“The combination of really deep-diving into a subject and, on the other hand, the communication and collaboration with other departments, is the perfect balance for me”
“Kramp gives you the chance to show what you’re capable of”
“I initially joined Kramp in January 2012 as an application consultant for the web-shop team after meeting someone from Kramp at a local career event. I’d just finished my master’s in Communication Sciences and I liked the sound of the job on offer. It was an all-round role that required me to understand the needs of the business users and ‘translate’ them into possibilities and requirements for the IT developers, and then to provide project management and support. I saw this as a great opportunity to put my communication expertise to good use.
I also knew that I wanted to work for a large company. As a student, I’d done internships at two very different companies: a big multinational and a smaller, more local company. I much preferred the international dynamics of the big company, so I was excited to hear that Kramp was internationally active.
On top of that, I thought that Kramp would offer a lot of potential for career development – and I’m pleased to say that I’ve been proved right, because I’ve progressed quickly. In my experience, if you work hard and are prepared to voice your ambitions and seize opportunities, Kramp gives you the chance to show what else you’re capable of, and also supports you with extra training if necessary.
For example, after just a couple of years in my initial role, I moved into the role of Business Analyst. Due to Kramp’s rapid growth, the number of projects was beginning to get a little out of hand. I became part of the team assessing the potential of projects to help the company streamline the project flow and prioritise the most successful ideas.
I’ve been in my current role as Project Manager Technology since 2017. My bachelor’s degree in Communications and Multimedia Design gave me the perfect grounding for this job. Although I’m involved in technology projects, I don’t need in-depth technical knowledge; good planning and coordination – as well as my communication skills – are a lot more important. This is because the projects I manage are complex ones with lots of different stakeholders and therefore also various different needs and expectations. I like the diversity of this role because it entails a wide range of tasks: from coordinating the business case, analysing the risks and assembling the right project team, to monitoring deadlines, giving progress reports and preparing for the implementation.
I’m currently working exclusively on a complex and long-running project for the Kramp website. It involves dozens of people and will be rolled out in all 16 Kramp countries, so you can imagine how much alignment is required. One of the challenges with projects is that people have to fit them in alongside their daily workload. However, thanks to the Kramp values, all colleagues are aware of the importance of collaboration and of taking ownership of their part of the process. And nothing can beat the sense of satisfaction at what we’ve achieved together as a team when a project goes live and everyone is happy with the result. That’s very rewarding.
Even though I live fairly close to the Kramp headquarters in Varsseveld, I actually work from home most days. My stakeholders are spread throughout Europe, so it’s not like I need to go into the office to meet with them. I also have two young children, so I appreciate the fact that Kramp gives me freedom and flexibility in my working hours; that helps me to strike a healthy work-life balance. Because of my family, I’ve put my career ambitions on the backburner for now. But when the children are a little older, I’ll no doubt feel like trying something different again – and I’m sure that there will be plenty of new and exciting opportunities within Kramp when I’m ready.”