Written by: Iris Doornbos, Senior HX Professional at Rvdb

In this business case, you’ll learn how Iris Doornbos, as an interim HR Business Partner at an SME with approximately 50 employees built the HR department from the ground up in just over 10 months. From missing processes and outdated job descriptions to a employee survey and a proposal for a new performance management. Iris laid the foundation for a professional HR approach and actively contributed to a cultural shift following an acquisition. I walked in, through a contact from my personal network, in an organization where there was a need for greater professionalization both in HR and more broadly. They needed someone who could tactical and strategic HR work and serve as the right-hand person to the new Managing Director, I was able to drive projects forward.

The Challenge

The company was under new management. The collaboration could be improved between managers and employees and there was little communication between departments. The new managing director wanted to change that. At the same time, there was a lot going on in HR. There were hardly any templates or formats, and processes such as onboarding and recruitment were not described and job descriptions were outdated. People weren’t sure what to expect from one another; not from colleagues, not from managers, not from HR.

Role and Approach

My approach wasn’t to impose things from above, but to engage in dialogue. I conducted in-depth interviews with managers and employees. These focused on their roles (tasks, responsibilities, and authority), as well as what they would like to see improved. I used that input to develop the new job profiles, but it also gave me a clear picture of the culture and the pain points within the organization.

Next, I rolled out an employee survey (MTO). I shared the results transparently with the management team and later with the rest of the organization: “This is what you’ve told us, and this is what we’re going to work on.” That gave employees the feeling that their input mattered.

At the same time, I fully documented processes—for recruitment, onboarding, and offboarding—and developed templates and formats that simply didn’t exist yet. I also provided more active guidance to managers in their roles: what is expected of you in cases of absenteeism, underperformance, and more. Managers began to view HR (previously still referred to as PZ) more and more as a valuable department.

HX in Practice – A People-Centered Approach

The cultural shift began with listening. Not with a plan I’d already drawn up, but with the question: What do you see? What do you need? This applied to both employees and managers. By asking people honest questions—and responding with honesty in return—we created space for conversations that hadn’t always been possible before.

A concrete example: managers who had been fulfilling their roles for years without clear guidelines, and who were accustomed to HR (or the Managing Director) handling the difficult conversations. By clarifying what a leadership role entails—and holding them accountable to it—responsibility shifted to where it belonged. That was sometimes difficult, but honest conversations, conducted with respect, ultimately make an organization stronger by placing responsibilities where they belong. Of course, this is done with the help and support of HR when necessary.

Results Achieved

In just over 10 months, I accomplished the following:

• Comprehensive documentation of HR processes, including recruitment, onboarding, and offboarding

• Development of templates and formats for contracts, letters, and guidance programs, among other things

• Rollout of an MTO, including subsequent analysis, feedback, and a proposal for various improvement actions

• New job profiles for the entire organization, based on, among other things, interviews with all employees

• Draft performance management plan, ready for the new HR professional to take over

• Raising managers’ awareness of their own HR responsibilities.

Insights and Impact

Working on HR projects—such as optimizing processes, rewriting job descriptions, and rolling out an MTO—has given me more than just providing advice. You can actually see what you’re building and the impact it has. That’s valuable, both for me and for the organization.

What I’ve learned: Having honest conversations pays off—with employees and with managers alike. Not to pass the buck or simply tell people what they want to hear, but to be clear about expectations—respectfully, yet clearly. That’s also what HR can do within an organization: not take on every little problem, but empower people to handle things themselves while making them feel supported and assisted.