In this article, Nienke Moed talks about her work and her early days as an SNA inspector at Normec.
Before joining Normec, Nienke worked as a recruiter at a staffing agency, at an in-house location. It all became a bit too predictable for her and, as a result, not challenging enough, so she started thinking about doing something else. That’s when we reached out to her, and things started moving (very quickly).
“On my first day, I was expected at the office in Geldermalsen. The start of the day was all about meeting my colleagues at the office and taking a tour of the office. I also received my company car, laptop, and other essentials. It was nice that a lot of it was already set up. Finally, I was given a briefing on the systems, so they weren’t completely new to me.”
“The second day was a shadowing day right off the bat. During this day, I really just observed my colleague. Not much was explained yet, but that was actually nice. You take in so many impressions during those first few (shadowing) days that you don’t really absorb any explanations anyway. For the remaining three days of my first week, I focused on e-learning modules, reading up on the material, and getting to know my mentor online.”
“Starting in week two, I had more shadowing days, during which more and more was explained to me. The second week, I mostly just observed, but starting in week three, I began taking on tasks by shadowing my colleague. This involved doing everything twice—once with my colleague and once on my own—to check if my work matched theirs.”
“Starting in week four, I took on more and more tasks independently, and then—with a little help—I conducted my first inspection entirely on my own. Everything started to fall into place, which made it a lot easier to do it on my own. Whereas on my first shadowing day I still had a lot of questions running through my head, now everything was becoming clearer and clearer.”
“The on-the-job training is all about learning by doing. I knew beforehand that I’d struggle the most with the financial side of things, since I have no experience with that. For that reason, I’ve regularly said that I want to tackle that part, because that’s simply where I learn the most. If I get stuck, I ask the colleague I’m shadowing at the time, and they explain it to me patiently.”
“You also get feedback from your coworker after every shadowing day. That way, you can clearly see your progress. It helps you identify what you struggle with the most and, therefore, what areas you need to work on. It’s really nice to always have a colleague by your side. If you get stuck on something, you can ask questions right away. Seeing that I’m making progress is very rewarding and motivating for me.”
“What I enjoy most is seeing my own growth and realizing that I’m understanding things better and better—and seeing that reflected in the feedback from my colleagues. I also really enjoy being in a different place every day—it keeps things interesting. Some staffing agencies have an office dog, and since I love dogs, I always enjoy it when that’s the case.”
“For the next month, I’ll still be shadowing colleagues, and after that, my certification is scheduled. It’s very exciting, but above all, I’m really looking forward to it. Afterward, I’ll have to get used to the fact that I won’t automatically have a colleague with me anymore, though it’s also nice to have the independence to manage things on my own. I know that after that, I can always turn to anyone for help if, for example, I’m stuck on something. That team spirit is really nice and makes me feel welcome.”
Nienke is now certified and is gaining experience as an independent SNA inspector: “After my first day shadowing, I thought the work would be a bit monotonous. Nothing could be further from the truth. Of course, you do the same kind of work every day, but because every client and every location is different, it’s still a varied role.”
Nienke has some advice for people who are unsure whether the role of SNA inspector is right for them: “Ask yourself why you’re hesitating. If you like structure and independence, it’s definitely worth giving it a try. You can always ask any questions you have during the first interview, or get in touch with the contact person listed in the job posting beforehand.”
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