A number of our clients are looking to (re-)define their corporate identity. Following mergers, takeovers, divisions or new relationships within the organisation, existing paradigms often no longer suffice. So Yolk lends a helping hand.

Jaap Boonstra, professor of change management at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, states that some 80 percent of all changes in organisations are plan-based. The result is that they almost all fail. Boonstra teaches us that plan-based change works just fine if you’re trying to change a system or a procedure, but they are not suitable for complex, unclear situations or for extensive organisational change.

The mini documentary Samen werken, kansen pakken (transl. Working together, grabbing opportunities), sketches the demographic developments in Southeast Drenthe, a Dutch province in the west of the country. The film shows that decline/shrinkage is unavoidable but that its negative effects can be avoided through joint action by local companies, government and other institutions. Yolk is providing support through co-creation, dialogue and additional implementation power. This documentary, which we made together with Michael Krass, is part of the process.

by Henny van Egmond | Trust. It may well be the most-used word when people discuss the New Way of Working. We have to organise ourselves based on trust. But what does that actually mean? And are we all talking about the same sort of trust?  The Dutch magazine Management & Organisatie (Management & Organisation) recently devoted an entire themed edition to the topic. And rightly so. Trust is crucial in our society and within organisations. We see – certainly in certain areas – that it is decreasing rapidly and sometimes has even been replaced entirely by mistrust. Without trust, the New Way of Working cannot or can barely be introduced successfully. In fact, with trust organisations generally become more successful. But what do you have to do to increase the level of trust within an organisation?

In April 2010 some eighty Rabobank staff played scenes from the New Way of Working: Rabo Unplugged. But it was set a year down the line: in the spring of 2011. Location: the temporary floor in the new administrative centre on the Croeselaan in Utrecht. Led by director Harm-Ydo Hilberdink they improvised on themes like confidentiality, vitality, social cohesion and fewer rules. The result: So(ap) Unplugged, a Rabo soap in four episodes. So(ap) Unplugged is helping all Rabobank Nederland staff get to grips with the practical consequences of Rabo Unplugged – the working style. With a sense of humour and putting it all into a personal perspective So(ap) Unplugged shows how staff and managers can bring Rabo Unplugged to life in mutual discussion and with personal responsibility. A Yolk production.

iv id=”__ss_5819131″ style=”width: 425px;”>

Good stories are a valuable way of assigning significance to change. Our best example. The plans for a new head office are almost complete as the Chairman of the Board of the Netherlands’ largest bank heads towards the office after a Friday-afternoon meeting. He’s walking through the corridors, and turns a corner. And another corner. He gets lost. Looking for someone who can help him find his way, he opens the door of the nearest office. Empty. Another door. Empty again. Nobody. Friday afternoon in a Dutch office. The Chairman of the Board shrugs his shoulders. A new head office? The thought process for a smarter way of working gets underway.