People-Centric Initiatives Earn Materialise Top Employer Recognition
At Materialise, we like to say that people are at the heart of everything we do, or that people are the cornerstone of our success. Saying this is one thing, yet as we continue to grow and head towards our 30th anniversary, investing in our people is what counts most. During a company-wide speech earlier this year, our CEO Fried Vancraen made certain to highlight this, promising to maintain and expand high-quality people practices and initiatives to further grow the skill sets of current employees, while boosting our attractiveness to future talents.
And when it comes to delivering on this promise, 2020 started off on a high note, as earlier this week Materialise was awarded the Top Employer Belgium certificate —, as one of only 73 certified companies in Belgium.
“This is yet another milestone in the history of our company and one we are extremely proud of, as it confirms we are part of a group of employers who strive for the highest standards in employee conditions and work environment!”
says Conny Hooghe, Global HR Director at Materialise.
Materialise was announced as one of Belgium’s new Top Employers in 2020 at the annual Top Employers Belgium Certification Event in Brussels.
What is Top Employers and how did Materialise achieve this recognition?
The Top Employers Institute is a global authority on recognizing excellence in people practices and employee conditions. Since 1991, they have certified over 1,600 organizations in 119 countries and regions, positively impacting the lives of millions of employees around the world.
Their goal is to enrich the world of work and they do this with a certification program that enables organizations to assess and improve the workplace environment.
For Materialise, this meant that close to 600 people practices were evaluated via a thorough audit by the Top Employers Institute during a six- to nine-month process. These practices cover ten different domains: Talent Strategy, Workforce Planning, On-boarding, Learning and Development, Performance Management, Compensation and Benefits, Career and Succession Management, Leadership Development, and Culture.
Once the process concluded, our HR team and the Top Employers experts collaborated to identify which practices we excel in and which can be improved upon even further.
Take, for example, our ‘Impeccable Coordination’ initiative — a company-wide practice to improve communication and, therefore, teamwork. This project lies largely in the learning and development section of people practices outlined by Top Employers Institute. It’s a practice well-known by all Materialise employees thanks to training sessions which began in 2018 and will continue on a regular basis in order to teach new employees the skills and allow tenured employees to get a refresher.
With this and other people-centric initiatives, including our internal mobility and health and wellbeing programs, Materialise achieved Top Employer status. In the interest of transparency and employee involvement, a detailed breakdown of results across all domains will soon be shared with management and employees.
2020 Belgian Top Employers celebrated their achievements at the annual Top Employers Belgium Certification Event in Brussels.
30 years of growth at Materialise
The Top Employer achievement coincides with another major Materialise milestone, as this year we celebrate our 30 year anniversary. Materialise has not only seen the development of countless technologies and inventions over three decades, but also the constant advancement in people practices and employee conditions for our most important resource — our people.
What started as a few people exploring the potential of 3D printing in 1990 grew to over 2,000 employees globally in 2020. While it is not straightforward to unite employees in a rapidly evolving environment and continuously enhance people practices and employee conditions after experiencing such huge growth as an organization, the recognition of Top Employer in Belgium proves that Materialise is making great strides to help each person within the organization grow.
According to Conny, Materialise has seen success during its evolution because of the people who are motivated to help grow the organization, which results in personal and professional growth for them:
“People who want to build, who really want to put themselves in such a position and spark that evolution, they will like what they find at Materialise.”
Conny Hooghe was present to accept Materialise’s first Top Employer award from Steven Van Raemdonck, Country Manager of Top Employers Belgium.
The people practices and employee conditions that have earned the Top Employer certificate are already in place and will continue to improve year after year. HR excellence is a long-term commitment, and in that sense, developing our employee conditions will remain a long-term goal, and more significant advancements are in the works.
As Conny concludes:
“This recognition is in many ways the result of the contributions and dedication of the entire HR team, who strive to deliver on our employee value proposition every day. It is not the end, but just the start of our journey to becoming a top and preferred employer, for current and future employees!”
If you’re interested in joining a people-centric Top Employer, look no further and browse Materialise career opportunities to find a position perfect for you!