Inspiration
Conversations run more smoothly and team leaders have more direct contact with their employees. These are the results of the training courses that TopTaal organized at Blokker last year. Merel Aaldering from Blokker looks back with satisfaction on the process.
Blokker Holding is a Dutch retail group with four store formulas. Dutch stores are supplied from the distribution center in Geldermalsen. In Gouda is the e-commerce distribution center from where the internet orders that arrive via the web shop are made ready for dispatch. To optimize the work processes in the distribution centers, good communication in the workplace is of great importance. That is why Blokker approached TopTaal to analyze which language questions are playing in the workplace and then to develop appropriate language training for them.
They visited us and went on the shop floor
Merel Aaldering explains: 'As an organization, Blokker is in full swing. This means that the management style is also undergoing development. In that light, we have looked closely at the way in which our managers now manage their people and also at what is desirable in the future. We created a project for that some time ago. What we want is for team leaders to have a better conversation with their team members. They must be able to conduct a dialogue on more personal topics. “Do you enjoy your work? What challenges do you encounter? What do you encounter? And how can you organize your work better? ”These are questions that we at Blokker consider increasingly important. Assistant team leaders must also be able to do this in the long term. "
The Polish temporary workers with whom Blokker works a lot regularly had difficulty finding the right words. That is why Blokker, together with TopTaal, organized a course for five Polish assistant team leaders. Themes that have been discussed in this context include speaking in front of a group and expanding vocabulary. In addition, special attention was given to conveying a message and giving positive feedback. Because the training worked with documents from Blokker itself, the examples connected directly with the daily practice of the students.
Merel enjoys working with TopTaal. 'They visited us and went to the workplace. By studying the language that our Polish assistant team leaders need, they were able to put together a tailor-made program. The teacher carefully considered the needs of each student. Interactive exercises prevented the lessons from becoming boring. The participants have completed the language course. That was also very nice, with a flower and a personal word from the teacher. We now see that their speaking skills have improved a lot. With the training we gave our Polish colleagues the opportunity to develop. The fact that they feel extra appreciated as a result is a nice side effect. '