At the start of 2025, we spoke to the Harmony Business Consultancy management team - Maarten Bruyneel, Thomas Standaert and Christophe Vanhorenbeeck. With a nomination for the Trends Gazelles and a consistent growth rate, they can look back on a successful period. How did they experience the past year themselves and how are they at the start of 2025?
Steps forward in 2024
HARMONY: Looking back to 2024, what do you consider to be the most important milestones for the Business Consultancy division?
CHRISTOPHE: “For me, the most important thing is that we were able to further expand the cooperation with just about all our existing customers. If a customer has been working with you for more than ten years, you still have to do something right.” (laughs)
THOMAS: “Right! And I also notice that we have been able to build a relationship of trust very quickly with new customers such as Acerta, ALD Automotive and Aquafin. That says a lot about our approach.”
HARMONY: Happy new customers, that's also great news, of course!
MAARTEN: (enthusiastic) “Indeed. We were able to achieve a very nice diversification in our customer portfolio. In addition to our strong historical footprint in Banking and Insurance, we are now even more active in other sectors. That was one of our goals, not only to strengthen our market position, but also to attract a wider range of talent.”
HARMONY: You've also opened a new office on the outskirts of Brussels. What was the idea behind that?
MAARTEN: “We felt that this step was coming, and it fits perfectly into our vision of connectivity. We want to be close to our customers and also offer an attractive workplace for our people. We already have a nice location in Hasselt, which has historical origins, but we want to be accessible to all colleagues from the different national regions.
THOMAS: (adds) “It's also about the future. We already have a lot of customers in the Brussels region and we still see many opportunities for further growth there. With the new office, we have a strong basis for the coming years.”
HARMONY: It was also a year of challenges in the market. How did you feel about this?
CHRISTOPHE: “I think it was a year on the market at two speeds. On the one hand, you felt the need for cost control, and on the other hand, companies also needed to continue investing in digitization, improved customer experience and increasing the efficiency of systems and processes.
HARMONY: Did that require a particular approach?
MAARTEN: “In fact, we have mainly continued to consciously focus on the relationship with our customers and continue to invest in our people. For example, we have focused even more internally on training and development. Among other things, the progress we have made with our Harmony School platform was a good example of this.
HARMONY: With results?
THOMAS: “What I see is that customers appreciate our approach. I recently heard from a customer - “If we're facing a challenge, Harmony is one of the first parties we call because we know you'll come up with the right solution and do everything you can to deliver the result.”
CHRISTOPHE: “Nice to hear something like that! Ultimately, I think you can conclude that 2024 actually offered some challenges, but that, as an organization, we managed to get through them properly. We ended 2024 with a strong basis for our continued growth in 2025.”
A culture of continuous development
HARMONY: Harmony School came up just now. Can you tell us more about those courses within Harmony?
THOMAS: “First and foremost, we have what we call the 'Harmony Fundamentals' - a basic set of skills that we believe every consultant needs to make an impact.”
CHRISTOPHE: “We evaluate these fundamentals annually and adjust them based on what we see in the market. Recently, for example, we added data analytics for business consultants, and AI is also on the agenda.”
HARMONY: A look at the training offerings tells me that it also goes beyond theoretical models and approaches.
MAARTEN: “Right. We have communities of practice around specific topics such as Agile and project management. People meet every month to share experiences and learn from each other. That creates a culture of continuous development.”
HARMONY: You clearly value that company culture very much. How do you maintain that as you grow?
THOMAS: “We used to talk about a sense of family, but that flag doesn't quite cover the bill either. I think we just have a very open and authentic culture. People can come to us and each other with questions or problems. Everything can be discussed.”
CHRISTOPHE: “I recently read what Henri, one of our founders, said in the interview about thirty years of Harmony: that his biggest ambition has always been to make sure that people enjoy themselves within the company. Actually, that's what Harmony still stands for. We regularly measure satisfaction, but the informal moments, the spontaneous conversations, are just as important.”
MAARTEN: “We always challenge colleagues to discover the best of themselves and challenge them to do so, but we also want people to be able to be themselves and grow at their own pace. When you see how Henri and Koen created that, it gives us a lot of inspiration for how we want to continue that culture.”
Looking ahead to 2025
HARMONY: In 2024, the new leadership team within Harmony Consultancy took shape. How do you see that leadership in 2025?
MAARTEN: “We strongly believe in a mentoring role and positive leadership. Leadership isn't just part of the management team here - we want it to develop throughout the organization.”
THOMAS: “Entrepreneurship is one of Harmony's four values, so even when someone like Young Graduate joins us, we want them to show leadership and initiative. That is often already part of our employees, of course, but we also often try to make them even more aware of it.”
CHRISTOPHE: “We also co-create a lot with the team, actually. Of course, we set the lines as a management team, but we do actively involve other people in setting goals and how we want to achieve them. That creates much more support and energy.”
HARMONY: Looking ahead to the rest of 2025, when it comes to digital change, there is currently no escape from AI and new technologies. How do you view that?
CHRISTOPHE: “We certainly see AI as a strategic focus, but at the same time, we are very pragmatic about it. We approach this from two angles: how can we use it to make our own people more productive, and how can we advise our customers about its added value.”
HARMONY: Do you already see practical examples of this on the market?
THOMAS: “Over the past year, we've already had several projects underway where AI plays a role, for example in fraud detection and document processing. But it remains a tool, not an end in itself.”
MAARTEN: “We always keep our finger on the pulse. You see that there are consolidations to platforms, new solutions for customers... It's up to us to sit on top of that and include our colleagues.”
HARMONY: What are Harmony Business consultancy's key focus points for 2025?
MAARTEN: “We will continue to build on three clear pillars. First, we want to further strengthen our brand in the market as a trusted partner in digital transformation”. Second, we continue to invest in our people-centered culture. And thirdly, we are further expanding our expertise to remain relevant to our customers.”
THOMAS: “The combination of advisory and executive roles with customers is crucial. We see that customers are increasingly in need of partners who combine consultancy with implementation skills. We are here with a lot of expertise, that knowledge is, so to speak, easy to take.”
HARMONY: So there are some opportunities for further growth.
CHRISTOPHE: “Yes. We have already walked a nice route in recent years. This is witnessed by our nomination for the Trends Gazelles as one of the 250 fastest-growing companies in our region. For us, it is a goal to be able to continue that sustainable growth of around 20% per year. Attracting the right talent and maintaining our strong culture is going to play a crucial role.”
HARMONY: That sounds healthy and ambitious. What gives you the confidence that this will succeed?
MAARTEN: (smiling) “The foundation we've laid is strong. Our diverse customer portfolio, our close-knit team, our expertise in digital transformation...”
THOMAS: “And we're going to keep investing in the future. Just like we did in 2024 with our new office, training programs, or focus on new technologies — we're always looking ahead.”
CHRISTOPHE: “But the most important thing is our colleagues. When you see how our teams support each other and go that extra mile for customers, I'm convinced we're on the right track.”
