A brand new office in Mechelen: a successful opening night

An impressive office, a buzzing crowd and four captivating panel members eager to share their story and love for Exellys on a Thursday night. That is all it took to introduce the new Exellys office in Mechelen.

New exciting chapters for Exellys

While enthusiastic Exellys employees are winding down, nipping from a glass and mingling with clients an co-workers, Raf Seymus, Exellys’ Founder & CEO takes the stage to welcome everyone. He proudly shares the news, for those who did not find the time to read the Belgian newspaper ‘De Tijd’ that day, that Exellys will be closely working together with new investors and fintech pioneers at The Alliance. A logical consequence, says Seymus, from the physical and financial growth that Exellys has experienced in the last four years.

More exciting news about Exellys’ future is the new baseline: a shift from IT talent to the broader scope of all tech talent. Because we are convinced that technical jobs are the way to go in 2019. Not only does this include IT talent, we also want to attract all young technical talent, including engineers and young potentials with a science background.

First panel: Meaningful careers are the new expectation

First up on the panel talks are Erwin Verstraelen, Chief Digital Innovation Officer at the Port of Antwerp and Nik Torfs, one of our consultants who is currently working as a software engineer at Atos and has perfectly integrated in his role thanks to Exellys.

Right from the start, both men seem to agree on why Exellys is starring in its own success story: we understand the needs and expectations that the new generation holds. Afterwork drinks or a fun environment are important but are no longer the only hooks. Young talent is eager for meaning and experience in their career. Millennials are setting the bar high for themselves by constantly wanting to improve and learn on the job. And clients collaborating with Exellys, such as Erwin, seem to grasp that this is the way to keep talent inhouse and create a productive working atmosphere.

Second panel: When investment meets ecosystem

Next up are Raf Seymus – Founder & CEO Exellys-, Jurgen Ingels -Serial entrepreneur & Investor- and Stefan Dierckx – Founder & CEO of Projective.

The main question we asked our panel members is: why invest in Exellys? Stefan explains that, to him, to invest is to join forces. Investing is not about giving money and whatever, it is about creating an ecosystem where all stakeholders benefit from the investment. All stakeholders at Exellys definitely means all Exellysts: clients, employees and consultants are included in our ecosystem. Which is why Stefan believes that investing in Exellys is really going to shore up the entire company.

Jurgen explains that Exellys had captured his attention because we truly understand that gaining experience on the job, through what he calls ‘parallel working’, is crucial for young graduates. Our ways of stimulating this by matching employers and employees and simultaneously helping the consultants improve their skills, convinced Jurgen that Exellys is truly challenging young potentials.

When asked about the biggest challenges in technology, Jurgen would encourage companies to inspire the right people, especially younger generations, by making them want to be part of your story, part of your brand but also expect and allow employees to write their own storylines.

Stefan concludes the panel talks by agreeing that finding the right person means finding a person who will complete your professional story.

Exellys on tour

The new office radiates excellence: meeting rooms wear the name and story of one of the many science and tech pioneers in history. Robert Cailliau, Nikola Tesla or Margaret Hamilton encourage you to excel at work or during a meeting.  Einstein’s biography is printed on the cycling room’s glass door (just come take a look to see what we mean) and Sir Isaac Newton is joining you in the board room.The open work space creates an environment that encourages teamwork, but also stimulates getting to know your colleagues in the design-like couches or over a cup of coffee at the kitchen corner. Employees can also work undisturbed in the glass focus rooms. The main goal is to make our employees feel at home while at work.

The entire office, including a bar with pool table and pinball machine (true story), has been designed by the same interior architects who designed Google Belgium’s offices. The homely vibe and an eye-catching bar are inviting employees to refuel during breaks of finish up over a tasty beer after work.

It is a meeting place that welcomes the internal team, consultants who pass by for a meeting or a day at the office and clients who are invited to hold offsite meetings in the Exellys office.If you happen to be in the area (or in a traffic jam between Antwerp and Brussels), do not hesitate to  swing by. Make sure to take the stairs: the inspiring words painted on each step are sure to make you feel high on motivation when you reach the top and enter our office. See you soon!

By the way, you can find all the pictures of the opening event right here!