Veldeman: The complexity of multi-stakeholder collaboration is minimised by Beeple.

Veldeman designs and manufactures quality bedding systems. From sleeping comfort (mattresses & box springs) to hotel furnishing. In short, your sleep is their top priority. Because of the need for specific skills, Veldeman has a large network of temping partners. So they always find the right (wo)man for the job. But how do they manage planning?

How to keep talented flex workers close?

Rare skills and sustainable recruitment

Behind the quality is a labour-intensive production process. Craftsmanship is the rule rather than the exception.  "That is why we are not only looking for hands, but above all for skills: highly qualified employees with specific capabilities", says Yves Thiery, HR & Risk manager at Veldeman. "Once we have found those rare talents, we want to enter into a long-term relationship with them."

Multi-vendor inefficiency

"The search and the selection process that goes with it is difficult. That is why we work with different, specialised partners." The interplay between different vendors (read: temporary employment agencies) was a headache. The planning and communication required a lot of time. And the many lines of communication meant that mistakes were often made. "The telephone of the personnel department used to be constantly ringing off the hook. We were partly an intermediary between the various temporary employment agencies, who were constantly proposing candidates, and production management. The HR staff would filter candidates and then check with production to see who they needed and when. That was not always workable."

Vendor planning management

Vendor what? With vendor planning management, different vendors are brought together in one platform. Veldeman has ownership of the environment and decides who can be plugged in and out. And who has access to which information in the system. Both their own planners, production supervisors, temporary employment agencies and temporary workers can view the planning. And all selected staffing partners can suggest candidates. This takes place under the joint coordination of Veldeman and the "Master Vendor", a temporary employment agency specially selected by Veldeman. The latter deploys an in-house consultant who, with the use of the Beeple software, helps to develop the planning.

Beeple = transparency + efficiency

Each partner can see perfectly what happens to their candidates. From each step in the application process to the final planning. "This allows the temporary employment agencies to work together in a transparent way and in confidence," says Yves.

"Beeple is a very flexible communication platform, also towards temporary workers. The communication is largely automated so the workload is a lot smaller. We can also easily make changes. Recently, there was a situation where it was necessary to communicate the evacuation plan in advance. One push of a button and it's added for everyone. All new candidates now receive this automatically and it is no longer missed."

"Before we used Beeple, we knew what info we had passed on to the staffing partners. Then we trusted that the right message would reach the temporary workers. But a message is distorted if there are too many intermediaries. Now we know for sure that the employees get the right information because it comes directly from us. Consequence? Employees are always in the right place at the right time and are not unfairly penalised for any incorrect information they receive."

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"Our planning is very complex because of the multi-stakeholder data. Beeple reduces this complexity," Yves Thiery, HR & Risk manager at Veldeman

The future is digital, data-driven & direct

According to Veldeman, Beeple fits perfectly into a broader evolution towards digitalisation. "In the modern HR environment, KPIs are increasingly important. Thanks to Beeple, all the information is centralized in one place. The data is pulled from the system and you can start working with it. Beeple helps by providing monitoring  tools. That makes it comfortable for the user. Processes are monitored and adjusted where necessary."

One of Veldeman's intentions is to eventually use Beeple as a more direct line between production management and temporary workers. "Ultimately, we want to give production more ownership of the planning. The production management indicates which people are needed to plan the coming weeks in each department. This is then passed on to the temporary employment agencies and temporary workers. HR will therefore be given a strong monitoring role in the area of planning. Planning should above all be done where the needs are, i.e. very close to operations. This way, we at HR can focus on the well-being of the employees.

How to keep planner, supervisor and flex worker updated?

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