HBI Deals+Insights / HR, Culture and Training

Unilabs: Culture and brand transformation

A year ago we spent an evening with Jos Lamers, the CEO of Unilabs. A company doctor, who specialises in turning companies around, Lamers changed 80% of the top 100 top managers at Unilabs within 18 months of arrival. He decidedly (and correctly) delegated responsibility for achieving ambitious targets down to national managers. Yet here was this ambitious, tough-talking CEO enthusiastically describing the value of 360 degree reviews, the need for senior managers to reveal their vulnerabilities and ways in which people can achieve personal and performance change within the workplace. Blending a pragmatic, turnaround mindset with an appreciation of the softer skills required for managing change as clearly worked. Unilabs has dramatically lowered churn, upped organic growth and halved recruitment costs. We talked to Samantha Laurent, Unilabs’ Chief People Officer to find out more.