Grow and professionalize

Maks is growing at a rapid pace. New projects see the light of day. Professionals are needed. We do this in three different areas.

Descriptions of roles and projected quantifiable results both in the short and long term are in order for 80% of the functions. We are supported by a consultant through the Venture Philanthropy Fund. We have reviewed the structure of the current management team and created two new positions while two managers have moved to other parts of the organisation. There are currently two vacant posts on the team which we intend to fill in early 2021. We created a new structure based on the target groups, consisting of four units: Maks Adults, Maks Youth, Maks Logistics and Admin, and Maks Graphic Office.

New functions were created, such as workplace coach for reception and logistics, and workplace coach support. An intern made a SWOT analysis of the graphic office based on interviews with stakeholders. Since the beginning of 2021, we have started to introduce some changes and the graphics office has been given new impulse.

Happy staff?
Employee satisfaction is very important to us. That’s why we organise a satisfaction survey every two years. We get good feedback on customer relationships and employee satisfaction amongst our colleagues. Less so in the area of communication from management and administration. Our staff members also want to have a greater say. Several teams are discussing the results of this survey. The management team is identifying the action items for the coming years.

A learning organisation
Maks is a learning organisation. Our learning policy is not yet developed enough in some aspects. We have been working on our training policy, with a learning plan for target group employees. One member of staff is now ultimately responsible for the entire learning policy of Maks. We have integration plans in place for certain employee groups and we are working on a development plan for each individual employee.
From the first month, they work on a portfolio in which they record what they have learned at work. Reflecting on one’s own personal growth, seizing opportunities to train, learning with colleagues: we put this to good use. Our coaches follow a five-day training course “Inspiring Coaches”, followed by a period of intervision. This will have a positive impact on the overall quality of the workplace experience.

Corona: fear, vulnerability but also profound commitment to our customers!
The Coronavirus has caused panic, anxiety and brought up discussions. Flexibility and creativity shook up the daily routine: Making and distributing masks (thanks to creative colleagues with sewing machines!), setting up gel dispensers and plexiglass, opening windows to ventilate, setting up safe circulation routes and organising online activities… Need for computers: We lent our stock to families in need. But the demand was still too great and thanks to growfunding and subsidies we were able to distribute 220 new laptops.

Our coaches gave courses to teachers and organisations: what tools are needed and how can they be used? Some colleagues gave online lessons and the entire work was very quickly fully adapted to the health and safety standards. All this required a lot of energy and commitment from everyone. It seems that caring for people promotes good immunity. Only one section of Maks was quarantined at some point, while all other departments continued to operate without interruption.

Better results, greater impact!
This year we launched a collaboration with Bruxelles Formation. Jobseekers follow a 60-hour course and then take a test that assesses basic digital competences. More than 60% of participants passed the test even though they had never touched a computer only a few weeks before the training. We also saw that lending a laptop during the course resulted in higher digital competences by the end of it. The participant evaluates the course and for the first time, a staff member has the task of analysing the evaluations and setting up an improvement process. Small steps forward that help us increase our impact. In late December, we also experimented with a new method for creating video CVs. The results are great.

The lending of our computers has led to the creation of a borrowing service with subsidies from the Flemish Community. Since February 2021, organisations in the Brussels-Capital Region that have a temporary need for computers can call upon us. More than ever, we are aiming for results with more impact!

Thanks for reading. If you want to be part of the Maks story, you can apply to us or sponsor our organisation.