There’s a huge amount of young talent within the organisation

Bart Bloothoofd (28) is chair of RING, while Emmely Wigger (27) is one of the two event managers.

If you are under 36 years old and employed by ING, you’re automatically a member of RING. In fact, the network has more than 10,000 members in the Netherlands alone! In June 2022, RING NL celebrated its 25th anniversary in style: a week full of fun, networking, interesting talks about sustainability, diversity and personal development for all our young employees. Check out a small recap.

Moreover 2022 was a full year where physical events were (finally) possible again: Museum trips to the Rijksmuseum, plastic fishing through the canals, intercompany events to network outside of ING, yoga sessions to improve wellbeing, a marketplace to learn about all departments within ING, a solar field visit to learn about sustainable energy, senior management interviews: we've had it all! Check out the pictures on Linkedin

Emmely: “I wanted to do something extra besides my job, and being involved in RING is a good way to gain experience that enhances my development. I’m learning so much from managing the committees that organise events for such a large, diverse group of people.” Bart adds: “The great thing about RING is that it brings together young colleagues from all areas of the bank and all kinds of different roles. I myself joined ING as a trainee. The traineeship can create a bit of a safe ‘bubble’ which isn’t a true representation of all the young employees at ING. As the RING chair, I’m broadening my perspective and developing new competencies, such as management skills for example.”

Soft landing

“RING members are often in their first or second job and they are keen to get to know people who are in a similar phase, besides their immediate co-workers,” says Emmely. “We facilitate that; RING enables you to expand your network very quickly.” Bart continues: “We help to give young employees a ‘soft landing’ within this huge organisation. They gain a better understanding of the company and the confidence to form their own opinions. Needless to say, there is a lot of on-the-job learning here, but we focus on things from the perspective of young people. Being able to share details of your experiences, connect with people and make new friends are all important factors in feeling at home within a company.”

Energy

“I love seeing just how many young people work at ING and how much energy they bring to the company. At the events we organise in conjunction with senior management, they always tells us how interesting and enjoyable it is to exchange ideas with young employees,” comments Emmely. “There’s a huge amount of young talent within our organisation. That deserves to be seen,” says Bart. 

TV talk show

Bart: “Before the COVID-19 pandemic, we organised two to three events a month. The content is as diverse as possible, ranging from workshops on things like personal leadership, sustainability or Python to our annual interbanking event and meet-ups with young employee networks from other companies. Needless to say, we held all our events online last year. The results were often so positive that we will definitely continue with the online format for some of our events. For example, in conjunction with other banks we turned our annual conference into a TV talk show and it was a huge success!”

Fortunately, the RING board members don’t have to do all of this on their own, explains Emmely: “The RING board is made up of six people besides Bart and me. But we’re supported by several committees comprising more than 30 active members who organise events and suchlike.”