecht yourself?
“I have been formed within marketing-driven organisations: Heineken, Unilever, Philips. I made the switch to UMC Utrecht because in this profession, you work very close to society. I am attracted by the ensuing complexity. Because after all, our fantastic health care system needs to stay affordable. I find it exciting to think up ways of organising our work more efficiently and effectively, while our employees continue to sincerely enjoy working here. I am convinced that the two can be combined. It requires a vigorous organisation, with top fit, self-confident employees.”
2. What does the ideal UMC Utrecht employee look like?
“I don’t believe there is one ideal type. It is precisely our diversity that makes us strong. At any rate, every single one of them has a tremendous passion for his or her job and the capacity to repeatedly hold that job up against the light. Am I still taking the right approach to my work? Could things be done differently? Better? You have to enjoy also thinking about such matters.”
3. And the ideal employer?
“The ideal employer offers its people opportunities. We are building an organisation here in which everyone remains actively involved in his or her career and development. At any given time. Standing still is not done. I see this as the joint responsibility of the employee, the managers and the organisation. This occasionally poses some difficulties, by the way. Because for a manager, for example, this also means that you should stimulate the best people in your team to check out another department from time to time. And that you should even be prepared to lose your department’s top employees – to retain them for the organisation.”
4. Do you also scrutinise your own performance?
“Of course. We do it all the time. How can we offer people more flexibility, for example, in keeping with the spirit of the times? Is our scheduling in order? And how can you give employees more responsibility in this process? Our training programmes – are they sufficiently in line with people’s wishes? Including when they want to join the organisation. And naturally, we take a good, hard look at our own efficiency. And that’s also what society expects from us.”
5. Is working in health care still an attractive option?
“What do you think! The strange thing is: people often think that working in health care involves a lot of graft for meagre wages. And of course, I am also aware that things haven’t been arranged well across the board. But as the employee of a university medical centre, you do quite nicely for yourself. Our CLA is almost elegant, with terms of employment that cannot fail to impress. And besides, you are working in the best profession in the world, because you can actually make a difference in other people’s lives.”