MANAGER

EVALUTION REPORT

Jari Eeckhout Sebastian Kotyla

Shahab Shiri Maikel Van
Bottenburg Arantxa Van Hyfte
Maarten Verlinde
Group 6 & Group 12

Table of Contents
Organization........................................................................................................... 3
Mission

Vision.................................................................................................................. 3
Values.................................................................................................................. 3
Structure............................................................................................................. 4
Strategy.............................................................................................................. 4
Culture

Interviews............................................................................................................... 6
Interview People Manager: Mario Thysebaert......................................................6
Interview People Managers Manager: Ingrid Nuelant.........................................8
Discrepancies......................................................................................................... 9
Key competencies................................................................................................ 10
Which ones are crucial for Keolis?.....................................................................10
Why? Define and describe at least 5.................................................................10
How are they used in:....................................................................................... 10
Inflow............................................................................................................. 10
Through flow.................................................................................................. 10
How has the HR communication course helped you in collecting this information?
............................................................................................................................. 11
How did the individual style of the persons you interacted with influence the
results?................................................................................................................. 11
References........................................................................................................... 13
Division of the tasks............................................................................................. 14
Jari Eeckhout..................................................................................................... 14
Sebastian Kotyla................................................................................................ 14
Shahab Shiri...................................................................................................... 14
Maikel Van Bottenburg...................................................................................... 14
Arantxa Van Hyfte............................................................................................. 14
Maarten Verlinde............................................................................................... 14

Organization

(Keolis.com, sd) (Keolis.com, sd)

Mission
Keolis aim is to help passenger transport authorities attain their goals of
providing efficient and effective public transport offers to their populations. They
want to further provide a supportive network for the authorities all over the world
to guarantee safe and decent public transportation in all possible ways.

Vision
Keolis has established a strong presence in four main territories: Continental
Europe, the UK, North America, and Australia. As Keolis continues to build upon
its momentum in these markets, it is also looking for new opportunities in
markets such as China, the Middle East, and Africa. Keolis brings its experience
from around the globe and adapts to the specific needs of each local market,
which is a key factor in providing customised services to meet our diverse
clienteles expectations.
By sharing experiences and best practices across the group, Keolis combines its
global expertise with an intimate understanding of the local networks wherever
the Group operates. Using surveys, polls and face to face meetings, Keolis is
constantly looking for new ways to improve service. In addition, the firm pushes
the envelope by deploying new technologies to improve fuel efficiency, increase
the use of alternative fuels, and streamline operations.

Values
The group develops its identity and strengths by affirming its values. The values
that they hold high are: profitability, longevity, quality and team spirit.
These are
that are
high
with

satisfaction, safety and transparency.

values
held very
together
customer

Structure

Strategy
Keolis aim is to offer passengers multimodal mobility solutions that are simple,
efficient and fluid. By investing in developing innovative digital solutions, Keolis is
transforming the passenger experience and empowering travelers to choose the
best transport mode for their needs. The goal is to become a leader in connected
mobility in urban and rural areas across the globe.

Culture
(Keolis.com, n.d.) (Forbes.com, sd; Sap.com, sd)
These days, you hear just about everyone emphasizing the importance of
company culture. But before we get to Keolis company culture, I find it
important to think about what that really entails.
According to Wikipedia, company culture has to do with the behavior of humans
within an organization and the meaning that people attach to those
behaviors. Okay, but that doesnt really allow us to fully grasp the concept.
Realising that theyve also added a list of factors that contribute to the
phenomenon at hand. The list goes as follows: Company vision, values, norms,
systems, symbols, language, assumptions, beliefs, and habits.
Thats already more substantial, but to make it complete, Id like to add one more
thing, which is taken from Forbes William Craig: company culture is something
that is pre-existing in your companys genetic code; its not something that
employees bring with them.
So now that we know what were talking about, lets look at Keolis. When taking a
look at their website, theres a tab dedicated to their values, namely: durability,
quality, profitability and team spirit. What stands out here is of course team
spirit. The fact that theyve incorporated this in their core values indicates that,
first of all, theres a company culture present, and second, that theyre cultivating
it.
In an article found about their commuting services in Las Vegas, Dwight
Brashear, Executive Vice President and General Manager, declares the following:
Our select management team has decades of experience in creating a strong
safety culture while delivering high-quality transit services every day. Our
drivers, mechanics and customer service staff will wear the Keolis badge with
pride because striving for excellence is our top priority.
Note the importance of that last sentence, which also implies a sense of the
company culture Keolis is trying to cultivate among its employees. In this case,
excellence is a key shared value.
In another article, found on SAP.com, its mentioned that Keolis corporate culture
prizes innovation and a comprehensive understanding of networks, lifestyle
patterns, and passenger behavior. As well as efficiency and sustainability.
We believe that with the preceding information, we can form a clear view of the
corporate culture Keolis is striving for which shall prove beneficial in the
understanding of the rest of this report and the company in general.
Later on, when conducting the interview with Mr. Thysebaert and Ms. Nuelant, it
became clear to us that what has been stated in the preceding paragraphs isnt
just a theoretical model, but has been successfully implemented in practice. This
because Mr. Thysebaert told us himself that hes very satisfied with his job, partly
because of the progress he witnesses in the employees. To take this even further,
he stated that he developed a passion for being a valuable asset and he loves
being an integral part of the company, being a part of the growth realization.
Added to that, the fact that he immediately could give us the key values of the

company when asked implied that the target corporate culture is ever present all
over the work floor.

Interviews
Interview People Manager: Mario Thysebaert (Thysebaert, 2015)
Mr. Thysebaert was hired by Keolis on the first of August 2015, where he filled in
a newly vacant position. Keolis is a company of roughly 3000 employees with
which around 2200 are FTEs. A HR manager is vital in such circumstances to
structure and make sure everything runs smoothly. The hiring process was a
normal solicitation which consisted of one assessment. Mr. Thysebaert had to go
through an in-depth interview with standard questions e.g. how would he react in
a certain situation, what would he do, what would he have done differently
During the interview he found it apparent that they were incorporating the STARmethod (Situation, Task, Action and Result).
Mr. Thysebaert was informed of the vacant position through means of word to
mouth. Essentially meaning someone in his network of contacts informed him of
the open position and mentioned that his skills match that of what the company
is searching for. Mr. Thysebaert went on to clarify the usefulness of using this
recruitment method as it allows the search criteria to be much more refined. He
also mentioned that he regularly applies the method as it is inexpensive in
comparison to traditional recruitment methods. He did however mention it can
distort the image of certain candidates which is why he only implements it in
higher level openings.
Keolis has started up a number of different programs in the recent months/years.
One of them being KEOLIFE. KEOLIFE is a partially Human Resources program
that puts the focus on customers. Customer satisfaction is one of the most
important aspects in most businesses and that does not differ at Keolis, according
to Mr. Thysebaert. Customers have to choose the company again and not go to
the competition. Keolis want staff, stakeholders and customers alike to be
satisfied with the service they offer. KEOLIFE supports all the aspects in the
company. With this project they want to improve the relationship with the press,
along with stabilizing their economic dimension and improving on safety. KEOLIFE
also helps the company with lowering the numbers for absenteeism. This project
was initiated by KEOLIS France but it is an international project that now effects
all branches. KEOLIS Belgium tries to update its social partners every 3 months
whereas KEOLIS France only gave the regulation of doing it twice a year.
At the start of his Keolis career, Mr. Thysebaert was handed four assignments.
The first assignment was to make sure the certificates of competence of their
drivers were correct and up to date. He successfully finished this with ease
thanks to his new team. Another assignment he received, and which is still in
progress, are social elections and work place regulations. He told us that he
underestimated the complexity of this project because of the fact that they have
about 49 companies which all need different work place regulations. This is
because every company has its own aspects. A uniform set of work rules cannot
apply to every company. This is why when asked the question what would you
change? he said he would have done it a little differently and had made sure he
would involve the right people more quickly. His fourth assignment is daily
support of the hierarchal structure.

Another thing he would do differently is the performance appraisals. In his

opinion they could use some fine tuning. Because the company grew a lot
recently by mergers and acquisitions in a relatively short amount of time, some
procedures are outdated. He also stated he would like to make changes in the
recruitment process, the incorporation of new employees and an improvement in
the quality of wage administration. The fact that there are so much things within
the company that need constant fine tuning, makes it fun to work for the
company, according to Mr. Thysebaert. He relates this as a chance to make a
name for yourself and leave some form of legacy to the company.
Despite all the aspects of company dealings he would change, Mr. Thysebaert
remains content with his position at the company. He links his satisfaction in the
job to witnessing progression within his employees and functions of the company.
From this, he has acquired a passion to be a valuable asset to the company and
hopes to play a pivotal role in the companys growth.
When asked if he knew the five main competencies of the company, Mr.
Thysebaert immediately referred to the key values of the company mentioned in
the mission and vision statement. This shows to us that there is a common mind
set within the company in which everyone strives to execute and withhold the
key values or in this case competencies. The competencies, as mentioned prior
in the document are as follows:

Profitability, the ability to be a successfully running business.

Team Spirit, the ability to work and communicate with one another.
Longevity, the ability to think long term.
Quality, the ability to provide the best services.

Interview People Managers Manager: Ingrid Nuelant (Nuelant, 2015)

Relating to the decision of which objectives the new HR manager would have to
focus on, Ms. Nuelant visited every facility of Keolis Belgium. During the visits she
would interview people about the problems they face. If she only heard the
problem once, it was a local problem. If she kept hearing the same reoccurring
problem, she knew it was a company-wide problem and prioritized those
problems. Mr. Thysebaert has received all problems with a priority rating. Some
of the short-term projects are already being implemented by the end of this
month. Long-term objectives have to be addressed within 6 months.
When on the topic of hiring people, Ms. Nuelant stressed the importance of
source-working. A period in which the potential candidates are put to the test and
their way of working becomes apparent. This ensures that a good candidate is
chosen in the long-term perspective. As for reaching potential candidates, Ms.
Nuelant prefers headhunters for director level jobs. This is because it practically
ensures qualified people. For lower jobs, she prefers a broader combination of
approaches. The network and who-knows-who approach is a way of working she
deems appropriate and it yields good results. Mr. Thysebaert was first
recommended through the network-approach and later through a headhunter.
The core competencies of Keolis, according to Ms. Nuelant, are being a global
mobility player with a very versatile range of mobility solutions, including the
digital side of the operations.
When asked how the introduction towards Mr. Thysebaerts hiring process went,
Ms. Nuelant said that Mr. Thysebaert was first hired as an interim-manager back
in February. In August he was finally appointed for the full-time job position.
During his time as an interim-manager he and the team, including Ms. Nuelant,
had quite a few meetings with subsidiaries. That way he could learn well from
other people, and gain some experience.
We then asked Ms. Nuelant how she guided her new people manager for his new
job.
Ms. Nuelant reminisced on the moment and mentioned it was quite interesting. At
first, Mr. Thysebaert felt like he entered a new world. He seemed lost and needed
some help. Although it did not take very long for him to adapt himself to the
Keolis way of thinking. Ms. Nuelant mentioned he was an extremely fast learner.
Mr. Thysebaert has had a lot of experience before the job so this was a big
advantage for him.
Ms. Nuelant says that there are no real structured procedures for guiding a new
people manager (Mario Thysebaert in this case). She specifically mentioned there
is no step-by-step tutorial, and the new manager mainly has to learn from
experience. That being not only experiences from his or her past jobs, but also
experience that will occur in their job as a peoples manager.

Discrepancies
Both Mario Thysebaert and Ingrid Nuelant advocate the use of ones network as a
viable and affordable way to find talented employees. What differentiates in their
methods, is when to address their network when trying to fill in a gap in their
workforce. Mario Thysebaert only uses this method for higher level jobs because,
when used on lower level jobs it might give certain candidates a bad impression
of the recruitment process. Ms. Nuelant only uses headhunters for director level
jobs but doesnt distinguish between lower level jobs when it comes to her
recruitment methods.
A clearer set of recruitment guidelines could eliminate this indistinctness and
potentially avoid an image of unfair recruitment.
They also have different views on the incorporation of new employees. Mr.
Thysebaert said in his interview that in his opinion this process could use some
change. This doesnt come as a surprise considering the fact that he seemed,
according to Ms. Nuelant, a bit lost when he started working at Keolis. Because of
his management experience Mr. Thysebaert was able to adapt quickly to his new
working environment. Mr. Thysebaert also mentioned that he would have done a
certain task differently because he underestimated the extent of the task. With
better information he might not have had this problem at all. Keolis could benefit
from a better incorporation process when it comes to new employees.
Broadly speaking however, there were no outstanding discrepancies. This is
actually synonymous with the information they supplied to us; particularly when
they referred to the key competencies of the company. We can conclude that
there is a common goal and mindset between the managers, the discrepancies
lie only within the individual traits.

Key competencies (sjt.com, sd) (recruitingcenter.net, sd)

Which ones are crucial for Keolis?
-

Safety
Attention to detail
Trustworthiness
Communication
Responsibility

Why? Define and describe at least 5.

Safety is considered the most important competency at Keolis since they are
responsible for the transportation of people. Any human harmed due to their
doing is to be avoided at all cost. By ensuring safety, Keolis imposes 0 harm
standard to passengers.
Safety is also recognised in all other functions of the job. Tt starts in the garage
where the vehicles are checked up on regular bases and then goes all the way to
the actual transportation, where the driver is to make sure he follows the law and
then it goes back to the mechanic checking up on the busses. The safety of both
employees and users are guaranteed.
Attention to detail is directly correlated to safety. If this would be neglected the
entire idea of safety can be abandoned. Attention to detail is thus one of the
main competencies as it makes Keolis stand taller than its competitors. This is
also something that is conveyed in the service provided towards the customer to
ensure a good relationship.
Trustworthiness is always important, but it becomes crucial when human lives are
involved. If the drivers cant be trusted, then people wont trust Keolis. This is
why Keolis is very strict on all the regulations concerning the transport of people
such as the drive and rest hours. This coincides with public relations and the
mechanical state of their vehicles.
Communication is key in any multinational company and Keolis is no exception. In
fact, they have an even tougher task as they must communicate internationally
to numerous branches, clients and stakeholders around the globe. HR plays a
pivotal role here. This is thanks to the experience they have gathered from all
around the world. This is also being further optimized to enhance their services.
Responsibility is always part of the job. But in Keolis this is considered essential.
Working with humans requires a lot of responsibility. This is both towards the
users and towards the commissioning company. Due to this, there is a heavy
burden on the shoulders of all the employees, which they are all highly aware of.

How are they used in:

Inflow: When hiring people, Keolis ensures that the potential candidates are able
to be responsible. Trustworthiness goes along in that same line. Field testing the
candidates and having to let them take the lead will uncover these competencies.

Through flow: Safety & attention to detail are used through simulators. The
drivers are put into several close-call simulations to ensure that the potential
drivers have the correct reflexes. They also have to do uncommon manoeuvres to
make sure they can handle the potential situations to the fullest.

How has the HR communication course helped you in

collecting this information?
First of all, every member of our group tried to find a suitable company and
manager that would be willing to help us out. After trying to contact as many
managers as possible, we finally got a match. Probably finding a company that
wants to be part of the project, was the toughest part of the assignment. When
they accepted our request to help us, we arranged 2 interviews with the people
manager and the people managers manager. We prepared the questions, and
split the 2 interviews in 2 groups of 3 people.
During the interviews, we were respectful towards the managers, and we made
sure they were comfortable telling us their information. We knew managers are
nearly always busy, so we were happy when they gave us a date for the 2
interviews. We made sure that we told them that we appreciated their effort for
helping us, as it was very important.
Other things we learned during the assignment (linked to the HR course) is about
the relationship between the 2 managers. They seem to be pretty close with each
other, and it seems that they would have no problems or conflicts any time soon.
They try to help each other the best as possible by communicating a lot. If there
are any problems, they will talk about it together, and find a solution. This way of
working is recommended, as both managers will only get benefit out of it, they
will learn together and get better and better at what they are doing.
Finally, the HR course of communication was also pivotal in helping us act
professionally over the telephone. By that being, how we formally answer the
phone, how to ask questions in a probing and effective manner.

How did the individual style of the persons you

interacted with influence the results?
When the assignment was initially given and groups were formed we were very
skeptical as to whether or not it would be feasible or possible to find a willing
People Manager and his/her manager. As it turns out, it took us much longer than
expected to find a manager which ultimately resulted in us losing motivation.
When a contact person was eventually found I suppose we were hesitant as to
not mess it up as there was a lot of individual effort put in, just in the search. We
essentially trod lightly. As it turns out, both interviewees were very willing to help.
As a result of their function, or perhaps demeanor we received a different style of
answers for each contact person. Well assess each individually, beginning with
Mr. Thysebaert.
Mr. Thysebaert was very enthusiastic and strong minded which resulted in some
interesting and in depth answers. We held the interview over a phone
conversation during his lunch break, which shows to us that he is a busy person
and has lots of work related tasks to fulfil. That saying, Mr. Thysebaert spoke for a
total of about 40 minutes covering about 8 questions. For him to take time out of
his day to speak with us already shows that he is empathic.

In his speech we could gather that he is very passionate and knowledgeable over
his position, which is why the answers he supplied were so lengthy. We could
really realize this when he began speaking over the people that work under him
and how he enjoys watching them grow and improve in their position. We believe
that if he took the Quinn test he would excel in the Mentor/facilitator role.
Furthermore, Mr. Thysebaert does not disregard the fundamentals of
management, which is where we could realize his knowledge. An example of
which is when he mentioned his application of the STAR method in his HR
processes.
The moments before the interview with Ms. Nuelant started, we naturally were a
bit anxious, not knowing what to expect whatsoever of someone whos a general
manager of a company as large as Keolis Belgium. We were literally blown away
by the interview with Mr. Thysebaert because of willingness to cooperate and
friendliness, which, to be honest, wasnt really expected (though hoped for). He
already decorated a high position, but the next person in line to be interviewed
was even more superior in the hierarchy than Mr. Thysebaert, and generally,
people tend to view people in high corporate positions as grumpy, objective and
cold, so as stated before, we were anxious.
These feeling became obsolete in an instance when contact was made over the
phone. Ms. Nuelant was really friendly, she sounded engaged as well and was
certainly willing to help us out. The interview lasted for a solid 30 minutes plus,
and because of the aforementioned attitude of Ms. Nuelant, we werent hesitant
to ask whichever questions we could think of, and asking her to elaborate a bit
more on answers. This general positive aura over the call/ meeting greatly
influenced the back-and-forth motion of questions, answers, anecdotes and
information. By the end of the meeting, we were relieved and happy about what
wed been able to achieve, with a collective eagerness to get started on the
interview report.

References
(sd). Opgehaald van http://www.keolis.be/valeurs-keolis.php
Forbes.com. (sd). Opgehaald van Forbes.com:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/williamcraig/2014/10/24/what-is-companyculture-and-how-do-you-change-it/
Keolis.com. (n.d.). Retrieved from Keolis.com: http://www.keolis.com/en/businessactivities/keolis-by-country/united-states/keolis-transit-america-in-lasvegas.html
Keolis.com. (sd). Opgehaald van http://www.keolis.com/en/about-us/strategymission-values/strategy.html
Keolis.com. (sd). Opgehaald van http://www.keolis.be/valeurs-keolis.php
Nuelant, I. (2015, December 1). (A. V. Hyfte, Interviewer)
recruitingcenter.net. (sd). Opgehaald van
https://www4.recruitingcenter.net/Clients/keoliscs/PublicJobs/controller.cfm
?jbaction=JobProfile&Job_Id=10117&esid=az
Sap.com. (sd). Opgehaald van Sap.com: http://www.sap.com/customertestimonials/transportation-logistics/keolis.html
sjt.com. (sd). Opgehaald van http://www.sjt.no/Global/Veiledninger-ogtips/Sikkerhetsseminar/2012/Keolis%20Fjord1%20Partner.pdf
Thysebaert, M. (2015, November 25). (A. Van Hyfte, Interviewer)

Division of the tasks

Jari Eeckhout
-

Interview Ingrid Nuelant

Company culture
Printing

Sebastian Kotyla
-

Interview Mario Thysebaert

Overall layout
Overall language
Worked on Discrepancies
How did the individual style of the persons you

Shahab Shiri
-

Interview Ingrid Nuelant

How has the HR communication course helped you in collecting this
information?

Maikel Van Bottenburg

-

Interview Mario Thysebaert

How did the individual style of the persons you interacted with influence
the results?
Discrepancies

Arantxa Van Hyfte

-

Interview Mario Thysebaert

Interview Ingrid Nuelant
References
Key competencies
Basic information
Overall layout (+ language)

Maarten Verlinde
-

Interview Ingrid Nuelant

Core competencies