Qurien is always working on multiple projects at the same time. He directs colleagues at P5COM and employees at clients and makes sure they actually achieve the agreed results as a team. In addition, he’s always on the lookout for new business and new themes. ‘I just want to find out how we can help our clients.’
Qurien is on the go all week long. On Mondays he works at a housing corporation, Tuesdays and Wednesdays at a homecare facility, and Thursdays and Fridays at an senior care organization. For Qurien, the housing corporation is the odd one out. ‘I usually focus on healthcare; that’s where I’m at home. But I love learning new things and like to get outside my comfort zone. So I said yes as soon as I’d heard they needed people for this project. But of course I don’t manage the project there: I mainly implement. It’s really interesting. And a nice change.’
During the weekend Qurien works on his MBA at Imperial College Business School. COVID regulations permitting, he travels back and forth to London for that every other weekend. ‘To be honest, it really is a lot. That’s a conscious choice, but I’ll be taking a short work sabbatical after I’ve finished my MBA.’
I’ve just grown with it. That’s so typical of P5COM: if you’re willing and able, there are tons of possibilities.
Learning lots and growing fast: that’s Qurien’s career in a nutshell. ‘I came to P5COM during my final internship for hotel school. I noticed that I could add more project-based and management experience to my background in the hospitality industry here. So I became a trainee. After that, I became a consultant and finally a management consultant. In that sense, I’m a real child of the organization: I’ve just grown with it. That’s so typical of P5COM: if you’re willing and able, there are tons of possibilities.’
In addition, it’s really great to know I’ll never have to go it alone. I’ve fallen flat on my face – let me count – three times so far. Simply because I made mistakes or misjudged the situation. But every time I had a good safety net.
That’s why it’s really great to know I’ll never have to go it alone. I’ve fallen flat on my face – let me count – three times so far. Simply because I made mistakes or misjudged the situation. But every time I had a good safety net. I remember the director calling, not to make me understand that I’d made a mistake, but to ask: “Are you okay, Qurien? Can I help you work on a solution?” That’s cool. And it’s typical of this organization. There aren’t really any office politics here. We support each other and give honest feedback. Sometimes that’s confrontational, but it always makes you better.’
To me, working towards those kinds of results is a real energizer. Interacting with a team is cool. Making sure they enjoy doing their work differently – better, in other words. That’s also P5COM’s forte: putting theory into practice.
‘When I graduated from school, the world was pretty much at my feet. At least that’s how I felt. I was like: let’s rock and roll! I wanted to prove myself, start making money, whatever. That was my drive, my source of energy. But now I find the added value of our work more important than the money, to be honest. I get excited when we do a good job: when I can help my colleagues and the people at our clients get a step ahead. Whether that’s about cutting costs, streamlining a process, or getting a client’s work to produce a better outcome. Everything that makes the customers of our clients better is positive.’
‘To me, working towards those kinds of results is a real energizer. Interacting with a team is cool. Making sure they enjoy doing their work differently – better, in other words. That’s also P5COM’s forte: putting theory into practice. That power to get things done is often somewhat lacking in healthcare.’
Qurien also gets energy from continuous learning. ‘I’ve really grown in the past few years. For example, a couple of years ago I was still working undercover at an MHC clinic, where I’d report things like that there were dirty band-aids in the chess set. And that the set wasn’t even complete. Today I’m involved with quality and profitability in a completely different way. That makes you continuously do things for the first time. Recently I got one of my colleagues placed on an interim assignment. Never done that before, but now I’ve checked it off my list. And last year was the first time I had to deal with a colleague who wasn’t performing well. I had to escalate that. So there are always new processes that you learn, master and get better at. I learn a lot from my colleagues along the way – and also pass that on to less senior colleagues.’
‘I find P5COM really enjoyable as an organization too. I often realize how lucky I am. We have a smart group of people here who are driven and all have the same mindset. And we have fun and get great results. I also find a lot of my colleagues really inspirational. And that I often work with different colleagues makes it even better. I love listening to their stories and hearing their ideas, at work, during our theme and training days or Christmas dinner.’
Project Director
