Interview with The Offshore Partners

How do you ensure that employees get along well with each other, even if they are working together for a month, 24 hours a day? A relevant question for The Offshore Partners, an independent service provider in the offshore energy sector, working around the world. We talk to Manon Vrolijk (Manager Recruitment and Crewing at The Offshore Partners) and Will Wijnands (employability coach at Zorg van de Zaak). Together they talk about how they ensure social safety for the people in the office and for the employees working on projects at the Rotterdam-based company.

The Offshore Partners BV is not your average SME company.
Manon Vrolijk explains how the company is structured: "Our organization consists of colleagues working in the office and colleagues working on projects. The employees in the office deal with sales, administration, recruitment and crewing, among other things. They ensure, as it were, that all employees from all over the world can work on the various projects and that their papers, visas, administration and invoicing are in order. There is a different culture in the office than outside because of the nature of the work and the organization of the work."

There is only one captain
"On the projects worldwide, technical specialists mainly work from all over the world," Manon continues. "In addition to the Netherlands, these colleagues often come from other countries. The teams are international so many different cultures and customs come together. They often work on rotations of several weeks at a time in different groups with each other. During their rotation they are together day and night in one workplace. Because our colleagues mostly work offshore, they cannot go home in between. In these teams, hierarchy is important because there is literally only one captain on the ship, who determines who does what for safety and discipline. The captain oversees mutual respect. Therefore, there is a different, more strict corporate culture here. If someone is being disrespectful to a colleague, we get that signal and immediately start talking to that colleague.

Helping to stay in control
As a Zorg van de Zaak employability coach, Will supports the manager or HR advisor to reduce absenteeism and increase employability. Will, about that collaboration: "I support Manon in absenteeism counseling. For example, one of the possible causes of Sickness Absence at companies is that employees experience undesirable behavior and therefore experience psychological workload. In addition, I make sure that the employer remains well-informed and can thus maintain control. I also help translate the advice of the company doctor. And I supervise the implementation in daily practice."

Handbooks for employees on the projects
To ensure that employees on the projects can work pleasantly and safely and concentrate on their tasks, an offshore handbook has been prepared. This contains all the basic rules and codes of conduct, the values and standards. This handbook also contains the procedures you can go to if you want to report complaints. This handbook has been drawn up by MLC, a body that acts in the interests of seafarers and checks companies (that work with seafarers) for compliance with the regulations drawn up by the MLC. They conduct an audit twice a year. "Hierarchy on the ship is essential," says Manon. "On the ocean, you can't afford mistakes. After all, there is a high degree of dependence on each other. Every employee who gets to work on a project is given this handbook."

Handbook for office employees
A handbook has also been prepared for office employees. Because the work here is different, this handbook focuses more on the office work and the culture at this location. Manon: "This handbook contains, for example, who the external confidential advisor is and what you can ask your supervisor for. Sometimes it is easier to talk to someone on the outside than to a colleague. That is why the external confidential advisor works here on average one half day per month. This makes it even more accessible for employees to talk. Should anyone feel the need to talk, they can."

Working hard together
Manon and Will work together on an ongoing basis, sparring on various issues. "An employability coach can offer preventive tools to train managers if needed," Will says. "We advise on how they can start the conversation with each other about social safety." Together, Will and Manon still have plenty of ideas with which to work. Will: "This is how we ensure that the employees of The Offshore Partners stay vital, healthy and strong at work."

Getting started with Social Safety within your organization yourself? Check out our page around the topic of Social Safety.