When your staff are responsible to empower clients to realize their ambitions, it’s paramount that you choose the right person for the job.

“We are visionaries,” explained Caroline Wouters, head of talent acquisition at Degroof Petercam, the Belgian-based wealth management specialist. “We imagine the future with our clients and support them with their dreams.

“It’s why we launched Make a Mark, our employer branding campaign,” she continued. “We want our colleagues to explain how they make a mark, each day and in their own way, so that other potential dream makers can see the benefits of working with a family-rooted group where our employees make a difference.”

Jean-Marc Verbist, Degroof Petercam’s vice president of human resources, is in complete agreement. “We have been imagining what tomorrow will look for our clients since 1871,” he said. “We want our clients to feel at ease about their financial future. That could be a family business owner that wants to acquire a new company, an investor who wants to invest in sustainable funds or a grandmother who wants to support their grandchild in their own venture. Whatever it is, we help them to realise their ambitions. But to do that, you must put people first.” 

A human touch

Headquartered in Brussels, Degroof Petercam is a family business with more than 1,400 professionals placed within offices across Europe – so, when the wealth management business decided to highlight the fascinating opportunities that the company has to offer, it turned to LinkedIn to position itself as an employer of choice.

Xavier De Pauw, group head of strategic innovation at the financial institution, believes that people and expertise are central to the organisation and suggests that innovative platforms, tools and new ways of working are the key to a successful operation.

By bringing unique stories to life, about life at Degroof Petercam, in just two years, the organisation has grown interest in its LinkedIn company page significantly – to 12,000 followers and counting. Furthermore, since launching its Make a Mark campaign in early 2019, Degroof Petercam has reached more than 30,000 professionals.

Nathalie De Geyter, Degroof Petercam’s community manager, explained further:

In fact, by utilising linked and sponsored updates, Degroof Petercam hopes to engage with 500,000 professionals this year through the use of targeted video content and blog posts.

The ambition is clear but as Florence Biaume, head of talent management, explains, entrepreneurship, determination and drive is in the company’s DNA.

“We empower our people. If they want to challenge the obvious, our company is quite fascinating to work in. Our expertise is based on highly skilled and talented people who are passionate about what they do.

“We’re big enough and small enough to matter. We put people first and that’s why the human touch is so important.”

Jean-Marc Verbist continued: “Whilst we employ more than 1,400 people across eight countries in Europe, we are still a relatively small company. It means we can work together, make decisions efficiently and move things quickly. All whilst adopting a human touch that is quite unique.

Tailored approach

According to Nathalie De Geyter, LinkedIn has been instrumental in positioning Degroof Petercam as an employer of choice, particularly on digital media platforms and channels. She said: “Via our LinkedIn company page and sponsored updates, we share the personal stories of our employees. We bring the human touch of our company to the outside world.”

And with great results. For example, a recent campaign saw job applications and website visits increase by approximately 20 per cent.

Caroline Wouters continued: “Eighteen months ago, we launched a talent acquisition strategy. We insourced all of our recruitment activities by creating a dedicated talent acquisition team. LinkedIn was a crucial partner to be successful in this switch.

In fact, Degroof Petercam’s adoption of LinkedIn’s resources has had incredibly positive results. 

Matthew Welch, philanthropy advisor, responded to one of the wealth management specialist’s calls to action. He has now been working for the firm for nine months. 

He commented: “Thanks to an interesting video on LinkedIn, I discovered a job opening as a social impact advisor. My job responsibilities are quite broad, which makes my job quite exciting!  

“First, I assist clients and prospects in their philanthropic endeavours, from A to Z. Each philanthropic wish is different in terms of scope, thematic and budget. Therefore, we offer our clients a tailored approach, adapted to their needs and wishes.

“Second, I am a campaign coach for our crowdgiving website, Gingo Community. Through this website, we build bridges between social innovators and people that wish to utilise a part of their capital as a force for good. That is how I make an impact and my role goes beyond profit.”

Xavier De Pauw agreed and stated that

Success recently demonstrated in Degroof Petercam’s epic award win. Caroline Wouters concluded: “Last year was a great year for our talent acquisition team. We won the Best Talent Acquisition Team Award at the inaugural LinkedIn Talent Awards in Belgium. It was great recognition for our newly-created team based on an analysis of the performance, results and impact of more than 1,000 companies headquartered in Belgium that also use LinkedIn’s Talent Solutions. It just goes to show that with hard work and the right people, dreams really do come true.”