Inspiration
It sometimes seemed as if the Polish colleagues understood her. Nevertheless, it turned out to be often not the case later. Two groups also formed within the company: one Dutch and one Polish. Eveline van Doorn from the Veenendaal company Docomar knew how to handle it.
Docomar, a pet food company that has been in existence for more than forty years and has two branches in Veenendaal, is ambitious. And intend to take good care of Polish employees. That is why Eveline, daughter of owner Bob van Doorn, started looking for a thorough Dutch course at the beginning of this year. Eveline: 'We started with the TopTaal talks in May. In September we started an intensive process for our six Polish employees. And with success, because we see improvement and there is a very positive response to the lessons. '
There is a very positive response to the lessons
To be able to offer a good tailor-made program, TopTaal started with extensive questionnaires for the participants. What competences did they have? What did they want to learn? Based on the answers, a program was developed that fitted seamlessly into the themes of the workplace and the learnability of the students. "We noticed in the first place that Polish colleagues were sometimes afraid to admit that they did not understand something. Then they said yes but you later noticed that they had misunderstood an assignment. Afterwards you had to experience that things had not gone well in the production. Then we realized that something had to be done about language skills. "
A second point of attention for Docomar was group formation. The Poles visited each other; the Dutch equally. However, management wanted more cooperation. "We wanted to create a more pleasant atmosphere in the workplace, between the boys," Eveline says. 'TopTaal has really lived up to expectations. The teacher has genuine interest, and recently learned all kinds of technical terms herself during a tour of our factory. She empathizes and makes the course as practical as possible. This also created nice interaction within the group. The teacher is really next to the group, not above it. "
When asked why Docomar invests so much in its people, Eveline is certain. 'You not only have to look at the expenses, but also at what you get. If you calculate it, mistakes probably cost us a lot more. This language course therefore pays back three times. The boys have different levels, but they do attract each other. The fear of speaking or asking for clarification has since disappeared. And you notice that the motivation has increased. It is greatly appreciated that we invest in a better mutual understanding. The Dutch and Polish boys are gradually finding each other better. "