At Homiwoo, every employee can truly make an impact.

According to a 2025 Great Place to Work survey, 94% of Homiwoo employees say that, overall, it is a place where “it feels good to work.” Sophie de Bruyn, part-time HR Manager, shares her perspective on human resources in a company where technical innovation goes hand in hand with kindness and care. Sophie de Bruyn joined Homiwoo three years ago. Trained as a psychologist with a specialization in human resources, she left the corporate world to focus on more agile organizations. At Homiwoo, she built the HR function from the ground up, from core processes to the development of a genuine human capital strategy.

Why did you choose to leave a permanent position and move into entrepreneurship and start-ups?

I originally trained as a psychologist specializing in human resources, and I began my career in small HR consulting firms, where I supported employees with career management. I then moved into recruitment before joining SNCF in a variety of HR roles: recruitment, operational HR management, and team leadership.

In 2022, I made the decision to launch my own business so I could work with smaller organizations that needed HR support. What I enjoy is being involved in everything: from administrative matters to strategic challenges, while also maintaining direct contact with all employees. Unlike in large companies, where you specialize in a very narrow area, at Homiwoo I have a comprehensive view.

What was your biggest challenge when you joined Homiwoo?

When I started working with Homiwoo, the goal was really to put HR processes in place from A to Z. The company had already accomplished a great deal, but without dedicated HR expertise. Everything had to be structured: recruitment processes, onboarding, job descriptions, training, and the implementation of an HR information system to digitize processes.

The next step was to move toward a more strategic approach by implementing genuine HR policies: career management, employer branding, employee experience, quality-of-work-life initiatives, remote work, and defining the company’s values. My role is to act as a true bridge between employees and leadership, connecting business priorities with human challenges, while bringing HR and human capital expertise to the table.

How would you describe Homiwoo’s DNA?

Homiwoo has a strong technical and excellence-driven culture, with teams structured around a research unit and an engineering unit. But what really makes the company distinctive is the combination of technical expertise and a friendly, collaborative atmosphere. The values are clear and well defined: foster kindness, strive for excellence, and deliver results.

The 2025 Great Place to Work survey confirms this: 94% of employees say that, overall, it is truly a great place to work. There is something very powerful about this small organization: the combination of innovation, the ability to bring your own ideas and challenge them with others, all within a climate of kindness and active listening. It is a small start-up where everyone can genuinely make an impact.

What profiles are you looking for, and how do you identify the right candidates?

A strong candidate at Homiwoo must have solid technical skills — this is essential and is assessed during the recruitment process through tests and a technical interview. But beyond that expertise, Homiwoo also looks for soft skills and alignment with its values.

In a company like Homiwoo, innovation is central. We look for people who are able to bring their own ideas, defend them, and do so in the spirit of kindness and respect that defines Homiwoo. For very specific profiles, we sometimes work with specialized recruitment firms.

How do you support talent development internally?

We have developed several career management tools. In addition to annual and professional review meetings, we created a skills assessment grid for technical profiles, with different levels for each area of expertise. This grid is developed jointly by the employee and their manager to assess acquired skills, compare perspectives, and identify aspirations and expectations.

This tool allows us to see whether individual ambitions can meet the company’s needs and how best to support each employee in achieving their professional goals. Every year, I consolidate the feedback from review meetings to identify training needs and propose a development plan, which is then validated by management. The aim is to build a coherent plan that aligns employees’ aspirations with the company’s needs.

Beyond career management, we are currently working on obtaining CSR labels and implementing quality-of-work-and-life initiatives, so that people remain at the heart of our strategy.