#12: Nestlé Belgium's transformation, Wins & struggles - with Paul Van Roy

Who is Paul Van Roy?

Paul Van Roy is the talent manager for Nestlé Belgium and his team is responsible for all aspects of the Nestlé workforce.

• From Talent Acquisition, Development, Internal Mobility, and Training.
• Paul has a background in business and marketing but always has a curiosity and genuine interest in the relation between humans and the organizations.
• In 2014, Paul made the transition to Human Resources and over the past eight years has become the Talent, Sourcing, and Learning Manger at Nestlé Belgium.

Seeking Real Fundamental Change for Work Culture Through Behavior and Mindset

Like any other organization, Nestlé is confronted by many changes and with so much unpredictability in the market, it has left Paul Van Roy wondering how Nestlé can adapt to an internal way of working that reflects the changes to its environment while also fitting into company culture. This means that Paul is constantly looking for ways to adapt to keep a flexibility to be open to change but at the same time not losing the company culture in the process. Paul shares that it’s crucial to find a balance in his teams not only in the company but also in their personal lives.

Paul has realized that his role as talent manager is to be a central department that facilitates in giving the right tools to employees to discover their own path and to really take ownership in their continued learning journey as they adapt in the digital age. Paul Van Roy admits that investing in your employees is something he strongly believes in. You must want to make your people stronger for themselves and their employability even if they choose to not stay within your own organization.

The Power of Learning

Nestlé is a multinational organization that over time has amassed a huge catalogue of programs for its employees.

• Programs include trainings, workshops, e-learning, and more! Nestlé has programs on management, leadership, levels of situational leadership, feedback, and many other important skills.
• Paul shares that most of these programs are still focused on a training moment.

Paul Van Roy shares that Nestlé Belgium really seeks to make a real fundamental change in the behavior and mindsets of the company’s culture as a whole.

• This kind of change takes time as people need to adjust to that major shift. It cannot be accomplished in a one-day training session.
• I partnered with Paul and Nestlé Belgium to create a program that embraces a three-month learning journey to change habits.
• In these three months, we have moments of learning and training but also moments of self-reflection, testing, and time to practice skills in the real world. This extended learning journey allows a fundamental shift in company culture and gives moments for teams to come together and share learning methods.

Changing management on an individual level, takes time and sometimes can get frustrating. Giving constant guidance Paul admits gave Nestlé Belgium’s piloted programs a refreshing and unique approach. Taking a few months to let teams explore their own learning journey really is a powerful tool that can greatly impact the overall work culture.

Summarize

At Nestlé Belgium, Paul Van Roy is taking talent management and changing the way it defines the needs of everyone in the organization. Paul is focused on building a framework and learning that everyone can learn and adapt to the everchanging climate. This change does not happen from just one course or even in two weeks, but it is something that is more long term as each individual explores their own learning journey. Taking an online course fits this type of learning perfectly if you keep your focus and intentions on the goal at large. Having your own personal learning moments as well as reflection and learning with those in your organization can hold an accountability that will keep you focused on that positive change. That’s where you will find the motivation to continue and to keep trying and soon enough see yourself succeed!