Earlier this year, as a Dutch organisation, we took over the existing Belgian cash & carry Home Living & Go. Naturally, this was an exciting process! HR consultant Gaby shares her experiences of the transition and talks about the funny cultural differences between Dutch and Belgian colleagues.
*Pictured Gaby van Veen – van Ede with a colleague at TICA Venlo
“There are regularly hilarious situations because we speak the same language, but use many words differently.”
The process is still ongoing, but so far, it’s going very well! It’s always exciting to start with an existing team. Luckily, our Belgian colleagues are very enthusiastic. Patsy, the store manager, for example, was especially surprised by how often Dutch colleagues are present in Brussels to work together on things. That involvement from both sides is helping the transition go smoothly.
I notice that our Dutch colleagues tend to be a bit more direct. At TICA, it’s normal to always speak your mind, of course in a respectful way. I hope our Belgian colleagues will soon feel comfortable enough to do the same.
There are also regularly hilarious situations because we speak the same language but use many words differently. For example, our Belgian colleagues often say the word ‘effective,’ while we don’t necessarily interpret it as effective at all—they use it more to emphasize something. Or we ‘pass’ a document. Just little things like that, but still funny!
The team currently consists of five colleagues. It’s a small team with very diverse tasks. They enjoy working in an inspiring and dynamic environment, where no two days are the same. An exciting period is coming up as we work hard on the transformation into a true TICA location. This includes the product range, appearance, and branding, of course, but also a beautiful blend of Dutch and Belgian traditions to create a vibrant and inspiring work environment together.
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A good command of the Dutch language is required for most of TICA’s vacancies.
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