Nadia van den Heuvel (40) owns multimedia company Ictoria as well as company Xtoria: a place where people with disabilities can develop and move on to other companies. This time, Nadia talks about the impact of reintegration and how Xtoria organises the process to help colleagues become the best version of themselves.
Words like ‘reintegration’, ‘Getting Work Fit’ and ‘Towards Work trajectory’, sometimes raise questions. What exactly is it all about? Just a brief explanation:
Reintegration
According to the definition, reintegration is the return to work of employees who have dropped out due to illness (source: encyclo). There are several ways to draw up a reintegration plan so that you can return to work through a pathway.
Work fit process
One such pathway is Making Work Fit. This route is designed for people who have not been at work for a long time. It prepares you for the labour market. More about the Werkfit maken programme >
To work route
Another route is the To Work route. This pathway aims to find work that suits you, focusing on the things you can do. This can be a follow-up to a Work Fit programme when you are ready to apply for a job. More about the To work programme >
Reintegration is growing into the next version of yourself
As far as we are concerned, reintegration is an opportunity to reinvent yourself. For both as a person and as a professional. You grow into the next version of yourself. That’s why we no longer call it an ‘opportunity place’, but a ‘growth place’. A place where you and many others get the chance to grow into the next version of yourself.
5 Steps to grow
Many have gone before you, one colleague, for example, progressed from kitchen help to graphic designer. It happened in these 5 steps:
- Taking stock: Visualising what you like versus what you are good at. We do this not by talking, but by really taking action.
- Accept: Enjoying what you are good at. Bale what you have to let go of. We do this in a unique way with our ‘bale notes’, which you then get to fire together with a colleague in front of the building. We use special pot for this.
- Producing: Working from your talent. And actually producing something with it. For example, think about writing a nice blog, thinking about a strategy you learned about while gaming, etc.
- Learning: Combined with your talent, which training/education will take you further and also have market value?
- Excelling: Looking for a suitable employer. This almost always applies at the Ictoria opportunity spot. Now you can be on your way to an independent future.
It takes a lot of words to explain this process in detail. Besides, the steps are never the same because everyone is different. After all, our differences make us strong; by being complementary to each other, you always get further. If in a football team you only had goalkeepers, you wouldn’t score either.
Tips to make your (future) workplace your 'growth place'
It can be quite difficult if you have to tell your story often in the workplace because people don’t always get it at once. It would be a shame if that stops your growth. With these tips, you can make it a little easier on yourself in your (future) workplace:
Tip 1. Make a list of 3 things that are important to you.
For example: please take Wednesday afternoons off, because that’s when I go to physiotherapy.
Tip 2. Indicate what you need help with.
Note: bring your information in doses. For example, can’t walk down the stairs with crockery? Then state this clearly and don’t mention it in passing. This way, you work on the expectation and understanding of your colleagues.
Tip 3: Look at your working hours if this helps you get things done.
Example: agree working days of, say, 6 hours a day. This way, you can organise other things in your life, so you don’t have to keep asking for time off for your weekly physiotherapy, hospital visits or other appointments. If you divide this well, you will also have something to do with your weekends.
Ictoria and Xtoria
Continuous development is important for everyone, including my people and Ictoria. Since it was not always clear to many that we are both a multimedia company and a growth company, we decided to split it into: Ictoria and Xtoria. Ictoria is the multimedia company and at Xtoria we put the focus entirely on guiding individuals to the best version of themselves. This way, we can put all our time into you and new colleagues.
