Earlier this year, a key meeting with regional stakeholders highlighted a significant challenge in the Amersfoort Living Lab: reaching employers has proven more difficult than anticipated. In response, the LL has adapted its strategy. Instead of hosting a larger activation event, the team is now focusing on one-on-one meetings to build stronger, more direct connections with employers.
In mid-May, the Amersfoort Living Lab launched a workshop series at the childcare organization SKA Kinderopvang, specifically designed for supervisors. The goal of these sessions is to strengthen supervisors’ ability to support the professional development of their team members. The workshop series was initiated in response to interviews conducted last year with employees and their supervisors.
Workshop 1: Understanding Development within the Role
In the first workshop, participating supervisors explored what development can look like within an employee’s current role. A key insight discussed was that professional growth does not always have to involve a career move or promotion. Instead, deepening expertise and building new skills within the existing role can be equally valuable. This kind of development strengthens employees’ confidence and prepares them for potential future steps. At the end of the session, supervisors were given a practical assignment: to initiate a development conversation with one or more of their team members.
Workshop 2: Practicing Development Conversations
The second workshop focused on real-life situations in which employees approach their supervisors with questions about development. Supervisors learned and practiced effective communication techniques, including how to ask follow-up questions to clarify the employee’s underlying needs. These techniques were put into practice through role-playing exercises, allowing supervisors to rehearse and reflect on how to handle such conversations in a supportive and effective way.
Workshop 3: Reflection and Peer Exchange
The third workshop will take place in September and will focus on reflection and peer learning. Supervisors will share their experiences from the development conversations they’ve had in the previous months, exchange lessons learned, and refine their approach through discussion and feedback from their peers.
Together, these workshops are fostering valuable dialogue among supervisors and offering practical tools to better support employee growth. They also provide insights into how supervisors—within the specific context of childcare and the regional labour market—can play a key role in employee development.