PepsiCo and Refugee Talent Hub have been working together since early 2022. High time to catch up with Hanneke van Aert, Senior HR Director, and Ömer Mesekoparan, HR Talent Coordinator.

Please note: this article was translated using a translator app

“At Refugee Talent Hub you always talk about the power of the personal meeting,” says Hanneke. “We are the example: Ömer, a few colleagues and I sat next to each other during the Status Holders and Work event in Amsterdam at the end of June. We started talking and we quickly clicked. And now Ömer works in our team!”

The value of work

 Ömer is originally from Turkey and arrived in the Netherlands with his family in the summer of 2018. In Turkey he was a history teacher and later an HR employee for the government. His wife worked as a clerk. “We had a busy and happy family life with two young daughters. From one moment to the next, everything changed because of the coup and we had to flee. That was very intense.”

 “After a year in five different asylum centers we had a place. We got a nice house, benefits – we wanted to give something back to the Netherlands and the Dutch as quickly as possible. So as soon as we could and were allowed, we learned the language and started looking for work.”

 His wife now works as a programmer in IT and Ömer is working at PepsiCo. The value of work is clear to Ömer: “Work is a dignified way to rebuild your life. And to feel like a worthy person; After all these years I feel like I'm back. For example, it was very difficult not to have an answer at first when our daughters asked what kind of work we did. Now we are a good example for them again.” “We get energy from full days; we now feel that coming back again. It's so nice to go home from work again and be able to talk about something at the dinner table in the evening. I experience something, I learn things! And now I sometimes have to arrange a babysitter, what a nice problem to have!”

A personal belief

 Hanneke's personal belief that we are not in the world alone for ourselves was the start of the collaboration between PepsiCo and Refugee Talent Hub. “As an HR team, we introduced it into the organization, but we didn't have to push it: it was very cool to see how the business immediately responded. It is now supported by the entire organization. For example, an IT colleague first took the lead, and now someone from the European Data & Analytics team. And our employees are very interested in becoming mentors. I therefore firmly believe that something like this should not depend on one person, but should be adopted naturally by the organization. Otherwise it will quickly bleed to death.”

Start small

 Hanneke is convinced that organizations have a social obligation. “We are talking about people who, with the right stepping stone, can step out of their shadows. Then they can use their talent again, like anyone else. They have a lot to contribute to our organization and to society.”

 “But don't immediately think that tomorrow you will have to employ a hundred people with a refugee background to make a difference: start small and gradually build up. Then you learn gradually and create support within the organization. And look for a partner such as Refugee Talent Hub, who thinks along and who provides good guidance to organizations in this. Crucial for success.”

Cultural difference

 “Of course you have to factor in a different kind of training period, so dare to think outside your standard processes. Because organizations still often think from the Western bubble. It is about finding a balance between providing the right (extra) support and at the same time not seeing this group of people as a good cause. And the bonus? That is the added value that intercultural collaboration provides for our other colleagues!”

 Omer adds: “I also feel that balance: I can learn, get extra support, but I am also seen as a professional. And I still learn a lot every day. New words in Dutch, for example. And the work culture takes some getting used to: here I have to be proactive, not wait and prepare or schedule a meeting on my own. And the hierarchy is so different here: managers and employees all have lunch together and everyone gives each other feedback.”

To dream

 Hanneke dares to dream. “At PepsiCo, I can see that in a few years we will have sustainably hired new talent in various places within the organization – operators in the factory, mid-career professionals and internships at the head office. And that with their background they have started an inclusion network, with which we can show the rest of PepsiCo and the world: this is possible!”

 “And ideally,” she adds with a laugh, “we will no longer need Refugee Talent Hub at all. Have we outgrown you! Because we have built up sufficient knowledge and have everything in order to shape DEI with regard to professionals with a refugee background.”