Could you tell us a bit about yourself?
I am working at IG&H as a healthcare consultant for over three and a half years now. I studied technical medicine in Enschede, which is about how MRI and CT scanners work and researching this. Doing internships at different hospitals, I saw so many improvements that could be made, besides only new technologies, which got me thinking, “How can I do that?” and to make that impact, I ended up at IG&H.
What drew you to IG&H?
The combination of healthcare focus and a smaller team, yet all the advantages of a larger company behind it. The culture of IG&H was also important. Developments in healthcare are beneficial to patients but often drive the costs up. This is a big potential problem for the future of our healthcare system. If we go through with this, we cannot afford all the desired healthcare anymore or must make cuts in social support, like for people who cannot work or are 65+ and retired. I want to help make healthcare future-proof.
During internships at different hospitals, I experienced hierarchical organizations. IG&H is a flat company in that sense; you can call every colleague, from analyst to partner and ask your question or ask for support. In addition, I enjoy all the fun activities we do with the motto ‘work hard play hard’.
How does a typical day at IG&H look like?
My team and I check in with each other at the beginning of the day. We ask how yesterday was, what you will do today and whether you need support. Then we may have meetings, both with the client or internally. Meetings with the client range from things like alignment and validation on data and our analysis to a workshop were we work towards new insights together with the client. It could also include stakeholder management with external parties or interviews. In internal meetings we take time to think about the challenges we need to solve. The form I enjoy most is being in a room with colleagues and taking for example two hours to really ‘crack the nut’.
What do you enjoy most about working at IG&H?
The culture and accessibility of people. Everyone is willing to help each other and but also to challenge you to continuously develop. People facilitate your development: It’s a combination of putting you into new situations and learning to deal with them, but also giving you the confidence that you will be able to have all the tools to handle the situation, and be there to have your back when needed. That’s what we call care to dare.
What has been your proudest moment at IG&H?
Workwise, it was a health insurer where we developed the strategy and then helped them implement it, including a new health insurance. I helped design that product and think about the strategy to get the right people interested in this specific insurance (Dutch zorgverzekering). My role focused on the question ‘How can we get the right people into our portfolio’? By now, the product is on the market. It is pretty cool that what I worked on is now an actual health insurance. In my spare time, I enjoy doing volunteer work and felt the urge to contribute to society outside my project work as well.
I am also proud that I was part of the team that ensured IG&H’s partnership with Impact Matters, an organization that brings employers into contact with non-profit organizations. The non-profits have a problem or a question they need help with. We as IG&H offer employees to help them solve this challenge, pro-bono. My role involves staffing projects, bringing people and Impact Matters together.
Can you tell us about IG&H’s partnership with Impact Matters?
We’ve been working with Impact Matters for about three years now. We have done 13 projects…and counting. It’s frequently young colleagues who engage with these projects. They can make a real impact quickly by asking the right questions, providing a fresh perspective, leveraging the combined knowledge of the rest of IG&H and so on. This allows them to take on more of a senior role than they are used to. These projects are definitely a win-win for everyone involved.
I am really glad that this aligns with IG&H’s mission and that they were supportive in starting this partnership. Now, years later, the partnership is still a success. It’s very motivating to see that the company supports this collaboration and therefore feel that IG&H also finds it important to contribute to society outside of project work, too.