Just before the summer, we welcomed Karen De Wever as LCL’s new HR Business Partner. After spending 11 years in the HR department of the same company, Karen made the exciting leap to a new environment. Why did she choose LCL as her new home base? And what does she see as the challenges for our recruitment? Karen tells you all about it.
Karen started her studies in marketing and business communication but opted for a specialisation in HR for her master’s degree. “After three years in marketing, I wanted to take a new direction to broaden my knowledge,” says Karen. Her interest in the human aspect of business soon became the driving force behind her future HR career.
After a brief stint at a social secretariat, Karen returned to her internship company, Man Truck & Bus. She stayed with the Belgian division of this German company for 11 years. In 2024, Karen felt it was time for something new. “It was a tough decision, as they had become my second family. However, it was time to broaden my horizons and see how things are done in other companies.”
Finding a New Family After 11 Years
Despite recruiting many people – “I couldn’t possibly put a number on it” – Karen herself had little experience with applying for jobs. So, she saw it as a unique opportunity to attend many interviews and make good comparisons later. One of those interviews was at LCL, where Karen recognised something important: “I immediately felt the family atmosphere again. I was afraid of losing that in a new job, so that was a great first impression. Since I started here, that has already been confirmed, although the staff event in my first week certainly helped,” she laughs.
For Karen, there was another big motivation to start at LCL: “I noticed that the HR team was looking for the exact support that I sometimes missed in my previous job. I wanted to be that help for someone else. I am also happy that I have someone like Fabienne to learn from and consult with.” Karen’s focus will be on recruitment, where she of course has a lot of experience. She also knows the challenges: “I have no experience in the data center world, but I recognise the same challenges from my previous job: finding the right technical profiles is difficult. Critical Infrastructure Engineers and Data Center Service Technicians are highly sought after and quickly snatched away. That’s why it’s good that I can focus on attracting them.”
Of course, Karen aims to find the right people who can deliver the best service to our customers. Keeping current employees happy is also part of this, because “happy employees perform better and are more motivated, which is in the interest of LCL, and the customer.”
Building a Home of Her Own
While Karen is a new member of the LCL family, there’s also another family that keeps her busy. Her sons Lenn and Finn (ages 4.5 and 2) bring a lot of life to the home. As if that weren’t enough, Karen and her partner are deep into remodelling. “My partner is very handy and wants to do a lot himself. I’m less handy, but he tells me how I can help, and I do my best.” Amidst the renovations, Karen places great importance on quality time with the family or baking a delicious cake or brownies to replenish their energy. We are sure she will bake up a storm at LCL too!
Interested in working at LCL yourself? Check out our vacancies here.
