23 January 2025 - News

Interview with Remco Brouwer

Remco Brouwer has been an entrepreneur in Maastricht for more than 30 years. The head of the Brouwer Horeca Groep has owned and run several different hospitality businesses and establishments across the span of his career and currently owns two hotels in Maastricht. Boutique Hotel le Theatre on the Vrijthof and Fitz Roy Hotel in Boschstraat. 

Grand Café Au Mouton Blanc, a 111 year old proper Mestreechs café that he took the reins of in 2000, was royally handed over to his children Femke and Maarten (pictured) on the first of January this year. We asked this seasoned entrepreneur and accomplished hospitality powerhouse about his experience with recruitment and retainment of quality part-time staff, how the pandemic changed employment practices in the Maastricht Region, what the effects of the spread of English as a global language are in the Euregio Meuse-Rhine and we even gleaned some tips for both work seekers and employers in their respective quests for employment and employees with the aim of curating a cohesive and prosperous labour market.

These days a lot of correspondence goes through e-mail. That makes sense these days. I will, however, also give a tip to the person who has come to the Netherlands. Take a moment to visit the business yourself. Take a step inside. 

What are some of the challenges you have faced recently regarding recruitment and retainment of quality part-time staff?
''The challenges vary, of course. Recruitment and retainment are two different things. For retainment, it's actually about keeping a close eye on the fringe benefits that your business offers and/or facilitates to its staff. In regard to recruiting – which also increasingly involves managing staff from within the EU as well as staff from outside the EU– it’s about looking at what the possibilities are and managing those possibilities and also expectations. So we do also then come into contact with the IND. These are often staff who actually started within our company as students and who have completed or are completing tertiary education, and are planning to stay in Maastricht. That’s when contact with the IND comes into play. Organising a temporary residence permit linked to their studies.

So it's very broad actually. But we try to offer guidance, also with housing of course. So what we do is all a bit bespoke. If we find a good staff member or would like to keep a certain staff member for a longer period, then you do what you can as an employer to guide them in that process. There are also organisations that can assist you with staffing, both nationally and internationally. We have recently started to work with The Orange Academy. They help recruit interns with whom we can work together. So we are actively recruiting and retaining our staff across a number of different areas.''

What effect did the pandemic have on your businesses?
''I have to say that after the pandemic, the labour shortage was rather dismal, however it appears to be starting to stabilise. So now staff are staying on for longer, they are not as fickle as they were immediately after the pandemic. I think the pandemic has been an ‘eye opener’ for a lot of employees, they took a long, hard look at what career or lifestyle they were actually building and they took the opportunity to look at other options. I feel now, though, that it has settled down somewhat. So actually at the moment. I'm quite content with how it’s all going.''

What have been some of your solutions to recruiting and retaining quality part-time staff?
''Creating a team atmosphere is crucial. That was of course difficult during the pandemic because many staff left and the numbers dwindled. Ensuring that staff feel that they are part of a tema and that they work at a welcoming and enthusiastic workplace is essential to retainment. You can do this by organising company outings, seminars or informative gatherings that stimulate professionalism and also comradery. When you take the time and make the effort to accommodate your staff you will see that they enjoy coming to work and that they also start meeting outside working hours. You certainly see that with staff from outside the Netherlands, – non-Dutch speakers – this approach is bearing fruit.''

What have your experiences been in using traditional recruitment practices versus freelance platforms such as Temper and Young Ones?
''We definitely engaged the services of the freelance platforms, especially after the pandemic. At the time it was a clear strategy because that was when the need for personnel was at its strongest. In the end – mostly for peak times of the year – that option remains a very suitable one for us. With the freelance platforms, then of course you do find yourself with different employees every week. That has its advantages and disadvantages. However, I do try to get to a solid base of staff where you can optimise that team approach well. ''
 

So it was a temporary solution, due to the fact that you noticed a change in teamwork and team atmosphere?
''A temporary solution in that sense, because at that particular time it was really urgent. We made a lot of use of the freelance platforms then, and now we can use it in a positive way to ride the peaks and troughs of the holiday seasons, staff illness, alignment with the academic year and so forth.''

Do you feel that the language barrier has had much influence on the situation?
''It depends a bit on the kind of business. In business I just divested, Au Mouton Blanc, the language barrier was still rather imposing. At this established Mestreechs café, patrons and employees alike still only wanted to work in or be served in Dutch. Guests would ask ‘why do I have to be addressed in English?’.

The hotel world has already integrated the language divide much more and you also see that communication on the retail shop floor is also increasingly carried out in English. I don't know whether that's the intention of those industries in the Netherlands, but it does happen. It certainly happens in café and restaurant kitchens because of the diversity of nationalities required to staff them. But you now also see it happening in the ‘front of house’. So yes, it is what it is.

Then also, there is the demand that comes from non-Dutch employees who would like to integrate in the Netherlands, who would like to acquire the Dutch language. But it is of course true that many Dutch people can speak English. As a result, English is spoken very often and we have been asked whether an English course could be provided within the organisation, but we haven't really facilitated that yet. That is on a list, though.''

How important is it that your staff either know some Dutch or are eager to learn? Do you provide language learning opportunities at your businesses?
''I think we should definitely support that as employers, all employers. If they make that mandatory then that is something we should cooperate with. But I think there are also staff who want to integrate and who just really want to learn the Dutch language for themselves. Though actually more time and money needs to be spent to be able to create that.''
 

We Dutch are very used to accommodating guests in their mother tongue. But, you see that now also happening less, and actually personally I find that, alright. I think that we should be able to focus more on communicating in English.''

How do you forecast the trends in employment in the Maastricht Region to change in the future?
''I do see it changing. I believe that it's going to stabilise. For us in the hospitality industry that means we can start selecting again in terms of filling vacancies. This may sound very strange, but we've really only had two years now where we were happy to actually get responses to vacancies. I see that we are now entering a period where we can start being more selective. Not overly selective, but we are now experiencing more choice in regards to recruiting staff.

I do think that English will increasingly become the language of communication in the hospitality industry. Though it would be good to support and integrate staff so that they can also learn some Dutch.''

What about the prevalence of the use of French and German in the hospitality industry in the Maastricht Region?
''I feel that the use of French and German is happening less and less. Everything is moving very much so towards English. I also see that my staff also increasingly have a partner who is from outside the Netherlands and with whom they speak English at home with, and in their social life. 

I must also say, more and more Germans and French are switching to English. If I see that happening certainly in the hotel industry. We Dutch are very used to accommodating guests in their mother tongue. But, you see that now also happening less, and actually personally I find that, alright. I think that we should be able to focus more on communicating in English.''


Do you have any tips for work seekers in the Maastricht Region?
''These days a lot of correspondence goes through e-mail. That makes sense these days. I will, however, also give a tip to the person who has come to the Netherlands. Take a moment to visit the business yourself. Take a step inside. Go to the business, say you sent that e-mail. Show your face. It is more preferable for us that you get acquainted right away. But I see that more and more young people want to do everything through e-mail or messaging and we see 1-on-1  communication decreasing rather rapidly.''
 

Do you have any tips for companies, businesses like what you have, to start recruiting and in the future to retain good part-time staff?
''Make use of different ways to recruit employees. Different mediums such as social media channels. Don't always just leave it to an employment agency or jobs website. That way, you will have a wider reach. As for retaining staff, creating a team feeling is definitely important. You want your employees to feel that they landed in a good workplace. As I pointed out: company outings, joint meetings. You want them to enjoy coming to work and also want to meet up outside working hours. This then contributes to a more social and cohesive society in our region, which is definitely a benefit for everyone.''
 

Remco Brouwer interview
Le Theatre Hotel
Remco Brouwer interview
Remco Brouwer
Remco Brouwer interview
Fitz Roy Hotel
Remco Brouwer interview
Au Mouton Blanc