The ins and outs of Randstad

Could you tell something about yourself, your career and your education?
After my VWO I started NIVRA. That education has had its advantages: you finance your own study, you learn to work and you get to know a lot of companies. However, on the other side, you are really young. When someone starts studying at a University they have a broader period for maturity. If I could do it again, I would have probably chosen to study at a University. Afterwards, I worked for about eight years in accountancy. The freedom you have in that profession is something I really liked. You are always on the road and the variety of clients and teams was huge. However, it was not something I wanted to do forever, because I had the feeling I was always on the side-line. I wanted to be part of a company. At that time Randstad was one of my clients and I thought it was a fascinating company. They had a vacancy for manager financial accounting, which I got, and did for five years. After that I worked for five years as CFO for Randstad Germany and for the last eight years I have been the CFO of ‘Randstad Groep Nederland’. When I started at Randstad I was recommended to do the postdoctoral controller program. I did this, and it was a good addition to my chartered accounting (CA) education, especially as CFO of a listed company. Nowadays I think the CA education coincides less with a career in the business. The nuance of the education and the work as assistant accountant has shifted a little. It is less numerical and there is a stronger emphasis on procedures and compliancy.

What do you like most about your job?
My role is pretty operational. In a corporate environment, the specific tasks, for example tax and treasury, are done by specialists. I am less involved in that. I think that the volatility of our business, the speed of actions and the operational tasks are the things I like most. I am constantly analyzing what is happening and thinking where and if I have to redirect.

What is your experience with switching from a big accountancy firm to Randstad?
You have to realize that at an accountancy firm you only see a part of the financial picture. It is certainly a good start of your career, because there is a lot of variation and you are able to see a lot of companies. However, if you make a switch to a big corporation, you will realize that the finance function in such an environment is much broader than you thought (corporate finance, M&A, business control, management accounting). You will see new things, but if you are aware of that, it should not be a problem.

In which extent has Randstad suffered from the financial crisis?
Our operations follow our revenue growth. The worst period for us was in 2009, when we decreased 30 percent. We had to decrease our capacity quickly. This was rather easily done because of the natural course of our consultants, but it was challenging. Besides that, you have to pay attention to your other expenses and the capacity of the offices. Our offices today are half the size they were and we have less employees. However, our revenue is still the same as it was eight years ago. This is primarily due to digitalization, which allows us to work with less people, but get the same amount of work done. Moreover, our margins have decreased a lot.

How do you keep track of the financial situation at Randstad?
It starts with the quality of your systems. Your primary systems should be working flawless. For example, at Randstad, this is the system where the flex workers fill in their timesheets. If a timesheet is completed there will be an invoice for the customer and the salary for the flex worker. The data is put into our financial system, which work correctly in our company. The controllers can do their job with instant data and do not lose time making reports. Subsequently, in our business we have to plan, measure, analyze and redirect. To do this, you need really good people in your finance department. And we have those at Randstad; they make the difference.

How do you ensure you stay in contact with the workplace?
It is important for me to put aside some free time to keep in contact with the workplace. You have to show your face and talk with colleagues, because we work in a ‘people business’. People at the workplace will communicate better if they know each other. So I have to make sure that people know me and that only happens by going to the workplaces. Next to my workplace at the main office, I visit a lot of other offices. For the workplace it is important to be approachable, and this can be done via email, phone or personal contact. If I do not go to the various locations of the firm, the colleagues will not know who I am and they will not always feel free to contact me.

What are your expectations for the job market and the economy in the coming years?
My expectations at this moment are positive. You see that the economy is growing, the confidence in the economy is back and, for example, because of that the domestic consumption increases. Only in certain functions at the banking industry the job market does not increase, and this is due to digitization. If no disruptive events happen, for instance with that of Greece or a terrorist attack, this increase of jobs will continue. You can already see that the number of vacancies are increasing and the number of unemployed people is decreasing.

Randstad is organizing a business course, why should students choose for this business course?
We organize a business course that is open for all fields of study. For a career at Randstad you do not need a specific study direction, you only need to have studied at a University. In addition, the business course is a very good way into our management- or finance traineeship. During the traineeship at Randstad you work for one year at a branch in the core-business and then a year and a half at the finance department. At Randstad you do not only choose your function, but also for the firm. If you like to work in a big service company that is aimed at people, then Randstad is the right choice for you.

Which advice would you give to the students of Tilburg University?
In your career it is important to choose which company you would like to work for. An example is to not dwell on a function you want to have, but focus on the culture of the company. This is because a function is temporary, you will have it for around two or three years and then you want something else. So, it is very important to see if the company itself fits you the best.

Click here if your want more information about traineeships at Randstad.