What is paradise for many children, turns out not to be for the employees. At the Plopsa parks, employees have been bullied, humiliated and belittled for years, according to testimonies. “These are the kinds of things that give a company a dirty edge.”
In terms of timing, it couldn’t have been worse. Exactly at the end of a week in which children all over Flanders walked around with dots on their hands to show that they do not think bullying is okay, the newspaper published The time revealed that at Studio 100, perhaps the most child-friendly company in Flanders, bullying is a huge problem. The newspaper recorded 45 testimonials from people who worked at Plopsa, the amusement park branch of the company, in recent years. They talk about name calling, insults, bullying and an excessive 24/7 work culture in which holidays and rest periods are not respected.
Staff meetings are internally referred to as ‘punishment meetings’, according to the stories. Because CEO Steve Van den Kerkhof makes it a habit during that meeting to pick one person to insult and belittle in front of colleagues. The reason for this could be anything. Even an overflowing garbage can in the park.
Hated off
Régis Dhaenens, a former employee who told his story in various media this weekend, tells how he forgot a figure in a report during one of the meetings. “The CEO saw that, looked at me and threw the papers of that report at my head. He started shouting, ‘What are you doing here? You’re worth nothing.’ And so every meeting it was someone else’s turn.”
These are the kinds of stories that can seriously damage a company, says Jeroen Wils. He is an expert in crisis communication and active as a reputation coach. “A company’s reputation is primarily determined by the quality of the products or services it offers. The results and the figures it can present also play a role. But what is often forgotten is that as a company you are also judged on the way in which you achieve those results.”
Wils cites Twitter as an example. When a figure like Elon Musk suddenly takes control there in his own authoritarian way, it is at the expense of the image of that platform. The same is now threatening to happen at Studio 100. “These are the kinds of things that give a company a dirty edge,” says Wils. The fact that Studio 100 is a company that mainly focuses on children makes the whole scandal even more painful. “In fact, Studio 100 mainly sells innocence. Those who go to a Plopsa park with their children want to experience a carefree day there. When you know that what goes on behind the scenes is not kosher, it becomes more difficult.”
This story can also cause a blot on the reputation of Studio 100 bosses Gert Verhulst and Hans Bourlon. In recent years, both gentlemen have been seen as model entrepreneurs with whom everything they touched turned into gold. That reputation is now in danger of losing its luster. Although the question is, of course, to what extent they were aware of the toxic culture in one of the parts of their company. Wils: “At a rapidly growing company like Studio 100, as an owner you will at some point hit your limits. You can’t keep an eye on everything. Then it comes down to installing sufficient control mechanisms that can detect any problems.”
That is precisely where things seem to have gone wrong at Plopsa. Despite the many stories that are now emerging, the internal prevention service has not received a single complaint in recent years. “We see in more companies that people have difficulty finding their way to the prevention service,” says Lode Godderis, professor of occupational medicine at KU Leuven. “But as a prevention advisor you don’t have to passively wait for complaints. You can also identify problems yourself by looking at staff turnover or absenteeism in a particular department. But that did not happen in this case.”
Meanwhile, in an attempt to limit the damage, Studio 100 called in lawyer Christine Mussche to investigate the corporate culture within the Plopsa group. “Strange”, says Godderis. “I would have liked the internal prevention advisor to take on that analysis. But Studio 100 probably assumes that an external audit inspires more confidence.”
Shut up
Until that investigation is completed, the company top refrains from comment. Only Steve Van den Kerkhof, the targeted CEO, came up with a response this weekend. He denies the stories about transgressive behavior, but admits that he has a direct management style. A necessity in a company where safety is the highest good, it sounds.
If Wils had drawn up the communication strategy, that reaction would not have come. “With stories like this you can’t immediately judge what is and isn’t true. After all, you never know what else might come up. No, then what Bourlon and Verhulst do is much smarter. Now keep quiet, wait for the investigation and then come up with a response with the results in hand.”
