Learn how Actiris, the Public Employment Service (PES) for Brussels (Belgium), is leading the way for PES in participative management approaches. All this in the latest episode of PESPod – the podcast of the European PES Network!

In episode 6 of PESPod, Caroline Mancel, interim Director General of Actiris tells us about the great strides they have taken in “shifting from a more directive management to a more collaborative way of managing teams.”

Hear about their seven different levels of co-decision, ranging from top-down decisions by senior management to complete delegation to staff. Hear also Caroline’s story of helping to spread this concept of participative management within the organisation and the importance of building both trust and buy-in.

What benefits does Caroline Mancel see? “It's good for [team members’] personal development. It also gives them a stronger feeling of belonging to the organisation.” And just as importantly, it is “a question of collective intelligence” for the organisation “in finding solutions to problems”.

Listen to the episode to hear about Actiris’ experiences of teams without managers, the importance of rules and getting through the “chaotic stage” – and what all of this has to do with a Belgian-style comic-book on Reinventing Organisations, card games, Warren Buffet, and the rather cryptic message: “Don’t meow me!”.

For the best way to keep up to date with latest developments and hear directly from key personalities in the world of Public Employment Services in Europe, subscribe to PESPod wherever you listen to your podcasts! Or listen directly to all episodes of PESPod online.