Lead Developer & Architect Toni cannot imagine a better place to work than at Ibuildings at the moment. A little over two years ago Toni joined us rather unexpectedly, but we are delighted that we can now call him our colleague!
“It was indeed somewhat unexpected that I ended up at Ibuildings. I had been employed there for 12 years, after which the company I was working for suddenly stopped its activities. So it was time for a new challenge! I had already met my current colleagues Tom and Sander at a conference. Via-via they heard that I was ready for a new challenge at that time and that’s how I actually went for an interview at Ibuildings.”
What do you value when it comes to your work?
“For me, the working atmosphere and flexibility are especially important and I found this at Ibuildings. I was also mainly looking for a company with a lot of experience and a reason to exist; this I could also find at Ibuildings. Now that I have been working at Ibuildings for two years I can only say: they deliver!
At the moment I work 2 days at the customer’s site, 2 days in the office in Brussels and 1 day from home. The distance between the client and the office is only 10 minutes and the same goes for my children’s care. This means I can easily pick them up after work. Even though this means I often work at a distance from my colleagues, this works extremely well.”
How do you ensure that you keep the connection with colleagues when working remotely?
“Ibuildings was not used to working remotely. Previously, they all worked from the office in Vlissingen. Of course, this situation has changed since we started in Brussels and we had to work from home because of the pandemic. However, this is going surprisingly well! Apart from regular work meetings, brainstorming sessions and stand-ups, I also regularly go to Vlissingen for a day with a colleague. During the Corona pandemic, everyone also received a nice drinks package every few weeks. We would then meet online to play a game or quiz. Ibuildings does a lot to make its employees feel good.
In my career, I have never seen so much initiative from a company to take good care of its staff. These little things really do it for me!”
How would you describe the company culture of Ibuildings?
“Ibuildings is a consultancy company. With my previous employer I had dealt with this type of party before and in my experience the focus for them was often on speed and a good price. I am very pleased that Ibuildings has found a nice middle ground in quantity and quality. They don’t promise anything they can’t deliver and it shouldn’t just be functional, but also have a future. I want to be proud of what I make and that’s what I am here for! The staff share these values and standards. We have weekly meetings with the technical staff and here we share what our technical challenges have been. This way, we can think with each other and we can continue to innovate. I am regularly asked for my opinion on how I would approach things, what I am up against or what I would like to do.
I have learned more in the past 2 years than in the previous 5 years, because I was allowed to carry out three very different projects.”
And the working method of Ibuildings, what is it like?
“We work in a holacratic way. Everyone has their own role and it is very clearly defined. Everyone knows exactly within which framework he or she can work and what the limits of his or her role are. It takes some time and effort, but once I mastered it, I could only be very positive about it. The communication is very good, you can work with short lines and you are always well informed. This allows you to do your work efficiently. A new experience for me, but it makes a world of difference! In addition to your job, you can also take on an extra role based on your own interests. For example, I am involved in the organisation of our annual PHP event: The Dutch PHP Conference. This can also be a team such as gifts and outings, for example. These roles are not mandatory, but you may take them on if you are interested.”
Is there also room for further development within Ibuildings on an educational level?
“Every year, you receive a package of hours and a budget that you can spend on training courses and, for example, attending conferences. In this way, you can further educate yourself and you can plan this yourself within the space you have outside of your projects. You also have an annual meeting with your Tech Coach about what you want to grow in and what your wishes and ambitions are. What can Ibuildings do to help you further and to make you feel (even more) comfortable here?
So if, like me, you are very eager to learn, then Ibuildings is the place to be!”
