Karen van den Berg
We need to talk about that uninspired conference room. You know, the place where the idea for your new and improved strategy was born. Now, dust has settled on the flip charts and on your ideas.
You can keep tinkering with hybrid work models and learning paths; go for it. But if you want people to stay, you first need to give them something to talk about. The kind of experience that comes up in 5-minute voice messages. At the kitchen table during lunch, in the group chat. With sparkling eyes and that FOMO look from the colleague who was ‘just on vacation’ and missed everything.
In a job market where Gen Z and millennials are setting the pace, purpose is the new salary. No company car can compete with that. What you need is an escape from the daily grind. A step back to gain perspective. A multi-day trip where you swap the office for an experience.
A strong experience:
Let's clear up one misunderstanding: bowling is not an experience. It's a Friday afternoon drinks session with a shoe swap. That's why co-creation is so important. Because only then can you create an experience that isn't interchangeable. Not with post-its, but with guts. Because if you can google it, it's not good enough. Together, we build a feeling. Something that makes you think: this cannot be copied, this is us.
HR without experience feels like going back to 2006. Culture happens when you people feel that they matter. Not because it was in the newsletter, but because they were together on a boat, standing in a forest, or doing something on a rooftop in Lisbon that no one saw coming.
So: do you dare to give your HR strategy a heartbeat? Let’s make it unforgettable.
Karen van den Berg
Team Manager
