“It is nice to work with people who speak their mind and think the same.”
“I already knew people in the organisation, and the atmosphere appealed to me,” she says. “I chose Ballast Nedam because people in construction tend to be more to the point, which I can appreciate.”
Esmee is a third-year Human Resource Management student and is spending her internship learning as much about the organisation as possible. “Half of my time is spent working on the research I am doing for my studies. I evaluate what Ballast Nedam Road Specialties employees think of the new direction the management team has taken. I speak to as many colleagues as possible, which is a lot of fun as I get to know everyone.”
I chose Ballast Nedam because people in construction tend to be more to the point, which I can appreciate.
Lots of responsibilities
During her internship, Esmee spent half of her time on research. There was plenty to do the rest of the week, as the Road Specialties HR department is still being developed. As a result, Esmee is responsible for drawing up the job profiles. “It is handy because both my research and the job profiles require me to talk to everyone, making it easy to make contacts. This is also where I am experiencing my colleagues’ directness. It's nice to work with people who speak their mind and think along the same lines. I am learning to stand up for myself and speak my mind; I am given that freedom here.”
In addition to drawing up the job profiles, Esmee put together the employee Christmas presents and worked on organising the training week in January, when the office is closed. It is a week of knowledge enrichment, during which the experts update their courses and training. It was Esmee’s job to make an inventory of who should take which course and when—quite a challenge which took a lot of figuring out.
Project visit
For her internship, Esmee visited one of our asphalt laying projects. At night, because at Ballast Nedam Road Specialties, we also carry out maintenance work at times when there is the least possible disruption to traffic.
Theory versus Practical
“If you work hard and do your job well, you are given more and more responsibilities. I was well supervised. I had somewhere to turn to if I had any questions, and everyone was willing to help me. During my studies, I learned how things work in theory, but now I learned a lot while putting those lessons into practice.”
After her studies, Esmee hopes to work as an HR consultant in construction. “I am solution-oriented and I have found that I like empathising with the employees. I feel quite at home here.”