For more than thirty years, the family-owned company Aelmans has been known as a versatile player in consultancy and a wide range of development services. With over 200 employees and offices across the Netherlands, the organisation continues to grow steadily. But growth also brings challenges: how do you ensure that knowledge, leadership and responsibility do not remain concentrated at the top, but are shared broadly across the organisation? With this question in mind, Aelmans approached UMIO. Together, they developed a tailored programme enabling managers and talents within the organisation to grow, collaborate, and take responsibility for the company’s future.
The programme was prompted by shifts in the internal dynamics at Aelmans. For decades, the company was led by a single managing director, but now the second generation is ready to step in. “We want to create a broader group that takes joint responsibility for the future,” explains Sander Lely, company lawyer and member of the management team at Aelmans. “Aelmans started small in 1990, but has since expanded into five main divisions. We want to safeguard continuity within those divisions and across the organisation for the long term. That means we need more structure and a shared way of working. How do you drive change? How do you manage a unit of fifty people? How do you set a course in a constantly changing market? These are the questions our new generation of leaders face, and we want everyone heading in the same direction when it comes to the answers and the implementation.”
A tailor-made programme, developed together
To look ahead to the future, Aelmans brought in UMIO. UMIO turned out to be the right fit from the very start. “Right from the very first meeting, UMIO asked sharp questions,” Sander recalls. “They immediately contributed valuable ideas and helped us see things differently: moving away from top-down knowledge delivery towards jointly discovering and developing with our employees and UMIO. That immediately resonated with us.”
The programme was not taken “off the shelf” but co-designed with Aelmans, based on their needs and challenges. Employees from different units contributed ideas about the content. This resulted in a programme that genuinely fitted the family business, and staff felt motivated to take part.
Learning in and from practice
The development programme combines academic insights with practical assignments and cross-departmental collaboration. “UMIO mainly enables us to learn and apply things ourselves,” says Sander. “Lecturers provide the theory, but always relate it directly to our practice. That creates a good exchange: people discover new ways of working together and immediately apply them to their own projects.”
The programme was deliberately spread over eighteen months, giving participants time to absorb insights, put them into practice, and combine the learning with their daily work. Sessions include interactive workshops with both academic and practical input, as well as group assignments in which participants translate their own challenges into real-life solutions.
In between, smaller teams work on projects within the organisation, ensuring that what is learned is directly applied–from strategy development to change management.
This approach demands active engagement. “We don’t just lean back to absorb the information,” says Sander. “We are encouraged to reflect and think independently, collaborate, and come up with solutions. It can be challenging, but that ensures it really sinks in. I’ve noticed that many colleagues are even more motivated to roll up their sleeves and work together.”
Investing in people–now and in the future
The customised programme with UMIO fits within Aelmans’ broader vision: investing in the development and well-being of its people. From interns and young professionals to seasoned colleagues with decades of experience, everyone is given the opportunity to develop their skills and play an active role in shaping the company’s future.
“We want to be an attractive employer to young talent,” Sander explains. “But just as much, we invest in experienced colleagues. Everyone should have the chance to develop and make a valuable contribution.”
This vision is also reflected in the composition of the participant group. In consultation with UMIO, the participant group was intentionally diverse, including everyone from team leaders to younger employees with potential. “It shows people that their contribution matters,” says Sander. “Feeling invested in is hugely motivating for our people, and it strengthens their commitment and fosters mutual trust as we look ahead.”
First results: enthusiasm and trust
Even though the programme is still in full swing, the early effects are already visible. People from different disciplines are reaching out to one another more, cross-unit collaboration is on the rise, and team spirit is growing.
“When we were smaller, everyone knew what everyone else was working on. Now, we are spread across the south of the Netherlands, and it’s harder to stay connected. Even so, the threshold for approaching each other has already dropped. People now know better who to turn to, and they’re also building relationships of trust,” says Sander. “It’s noticeable in collaborations, but also in day-to-day interactions: colleagues approach me and each other more, they give feedback and share ideas. The programme helps us gain valuable new knowledge and perspectives that we can use to shape the future. At the same time, it’s also bringing people closer together. That trust makes us stronger as an organisation.”
Staff are already seeing tangible results in their day-to-day work: projects are increasingly approached from a multidisciplinary perspective, and teams are coordinating their methods more effectively.
Laying the foundations for the future
For Sander and Aelmans, the programme’s value goes far beyond knowledge or skills. “The ultimate goal is for people to trust one another, take shared responsibility, and stand shoulder to shoulder in shaping Aelmans’ future,” Sander explains. “That’s what we’re working towards, and everyone at Aelmans is fully committed. Our collaboration with UMIO is helping us get there.”
Sander highlights the value of UMIO’s tailored approach: “UMIO genuinely listens to what your organisation needs and shapes the programme accordingly. The combination of practical application, academic grounding and personalised guidance makes it unique. It doesn’t just encourage learning; it inspires thinking, collaboration, and forward-looking action.”
Through this customised programme, Aelmans is building the foundations for future-proof leadership and a strong, collaborative organisation. If you’d like to explore your organisation’s challenges with UMIO, get in touch with us–we’d be delighted to discuss how we can help.
Photo: Leonie van der Locht – Huijbers
