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Accent Jobs
You can find Axxes consultants in a wide range of companies, from the port to the largest retailers. They also contribute to innovations that make the work of consultants at Accent Jobs more enjoyable. Our consultants work alongside colleagues such as Sofie Buyck and Martijn Vandevyvere, both of whom have been with Accent Jobs for many years.
Sofie and Martijn, what are your roles within Accent Jobs?
Sofie Buyck: "I've been with Accent Jobs for seven years now, starting as a Project Manager and advancing to Delivery Manager. We oversee six multidisciplinary scrum teams, which are dedicated to developing the tools used in our offices on a daily basis. This includes our ERP package, as well as a client portal and an app for candidates seeking employment."
Martijn Vandevyvere: "I've also been here for about six years. As a Platform Manager, I'm responsible for the platform on which all our developers work to deploy the applications they build. The customers of the platform team are essentially the developers in Sofie's teams. Our goal is to reduce cognitive complexity for them, allowing them to focus even more on creating value for end customers: the consultants, our clients, and the candidates. This way, they don't have to worry about mastering thousands of technologies inside and out."
Sofie: "Martijn and his colleagues explore new technologies and tools that we can use to develop even better software."
Martijn: "We have a small team of specialists in architecture, frontend, backend, cloud computing... We are jacks-of-all-trades, and much is expected of us."
Entrepreneurship is evident in all our people: those who seek opportunities will also receive them. At all levels, you'll find individuals with enthusiasm, passionate about their job.
Would you call Accent Jobs a recruitment company?
Sofie: "No, we are a company that focuses on talent placement. It may seem similar, but there's a nuanced difference. This means we play a crucial role in connecting talent in the job market with employers. For job seekers, we act as job coaches, identifying and helping them discover their talents. For companies, we serve as a true HR partner, not only seeking the right talent for the right job but also providing advice and support to retain those talents."
Martijn: "We have 1200 Accenters, with the majority being consultants working in one of our 300 offices. IT is a central service that supports them at various levels. Our team consists of 70 people, offering a range of services. We handle both the hardware they work with and the development of the applications used by the consultants."
How would you describe the culture?
Sofie: "It's challenging to encapsulate it in words. Despite our size, the SME mentality is still strong here. Entrepreneurship is evident in all our people: those who seek opportunities will also receive them. At all levels, you'll find individuals with enthusiasm, passionate about their job."
Martijn: "Accent Jobs is like a family, with its own DNA. Everything stems from our core values: go pro, be a friend, and stay gutsy."
Sofie: "The last one is crucial. We prefer to try something even if it fails, so we can learn from it, rather than doing nothing."
What projects are your teams currently working on?
Sofie: "We have several initiatives ongoing, primarily focusing on the tools used in our offices. For example, the ERP package that consultants utilize for prospecting, managing contracts, inputting schedules, and performances. While there are certain integrations via API calls with existing systems, the majority is developed in-house."
Martijn: "My team is exploring new technologies aimed at enabling our consultants to focus more on people. We're examining innovations like ChatGPT and how they can contribute to that goal."
My team consists of six individuals, primarily senior architects. Currently, we have two people from Axxes because they bring additional expertise on board.
How are your teams composed?
Sofie: 'We work with over 40 colleagues on software delivery. This includes several functional analysts, testers, developers, team leads, technical leads, and a delivery coordinator. There are also five developers from Axxes involved.'
Martijn: 'Most of them are mid-level and senior profiles, who have an equal opportunity to grow within Accent Jobs. We actually make little distinction between external and internal members. If someone clicks with the family, they become part of the family.'
Martijn: 'My team consists of six people, primarily senior architects. Currently, we have two people from Axxes because they bring extra expertise on board. For example, they are knowledgeable about cloud technologies, infrastructure, and automation. We ensure that other teams can work better, and there's always a component of change management involved. We tackle that by evangelizing, documenting, and providing training. If developers from other teams get stuck, they can always turn to my team.'
So, your team must continuously inform people about new technologies and processes?
Martijn: 'That's correct, and I'd like to give credit to Axxes. You can see that they focus a lot on knowledge sharing, which benefits our team. Because their consultants are so passionate about technology, they spontaneously talk about innovations they've seen elsewhere. That rubs off on the rest of the company, and they bring relevant insights from Axxes.'
"I want to give a shout-out to Axxes. You can tell that they prioritize knowledge sharing, which benefits our team. Because their consultants are so passionate about technology, they spontaneously discuss innovations they've come across. This enthusiasm influences the rest of the company, and they bring valuable insights from Axxes."
What was the need to collaborate with consultants?
Sofie: "It remains a challenging endeavor to onboard individuals with the right skills. The market has evolved, and it's not always easy to find the right people. The first person from Axxes who joined us has been here for almost five years now."
You now know a number of Axxes consultants, how would you describe them?
Martijn: "Their eagerness to learn is the first thing that strikes me. They are critical, but in a positive sense. They want to grow and continuously improve the status quo."
Sofie: "Indeed, they really want to contribute to the structure and processes within Accent Jobs. That's not something you find in every consultant."
And how is the collaboration with our account manager, Nicolas Van Driessche?
Sofie: "Very good, he is someone who always seeks the best match. Nicolas knows well what we need, which means we rarely receive a profile that doesn't really fit with us. That's not the case with every partner."
Nicolas, our account manager at Axxes, knows well what we need, which is why we rarely receive a profile that doesn't truly fit with us.
How do you work to develop all those tools?
Sofie: "Last year, we transitioned from Scrum to LeSS, Large-Scale Scrum. This has resulted in involving users much more in the development process than before. After a year, I can say that our developers are very positive about it. Our backlog is much more transparent, and we regularly organize refinements where we invite our end users. During these sessions, they can engage in dialogue and delve deeper into the specific needs of the end users. Why do you need this feature? What do you want to do with it? This way, we always build the right things at the right time. As a developer, you feel much more confident that what you are building will actually be used, and the feedback from the end users is much more direct."
Last year, we transitioned from Scrum to LeSS, Large-Scale Scrum. This resulted in involving users much more in the development process than before.
How did this new way of working come about?
Martijn: "For a few years now, we have regularly conducted surveys among our people, in which several pain points surfaced. By introducing a new way of working, we were able to address them. We operate based on experiments, and if they prove successful, we continue with them."
Sofie: "Our Scrum Master Guild meets weekly, and anyone who wishes to can attend to discuss these experiments together. The Guild also has the mandate to make changes. If everyone present in the Guild supports the idea, the experiment will be carried out. After a certain period, the experiment is then reevaluated. These sessions include people from various teams and backgrounds to offer suggestions and discuss."
An inspiring way of working! A huge thank you, Sofie and Martijn, for the great partnership and this glimpse behind the scenes.
