Nick van der Poel enjoys running marathons. He set his record of 2 hours, 20 minutes, and 58 seconds in Rotterdam in 2022, but he's not one to boast about that super-fast time on the 42.195-kilometer course. "A cow that produces milk, now that's top sport," says Nick, laughing as he watches the cows jostling for a spot at the milking robot.
120 dairy cows
Because the conversation with Nick, who is responsible for HR at Lely, takes place on a farm in Schipluiden, South Holland. It is not just any farm; the farm with some 120 dairy cows has been owned by his employer since 2020. Maassluis-based Lely invents and develops technical innovations for the agricultural industry, such as milking and fattening robots and feeding machines.
"Our focus is on the dairy farm," Nick explains. "That we were able to buy this farm was a long-held dream. Here, Lely employees can see how our machines work in practice. Every year they get to help out for a day and thus experience, with their nose between the cows, all the work that has to be done on the farm, from checking the milk filters to cleaning the cubicles. We also provide guided tours for employees of other farms and schoolchildren. And the farm has also become one of our favorite meeting locations," says Nick, looking around proudly.
Willy Roots
About 1,200 people work at the headquarters in Maassluis and the six Lely Centers spread throughout the country; in addition, Lely has about 300 flexible workers. Elsewhere in the world another 800 people work for the company, which is constantly looking for new colleagues. And that is not always easy due to the tight labor market, Nick confesses. "Many companies are looking for people with high-quality technological knowledge. A good software engineer can change jobs every day, so to speak, that's how much demand there is. We fish in the same pond as companies like ASML and Philips and are relatively unknown in the market."
Nevertheless, Lely manages to recruit an average of about 30 new colleagues every month, from administrative staff to engineers and data specialists. Nick explains why. "We have an excellent recruitment team, which communicates specifically to candidate employees. One of our recruiters lives in Eindhoven, where he tries to secure suitable candidates at the University of Technology. We are also increasingly looking for foreign talent. Our vacancies are in English and we get a few applicants from abroad every month. Furthermore, Maassluis is easily accessible for potential candidates from big cities like Rotterdam and The Hague, and the densely populated Westland is also nearby. And the fact that we are increasingly in the news because of the nitrogen debate also helps in our search for the Willy Roots of the agricultural industry."
Onboarding program
New employees receive a so-called onboarding program at Lely, which includes a tour of "the factory" in Maassluis and a visit to the farm in Schipluiden on the agenda. "In Maassluis our machines are developed and assembled, on the farm they can see the milking robot and other machines in production. We think it's important to bring those two worlds together, so that new employees see that what we told them in the application process about what we do and for whom is true. The crux of why people choose us lies in the content of the job."
What also helps, Nick thinks, is that the company founded in 1948 by brothers Cornelis and Arij van der Lely is a true family business. "We value the long term. We don't make the numbers important every month; we prefer to invest in growth and take our time. At the same time, we are also ambitious. We don't bake sweet rolls; if things don't go well, we name it."
Curiosity
Entrepreneurship, curiosity and creativity are competencies Lely looks for when hiring new staff. "Many employees come from university and are well versed in software, mechanics or data. We like to give someone who is enthusiastic about an idea the freedom to work on it. It's really great when intrinsically motivated people help solve the problems facing the agricultural world," says Nick just before the pictures for this story are shot.
That the cows immediately come to take a look doesn't surprise him. "Cows are curious, I find that interesting, just like curious people who keep looking for new perspectives. That's exactly what we need. If I learned anything at Lely, it's that you have to come up with at least ten solutions to a problem. That stimulates your creativity."
Closed between Christmas and New Year's Eve
In addition to fun and challenging positions, Lely also offers excellent benefits. "Periodic surveys show that we are well positioned in the market in terms of salary. We have our own Lely Academy, including leadership training for management. Our method of assessment focuses on employee development rather than performance. We hold annual Saint Nicholas and Christmas celebrations as well as having an in-house gym." Despite the fact that Lely's technicians are in demand, Nick says they manage to keep staff on board quite nicely. "Our turnover is about 10 percent, in line with a national average, and with turnover in the first year we are even slightly below that at 8 percent."
The number of days off may also play a role in this. Because with 40 days off, Lely employees have significantly more free time than their colleagues at other Dutch companies. "We are closed for two weeks between Christmas and New Year. I personally consider that one of our best terms of employment. It is very healthy for all of us to take a break, although in my first year at Lely I did send some e-mails during that period. I immediately got the friendly but urgent request to stop doing that", concludes Nick with a laugh.
