Company
18
June
2025
5
minutes reading time
Taking talent to the next level
10 years of NextGen also means 10 years of training and coaching business talent to make a positive impact on business processes. Menno Zweegman was at the cradle of the training program in 2015 and looks back and forward with us: will the NextLevel program soon be an official training?
How did it start for you?
'Even before NextGen was founded, Machiel and I were colleagues at Abbott in Zwolle. I gave Green Belt training to Machiel there. In terms of creativity, he stood out: he had a very nice story during his presentation and even t-shirts with photos on them! One day he said: I'm going to leave and start a company that employs talent and trains them in process optimization. Do you want to set up the Green Belt part of the training program and mentor talents? Well, as a Master Black Belt I was of course thrilled to hear that. An incredibly nice challenge!
'In the following weeks, I worked on a Green Belt program that includes not only theory, but also a practical assignment. Because I know from my own experience: one week of Green Belt knowledge is too much. Then you will forget most of it again. That's why I developed 5 training days - with 1 month in between. This gives you a month to put new knowledge into your project. And during that month, you also receive 1-on-1 coaching.
What makes the NextLevel program so unique?
' Firstly, the NextLevel programme includes an extensive personal development programme in addition to a Green Belt. Secondly, for the Green Belt part, you do not spend a whole week in class: you get theory and practice - and you only get a certificate when you have completed your practical part with a presentation to your manager and highly experienced process managers from companies in our network.'
What do you notice when you look at NextGen'ers over the years?
'NextGen is very good at selecting professionals. They are all people who are motivated and want to build a great career. But something that remains is that NextGen'ers sometimes think: 'We'll just do the theory'. Then they get a shock during the exam and get a lower grade than they thought in advance. As trainers, we are therefore continuously working on improving the teaching days. During exams, we see exactly where the weak spots are. For example, we notice that LEAN needs more theory. Quite a struggle, because we don't want to take too much time away from the practical part.'
What is it like for you to get to know a new group?
'I love that. I am sick and have less energy, and after a training day I am very tired - but at the same time I get so much energy from it! Founders Machiel and Frank always give me the same energy: I just want to do everything for them. And now with Peter (general manager): if there is something, we call each other and solve it. Never hate and envy. And if one of the trainers has given a training session, we often call in the evening to see how it went. That's not necessary at all, but we do it and it's great fun.
What was a moment when you noticed: this process is making an impact?
'Scania is one of our customers who purchases multiple NextGen'ers. Scania is very advanced in LEAN, but previous attempts to optimize the spraying process of their truck parts had not yielded any results. Fortunately, they had one of our NextGen'ers in-house in Meppel. By systematically and in great detail analyzing the spraying process and combining LEAN with Six Sigma, he saw that one of the robots was waiting for another. And Scania was able to save a lot of paint and time – and therefore money! – by optimizing the interaction between the robots.'
What are you most proud of?
'I would not have dared to hope that NextGen would grow so much. Together we ensure that business processes run more efficiently and waste less. And I think it is great that I was able to be part of that growth with the Green Belt training, because that is my baby. Incidentally, the success of NextGen is absolutely due to the personalities of Frank and Machiel as I have come to know them over the past 10 years: always fun, always laughter, always respectful.'
Is there anything you still hope to achieve with the NextLevel program or at NextGen?
'I don't have the energy to train all day anymore. But with train-the-trainer and advice I help NextGen to reach a higher level. And of course: with getting all the documentation in order for the accreditation of our training program. The icing on the cake! So that the NextLevel program will soon be an official two-year post-HBO training. And then it is my ambition that our program becomes so well-known that talents even want a NextLevel diploma instead of a Green Belt diploma.
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