“There is a really positive working environment. I feel at home here”

Before I joined Kramp, I had worked in web development for around 15 years. The first eleven years of that were with a digital agency, working for all sorts of multinational clients, and I ended up as a technical consultant and senior front-end developer. I then decided I wanted a change of environment, and worked for a series of start-ups in the Amsterdam area. I loved that start-up scene, but financial stability was an issue and a number of employers collapsed! My wife and I decided we would take the opportunity to move to the east of the country, which we had talked about for some years. So, we made the move 150km east and I began looking for a new job. I registered with some recruitment companies and within a week, I had six interviews here in the east, which surprised me, since you think of all the tech work being back west.

Kramp was one of those interviews. Of course, after working for unstable start-ups, the size and stability of Kramp really appealed to me! But it could also offer me a career path. I really like the idea of committing to a company, and being able to say “this is my company”. In the end, I had to choose between two offers: a consultancy role for another company, and I had Kramp.

It was my current colleagues who really helped me make my decision. I spent a day with the team here before accepting the job. It was a warm, friendly atmosphere, and the team did their best to convince me to work there, and it really says something about Kramp that people working here actually try to persuade you to join!

I have to say, I have been here a year now and the promises that were made were true. It’s a real family atmosphere, it’s a great company to work in, and there are opportunities to grow. I get the freedom to shape my own role, to an extent. Communication is one of my strong suits, and I like the collaboration and interaction with other departments; I like making connections.

The job itself is always challenging and interesting. We’re updating the old webshop for the whole of Europe, transitioning country by country. It’s a really challenging tech-stack we’re working with, the latest technologies, and there’s a high level of expertise within the team, a lot of intelligent people. Some of the tech-stack was new to me, but I got the chance to learn alongside very skilled people. We are based in Varsseveld, but we also work with the Kramp Hub in Utrecht, where there are around 40 or 50 people working on exciting developments. We collaborate a lot, usually working there two out of five days. Even my front-end team is split between the two locations, which is really dynamic, and there’s a positive approach to sharing knowledge. I really like it!

There’s so much going on here, and so many teams working in IT. Such a big landscape of services, so much going on behind the scenes. It makes it really challenging and fun. There’s variety in what I do – one day I’m diving deep into code, the next I’m with colleagues discussing functionality and strategy. A year on, I feel I can really make a strong contribution.

And Kramp gives you a good work/life balance. There’s a lot of pressure in so many companies to be there after normal hours. Here, Kramp really respects that your private life matters, that you need that space. People work hard, they’re motivated and take responsibility, but they are encouraged to get the balance right. It creates a really positive working atmosphere. I feel at home here.