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Swapfiets

From rookies to a country full of blue wheels

It is impossible to imagine the Dutch streets without them; the blue front tires of Swapfiets. By 2021, the company was in the top 10 fastest growing companies in Europe. Today, there are more than 200,000 Swapfietsen riding around 50 cities in europe.

From 0 to 1,250 employees in 5 years. Can you imagine leading the HR department ….

Interim.

employees

0 +

founding year

Swapfietsen

1900 +

The challenge

That one was clear at Swapfiets; how can the People department keep up with, or actually be ahead of, the company’s growth? Practically speaking, but more importantly focused on forming a comfotable Swapfiets corporate culture.

So at Swapfiets, they were looking for a short-term HR director: someone with broad experience who could rotate in all aspects, from recruitment to leadership and development. They also wanted someone who felt like working full time in a fast-growing and dynamic environment with relatively many young people. ‘Bunchmark! Bunchmark! Bunchmark!” we shouted in chorus.

In late 2018, Auke and Emilie had the honor of taking on this challenge.

The approach

Priority No. 1 was knowing what was going on. So a questionnaire went out to all Swapfiets employees. For example, it turned out that personal development and training were much more important than bonuses for many people, and that there was a need for more transparency.

The People & Culture Department was created. Processes established, invested in a learning and development platform. So together we created structure in a department that could scale with the company’s growth.