The BOIP HR team is responsible for the well-being of all BOIP staff. That’s what it's all about! As well as performing standard HR tasks such as payroll administration and employment policy, we also promote an inclusive, open work culture in which people feel safe and valued. See our vacancies
About the team
The team consists of 7 people; 4 men and 3 women. Most of them are over 40, but the newcomers to the team are now often younger. Half of the team members have been working at BOIP for more than 20 years now. We are a small, all-round team in which everyone is involved in all the developments taking place within the organisation. Together we ensure that the 70 members of BOIP’s staff are deployed, supported and organised.
What makes the HR team unique?
BOIP has been an international organisation since 2015. That means that the rules and rights applicable to our organisation are different, which is of course very interesting for people working in HR. It means we have to regularly think about how we develop and implement our terms of employment. Everyone in the team contributes to that, and everyone's opinion is counted.
What we do
Our team comprises all the usual HR functions and tasks. These go from issuing payslips and ensuring the payroll administration to introducing and implementing employment policy. We also take care of internal and external recruitment and selection, determine recruitment profiles, take care of (international) onboarding, manage staff absence and mobility, deal with labour disputes and provide reports for management. Alongside these regular HR tasks though, there is plenty of opportunity to be a ‘pioneer’ within an international organisation. For instance, sometimes we don’t know what the impact of a new rule will be on staff. Then it’s all hands on deck and everyone thinks along together, drawing on their own expertise.
BOIP as a 'Great Place To Work'
You have probably already read that BOIP is a ‘Great Place To Work’. As the HR team we don’t just experience that, we also greatly contribute to it. As we said previously, we work to promote an inclusive, open work culture in which people feel safe and valued. In practice, in our team this means that you don't have to mince your words. It means you can speak openly, and you feel free and safe to express your opinion. Being a ‘Great Place To Work’ organisation does not mean, by the way, that you have a free pass to just carry on as before. It means you are doing things well, but also that you have to work on the areas where things can be improved. That is where we, the HR team, have an important role to play.
An average working day
We start each day with a quick check-in: a short chat, with a cup of coffee. What have you been up to? Have you been doing anything nice? Having fun with each other is something that is very important in our team. It is also valid for our mutual relationships. We work on it every day by giving each other attention and respect, by showing interest in each other. Our HR manager, Sandra, sets a good example: she is very committed to everyone in the team. After the check-in we turn to the things that have to be done that day.
On Mondays we always have an HR meeting to discuss current issues. Who's going to do what, what has priority and what do we have to complete this week? Around the 15th of each month, we are always very busy with the payroll administration. There are also HR case files that take up a lot of time, which we deal with together. It is often the case for these that we have to delve into the past and go looking for why a particular rule was introduced and what the impact of that is now. If we make an exception, or have to, the question is what precedent we are then setting. We need everyone’s input to work these sorts of issues out and bring them to a good conclusion.
Quote from the department
Belinda Dewnarain is the Compensation & Benefits Specialist within the HR team. She has a good personal motto: “Simplicity is a philosophy which can be applied to almost anything in life”. It is a motto that also works for the whole HR team: “Keep it simple. For yourself and for others. There is a great deal of benefit to be had from it.”