Helpful and compassionate is how colleagues would describe Thijs Woudenberg. This is clearly shown in his drive to keep the Amsterdam office a fun and exciting workplace. He joined us in March 2021 and is rotating projects, being part of our cross-consulting group.
What made you so actively involved in different firm-building activities?
My main motivation has been to contribute to topics that I care about, in my case sustainability, charity, and recruiting. Given that we are growing rapidly globally and in Amsterdam in particular, this presents exciting opportunities to shape the future of the firm and office. In addition, as these activities call for engagement with (local) leadership and international peers interested in the same topics, you will build strong connections with colleagues that you do not engage with on a regular basis.
Positive work environment = better results
Especially the Amsterdam office is a tight-knit and involved community where I know my colleagues personally and whom I often meet outside work as friends. Our various office and firm-building activities play an important role in this. I enjoy most that colleagues show genuine interest in me and my development. Such a positive and trusting environment is very powerful in making people get the most out of themselves, and ultimately achieving better results as a team.
How are these efforts rewarded?
Fulfillment for any firm-building activities comes in many different ways. Whether it is gratitude from a small local charity for the funds raised during a charity event that you organized, personal satisfaction in changing colleagues' behavior by becoming more sustainable, or seeing the recent graduates that just started their first job at Oliver Wyman after having enjoyed a recruiting event. All make the additional effort fully worth it.
What distinguishes Oliver Wyman Amsterdam from others?
From all topics that make Oliver Wyman special to me, I want to call out the entrepreneurial and non-hierarchical culture that we foster, which can be seen both in project work as well as any firm-building activities. Whether you have an out-of-the-box idea for the analysis that the project team is doing or whether you have a new idea for a collaboration with a charity, you are encouraged to pursue it - the support is there; you just have to take it!