Bloom: Inge Neels
After an intensive career in corporate health care, Inge closed the door behind her to plug into what really drives her: digging with all her passion and expertise into 'the people' behind the qualifications and building the bridge to their dream job. Curious about how she manages that? Read it here! 👇🏻
One name you must absolutely remember as the reference in MedTech recruitment & strategy and that is the company Pono. Because "shuffling CVs and matching them with job descriptions is not what recruitment is about," says MedTech recruiter and entrepreneur Inge Neels.
MedTech recruitment
I was happiest when I recruited my team members myself, which is how the entrepreneurial itch for MedTech recruitment grew.
With an ancestrally 'aim high' philosophy from her bompa in a family of medics and paramedics, and encouraged to follow in the footsteps of her other grandfather who was a doctor, Inge was able to reconcile past and future in her passion: making MedTech recruitment a lot more humane and sustainable. That she has the right tools is beyond dispute. Stone by stone she built up her expertise. Her enthusiasm and ability to make the right connections with sharp analyses, to anticipate market trends in her field and to come up with the most human, sustainable solutions are simply who she is by nature.
How did you get into entrepreneurship?
I come from a family of doctors, pharmacists and clinical biologists. The choice to study medicine was therefore an obvious one. After completing my bachelor's degree, I realised that I had a passion for the medical world, but not for becoming a doctor. So I switched to biomedical sciences for my master's degree. As a biomedical engineer, doing repetitive work in a lab between four walls did not appeal to me immediately. So I started working in marketing & sales at Siemens Healthineers. In the end, I stayed there for 11 years and I certainly do not regret it! My subsequent work at Fresenius Medical Care was almost a copy of the previous job, but towards the end it no longer provided me with any joy or energy. Through corona there was a lot of time for reflection and one contact with a managing partner at Cronos helped me make the step from sales & marketing to recruitment, always within the MedTech.'
Do you know where your entrepreneurial itch comes from?
Not really from the family. I have to say that I took many initiatives all the time, so I guess it was always there. As far as I could and was allowed to undertake within the large corporates, I did. For instance, I developed an app with my team in cooperation with a local partner. As marketing & sales manager for Siemens Belgium, I noticed, together with the team, that certain global products were not suited to the Belgian market. R&D Global needed five years to come up with a solution. So we had to think of something to keep our customers happy and to bridge that period. I also won a prize for this within Siemens.
Were you familiar with recruitment in your previous jobs?
Certainly, because both at Siemens and at Fresenius I did the recruitment for my teams myself. The sum of my 'medical' family, my studies and my years of experience in MedTech meant that I knew the ins and outs of the medical sector through and through. This allowed me to recruit in a more targeted way. It was remarkable how happy I became after a day of interviews or application processes. As a member of the management team, I helped shape the 'Generation Y project'. A survey showed that this generation was the least 'engaged'. With my finger on the pulse, I then wrote a report on the recruitment strategy because I thought they were missing the ball. That was totally 'not done', because my hat was sales & marketing, and I suddenly got involved in HR. An evolution to another role or expertise was therefore unthinkable in that system.'
You say you are a 'people person'. How does that manifest itself in your work?
I didn't think the existing recruitment system was human enough. Nobody ever asked me what I really wanted or what made me happy; often they only looked at your CV and diplomas. From there, I started thinking about possible ways to make the recruitment process more human. I have now added the steps that I myself missed. As an employee, you can only grow if you are happy in your job. The employer is also a person, with a different story each time. When my digging for the authentic person is done, I process the steps I have developed into a briefing document and start looking for candidates. Of course I also take into account the values of both the company and the candidate.
I was never asked what I really wanted or what made me happy, often they just looked at your CV and diplomas. From there I started thinking about possible ways of making the recruitment process more human.
You came into contact with The Cronos Group? What happened then?
After contacting Cronos, I immediately went to work and made a complete business case in which I put all my years of knowledge, experience and vision. I hadn't felt that kind of enthusiasm, energy and desire in a long time! I was even working on it in the weekend. Then I thought: Inge, this is really a clear signal! It was quite a jump, because I came from a golden cage. Jef (De Wit, co-founder of De Cronos Groep nvdr.) saw the potential in it and suggested I go and talk to different people. That is how I ended up at Bonanza.
I hadn't felt so much enthusiasm, energy and desire in a long time! I was even working on it at the weekend.
Pono MedTech recruitment
You wanted to set up your own business unit?
Yes, I could hardly believe it! At Bonanza it immediately clicked with Liesbet (Sterkendries, Founder of Bonanza). She gave me the push I needed. When I presented the business case, she asked me "What are you waiting for? But I was still thinking about things like how on earth I was going to get clients and candidates, and I hadn't got around to that in my plan yet! (laughs) My case was not quite ready, to my perfectionist mind, when the very next day I received a phone call from a company that was interested; a potential customer. Because I was still in the middle of the theory and my picture was not yet complete, I had the feeling of "Oops, what now? Liesbet then looked at me and said: "This is your chance! Jump Inge, jump!". Pono MedTech Recruitment was immediately up and running.'
You are clearly reaping the rewards of the leap you have taken. Are there also any challenges?
Absolutely! I am completely new to recruitment, and have my own vision for the processes, such as putting more time into people by not treating CVs as a commodity. Because I want to keep my finger on the pulse of every match and every recruitment strategy that I work out is tailored to both the candidate and the client, I need more time than in the 'classic' approach. In addition, I also invest a lot of my time in research, professional reading, in shaping the steps of the recruitment process and networking. I don't want to give up my values right away, but I am still trying to find a balance. I am still paving the way for Pono! The fact that I can identify well with the current corporate culture where you take ownership without rigidly establishing things, gives me a lot of energy and time to build something unique and sustainable. The thought that I can make it here myself, but actually have to do it myself, is really nice!
How do you deal with those challenges?
Apart from walking, I also walk a lot. I am addicted to my 10,000 steps a day. That's no joke. So I'm that freak that goes for a walk late at night when my pedometer hasn't reached 10,000 yet. (laughs) For me, it's not just physical exercise but also a way of processing things and coming up with new ideas. Often I come home afterwards and write pages full of all the new things I've thought of along the way. Furthermore, my golden rule is not to react immediately to setbacks, to take an afternoon off and focus on something completely different in order to take some distance.
Are there any achievements that inspire you? What are your greatest successes when you look back?
The development of the app at Siemens is the biggest success for me, because I found a way to innovate within a rigid framework. Especially getting all stakeholders and customers on board was a big win because it was not an easy story. After all, it involved sensitive patient data. Getting various stakeholders on board from my vision is something I now include in my own story'.
And privately, apart from the 10 miles you ran?
Apart from the 10 miles, my two daughters are my greatest pride. Especially the move I made now makes me a more present mum. I have more time and energy for them. Because my work gives me much more satisfaction now, I come home with a big smile!'
What are you dreaming of?
"With the medical sector as my biotope, the years of sales & marketing experience and especially my curiosity for the human being behind the CVs, I hope to have the right ingredients to make that happen."
We are already well on the way to becoming, in the very short term, the reference in MedTech recruitment where "just call Inge at Pono because she knows" becomes the first reflex for potential candidates and companies who do not know how to approach their recruitment strategy. From my experience I rely on much more than just "go with the flow". With the medical sector as my biotope, the years of sales & marketing experience and especially my curiosity for the people behind the CVs, I hope to have the right ingredients to make that happen. Add to that the fun factor and authentic gut feeling as guides and we are off. When I see how big a step I have taken now, I am looking forward to taking more! Who would have thought two years ago that I would be leaving corporate to start my own company?'
Is there anyone you would really like to meet?
I have nothing at all to do with famous people. My bompa died when I was 12. I would like to know him as an adult, because I only have memories as a child. They don't correspond with the stories that others tell about him. I only remember a sick, very present Grandpa, always at home because he was confined to his bed for eight years. I would have liked to get to know the ordinary Grandpa. I would like to know what he would say if he saw me today. He often said something that has stuck in his mind: "You must aim high because your arrow will fall as it descends. I took that advice to heart and went to study medicine, but that really wasn't my thing. Then biomedical engineering, which in my eyes was a bit of a sack. In retrospect, as an adult now, I would dare to challenge him on that. I prefer to think of it as a staircase that you can climb rather than an arrow that falls. That is going from disappointment to disappointment and always conquering less, instead of more. Of course, the mindset was completely different than it is now, but I would still like to have that conversation and hear where that came from.'
