ilionx now has, with the recent acquisition of data specialist Inergy, 14 locations in the Netherlands with a total of some 1,500 employees. The company acquired IT consultant ICTZ, among others, several years ago, and then got bigger and bigger through other acquisitions. Main expertises of ilionx are digital strategy, cloud applications, data and AI, hyperautomation and managed services. “We get the best out of IT, providing solutions to all kinds of ict issues and helping businesses and organizations move forward. Customers hire us because they often do not have the necessary IT knowledge themselves. We primarily offer consulting. To that end, many of our employees sit with clients on a weekly basis. Thus, one of the areas of concern that emerged from the employee survey is maintaining and increasing employee engagement. We do this by regularly talking to the employee about topics such as job satisfaction, challenging projects, the employee’s contribution to the organization’s goals, as well as organizing various meetings and fun team outings. With this, we create connection. We ask them what they need for that. And we respond to that,” Wartenbergh said.
On the right track
Last year, ilionx had a large employee satisfaction survey (mto) conducted among all its employees. To know if she is “on track,” a theme measurement was conducted by Integron in March this year. Wartenbergh: “The latter to see if we are on the right track in following up the results from the mto. And fortunately that is the case. It also gave us insight into the newly affiliated companies with ilionx. This provides a basis for HR to determine strategy and set out actions. What we got confirmed is that within our organization, things are pretty good when it comes to job satisfaction, freedom and autonomy. This is how our employees experience it. Superfine, of course. At +21, the eNPS is also well above the benchmark average (+12) in our industry. However, we did see differences by establishment. Some sites scored a higher eNPS than other sites. To focus more on this, we held management team meetings for each branch to discuss opportunities for improvement. We are also looking at how we can improve cooperation between the different branches. We are working hard on that.”
“Things are fine within our organization when it comes to job satisfaction, freedom and autonomy. Super nice of course.”
Growth Paths
Another area of focus is to further define personal growth paths. “Today, employees want to develop and evolve, as professionals but also as people. Especially the younger generation. And we want and encourage that too. Hence we focus more on that. Often simply by asking ‘what do you like’ and ‘what would you like’ and then anticipating this. Giving employees room to develop themselves, and to strengthen their talents and qualities. That benefits the employee himself and thus our services even more. This also applies to corporate social responsibility. CSR and sustainability are important to us. It is not for nothing that we have appointed a CSR Officer who works on this full-time. As a company, we want to take into account the effects of our business operations on people, the environment and society. Diversity, inclusion and vitality are also aspects that were scrutinized during the thematic measurement and we scored well on these,” says Wartenbergh.
“Giving employees space to develop themselves, and strengthen their talents and qualities.”
Frequent research
ilionx plans to conduct another major employee satisfaction survey in 2024. Wartenbergh: “Through frequent research you get more and better insight. It is also important to share the results with all our employees. That’s what we do. Everyone internally knows what we are doing. For the follow-up research we again call in Integron. I know Integron from my previous job at ICTZ. I had good experiences and good contact with them. They also provide excellent dashboards. The choice was not difficult to engage Integron for ilionx as well. They are experts in their field and offer excellent support and useful advice. Again, the contacts are excellent. We are therefore very satisfied with the cooperation.”
Dot on the horizon
What is the dot on the horizon for ilionx? Where are the challenges in the coming years? Wartenbergh: “Finally winning the Experience Award, hahaha. We were so close to it this year. That would be a nice crowning achievement for our efforts. But the most important goal we strive for is that our employees feel intrinsically motivated and happy. That’s what we want to do everything for. Doing fun, big projects, working on their own development, but also creating an optimal work-life balance. And at the central level we are working hard on a new development cycle, so that every employee can take control of his own development. Another goal is to further increase the already high satisfaction scores. We are doing everything we can to be and remain an attractive employer. Making sure there is as little turnover as possible. It is also a trade-off. If our employees feel happy, that radiates to our customers. And vice versa. Fortunately, most of our employees are more than happy.”
“The main goal we strive for is for our employees to feel intrinsically motivated and happy.”
About ilionx
ilionx is a full-service IT company focused on future-proof solutions for its clients. The company primarily has clients within regulated markets, such as government and healthcare. ilionx employs 1,500 people across 14 locations in the Netherlands. Its headquarters is located in Utrecht.
