Meet Sophie Van Slambrouck

Sophie has been recruiting for AQUALEX for over ten years. A mutual acquaintance introduced her to Alexander Vanlerberghe (founder of AQUALEX) in 2012. At the time, the company had only one employee. Her first task? To hire a second salesperson. That went surprisingly well, and the ball started rolling.

Personal touch and depth

Sophie had already gained quite a bit of HR experience by then. After her studies, she worked for fifteen years at Unique. Then she started her own business as a freelancer. The name of her company? Per-Sé, an abbreviation for personal selection. “In many temp and recruitment agencies, the relationship ends when the hiring is complete. I want more depth in my relationship with the companies and people I work for.”

In the first few years, she hired 2 to 3 people annually for AQUALEX. Not many, but she immediately noticed that the company would grow enormously. “That has something to do with Alexander. I admired his way of doing business. He combines an incredible drive – things need to move forward – with a natural flair and a lot of respect for others. That’s infectious.”

Rapid professionalization

A large part of her time today is spent on AQUALEX. Her other clients, like AQUALEX, are growing companies. Not by chance, she says, “because I like working with young, dynamic companies that dare to explore new paths.”

In these ten years, she has seen AQUALEX change tremendously. “I was always convinced that AQUALEX would become big, but I’m still surprised by the rapid and thorough professionalization of the company. To give an example: many business leaders only consider installing a management team when their company approaches a hundred employees. Alexander took that step much earlier. As a result, the company was long prepared for the significant growth it’s now experiencing.”

Open entrepreneurial spirit

What sets AQUALEX apart from other companies? “That’s hard to put into words. I can only say that it’s fantastic to work here. You can see that in the strong commitment of the people to the company and the flow of candidates. Today, it’s very difficult to find people, yet a striking number of applicants still find their way to AQUALEX. It seems AQUALEX has already built a reputation as a company where it’s fun to work.”

What also characterizes AQUALEX is the continuous and constant growth, which looks set to continue in the coming years. According to Sophie, this is partly due to the open entrepreneurial spirit that prevails there. “Alexander and Niki place a lot of trust in people. They always assume that things will turn out well.”

Energy and enthusiasm

As a recruiter, Sophie has spoken with almost everyone in the company. What’s the first thing she looks for in a candidate? “That’s simple: you need to be an Amigeau (the nickname for AQUALEX team members). In terms of skills, experience, and diplomas, someone can seem perfect, but if they don’t fit into the company, it won’t work.”

And what is an Amigeau? “A positive person, full of enthusiasm and energy. It might sound strange, but you can tell as soon as someone walks in whether they have it. You can see it in the sparkle in their eyes. You immediately sense whether that person feels good about themselves and whether they are genuine, authentic people.” And smooth talkers with lots of show? Sophie rolls her eyes and sighs: “No, that wouldn’t last long here.”

Sophie personally

• Sophie is married, lives in Kuurne, and has two children: a 16-year-old son, Daan, and an 18-year-old daughter, Nia. The latter name is inspired by the Indonesian name Nya.
• She describes herself as ‘in love with the sea’. Almost every weekend, she can be found (kite)surfing in Westende. She inherited this love for the sea from her parents and passed it on to her children, who both surf and work as lifeguards on the coast. A holiday without the sea? No, even the thought of it scares her.
• She spends her free time doing sports like running and yoga (cycling is less her thing). In the evenings, she doesn’t watch much TV. She prefers a good conversation to a nice movie.
• She mainly reads books about psychology, NLP (neuro-linguistic programming), and wellbeing, such as Plato & Cola, or the secret of your brain by Veerle Visser-Vandewalle.
• Her motto: Carpe Diem. Or: What goes around, comes around. “Maybe that’s because I’m too much of a kind soul, right?”