Our own staff are most likely the best people to tell you what it is like to work at Bulsink. Our employee stories offer an inside look at our company’s culture. Today, Office Manager Leentje van der Putten takes the floor.

Can you introduce yourself?

“My name is Leentje van der Putten. I am 62 years old and I live in Mierlo-Hout, in a very nice house. For 43 years, I was together with my husband Luciën, who unfortunately passed away ten months ago. We don’t have any children.”

“I have four brothers and two sisters, one of which is my twin sister. My family is very important to me; we see a lot of each other and go on holidays together. I also like socializing with friends and meeting new people. And I exercise quite a bit; I run regularly and go to the gym once a week. What else? Oh, I am an open book. What you see is what you get.”

How and why did you end up working at Bulsink?

“I started working here in 2006. I had always been working for TPG, the former PTT and current PostNL, but at some point there was always a reorganization going on. When they announced one day that we all had to move to Breda suddenly, I was a bit fed up. That same night, me and my husband were visiting a befriended couple. He worked at Bulsink and his wife knew they were looking to hire someone, so she suggested: wouldn’t that be something for Leentje?”

“That Thursday, I sent my resume. The following Friday I had a job interview. And thirty minutes after I got home from, they called me. ‘If you want, you can start.’ Within fourteen days, I found myself working at Bulsink.”

“So Bulsink actually crossed my path by chance, more or less. And now I am one of the veterans. I’ve never regretted the switch; after 16 years, I still enjoy coming to work every single day.”

What can you tell us about your work as an Office Manager?

“Three days a week, I work at the financial administration. But it’s not like I have my head in an Excel sheet all day. I take care of all the formalities needed to run an office, so I have a lot of contact with colleagues. If there is something you want to know, or that you need to get arranged, you can always call me or drop by my desk. Whether it concerns the fuel card for your company car, a request for a new phone number or questions about an invoice.”

“I also help new colleagues with their onboarding. I try to explain what type of company we are and what they can expect around here. And after someone has been working here for one or two weeks, I have a chat with them. How are you doing, how do you like it here?”

“On Fridays, I still work at the reception. Welcoming customers, having a chat, getting them coffee. Like I said, I enjoy socializing and meeting new people. I am a people person.”

“I think it fits well that I ended up in a family business. That suits me better than being just a number in a large organization.”

The Bulsink organisation uses B.U.I.L.D. as its core values: Brand-conscious, Ultra-fast, Inspiring, Leading and Determined. Can you pick one or two of these core values and explain what they mean to you?

“Hmm, let’s see. Inspiring, I guess, in the sense that Bulsink still inspires me and that we aim to surprise our customers and business partners every day by doing more than they expect from us. I try to contribute to that by making every guest feel welcome and special, and with small things such as serving a nice surprise with their coffee. And I feel that we also inspire each other as colleagues.”

“Maybe that’s because we are a family business. I grew up in an entrepreneurial family myself; my father and mother had a painting business and a shop. I have never had the ambition of running a business myself, but in retrospect I think it fits well that I ended up in a family business. That suits me better than being just a number in a large organization.”