At the start of 2025, we spoke to the management team of Harmony Business Consultancy: Maarten Bruyneel, Thomas Standaert and Christophe Vanhorenbeeck. With a nomination for the Trends Gazelles and a consistent growth rate under their belt, they can look back on a successful period. How did they experience the past year themselves, and where do they stand at the start of 2025?
Steps forward in 2024
HARMONY: Looking back on 2024, what do you see as the most important milestones for the Business Consultancy division?
CHRISTOPHE: "For me, the most important thing is that we were able to grow our collaboration with just about all our existing clients. If a client keeps working with you for more than ten years, you must be doing something right." (laughs)
THOMAS: "True! And with new clients such as Acerta, ALD Automotive and Aquafin, I also notice that we were able to build a relationship of trust very quickly. That says a lot about our approach."
HARMONY: Happy new clients, that's good news too, of course!
MAARTEN: (enthusiastically) "Indeed. We've achieved a really good diversification in our client portfolio. Alongside our strong historical footprint in Banking and Insurance, we are now active across a wider range of other sectors. That was one of our goals, not only to strengthen our market position, but also to attract a broader range of talent."
HARMONY: You also opened a new office on the outskirts of Brussels. What was the thinking behind that?
MAARTEN: "We felt that step was coming, and it fits perfectly with our view on connectivity. We want to be close to our clients, and also offer an attractive workplace for our people. We already have a fine location in Hasselt, which is where we have our historical roots, but we want to be within easy reach for colleagues from all the different regions of the country."
THOMAS: (adds) "It's also about the future. We already have a lot of clients in the Brussels region, and we still see plenty of opportunities for further growth there. With the new office, we have a strong base for the years ahead."
HARMONY: It was also a year with its share of challenges in the market. How did you experience that?
CHRISTOPHE: "As I see it, it was a two-speed year in the market. On the one hand you felt the need to keep costs under control; on the other, companies also needed to keep investing in digitalisation, a better customer experience and more efficient systems and processes."
HARMONY: Did that call for a particular approach?
MAARTEN: "Above all, we consciously kept our focus on our relationships with clients and kept investing in our people. Internally, for example, we put even more into training and development. The progress we made with our Harmony School platform was a good example of that."
HARMONY: With results?
THOMAS: "What I see is that clients appreciate our approach. Not long ago I heard from a client: 'When 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! In the end, I think you can conclude that 2024 did bring some challenges, but that as an organisation we managed to get through them well. We ended 2024 with a strong base for further growth in 2025."
A culture of continuous development
HARMONY: Harmony School came up a moment ago. Can you tell us more about training at Harmony?
THOMAS: "First of all, we have what we call the 'Harmony Fundamentals': a base of skills that we believe every consultant needs to be able to make an impact."
CHRISTOPHE: "We review those fundamentals every year and adjust them based on what we see in the market. Recently, for example, we added data analytics for business consultants, and AI is on the agenda too."
HARMONY: A look at the training programme tells me it goes further than theoretical models and approaches.
MAARTEN: "That's right. We have communities of practice around specific topics such as Agile and project management. People get together every month to share experiences and learn from each other. That creates a culture of continuous development."
HARMONY: You clearly attach a lot of value to that company culture. How do you keep it as you grow?
THOMAS: "We used to talk about a family feeling now and then, but that label doesn't quite cover it either. I think we simply have a very open and authentic culture. People can come to us, and to each other, with questions or problems. Everything can be talked about."
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 people enjoy being at the company. That is really what Harmony still stands for. We measure satisfaction regularly, but the informal moments and the spontaneous conversations are at least as important."
MAARTEN: "We keep challenging our colleagues to discover the best in themselves and push them in that, but we also want people to be able to be themselves and grow at their own pace. When you see how Henri and Koen built that, it gives us a lot of inspiration for how we want to carry that culture forward."
Looking ahead to 2025
HARMONY: In 2024 the new leadership team at Harmony Consultancy took further shape. How do you see that leadership in 2025?
MAARTEN: "We believe strongly in a mentoring role and in positive leadership. Leadership here doesn't sit only with the management team. We want it to develop throughout the whole organisation."
THOMAS: "Entrepreneurship is one of Harmony's four values, so even when someone starts with us as a Young Graduate, we want them to show leadership and initiative. That often comes naturally to our people, but we also regularly try to make them more aware of it."
CHRISTOPHE: "We actually co-create a lot with the team too. Of course we set out the lines as a management team, but we actively involve other people in setting goals and deciding how we want to reach them. That creates much more support and energy."
HARMONY: Let's look ahead to the rest of 2025. When it comes to digital change, there's no escaping AI and new technologies at the moment. How do you see that?
CHRISTOPHE: "We certainly see AI as a strategic priority, but at the same time we are very pragmatic about it. We approach it from two angles: how can we use it to make our own people more productive, and how can we advise our clients on the value it adds?"
HARMONY: Are you already seeing practical examples of that in the market?
THOMAS: "Over the past year we already had several projects where AI plays a role, for example in fraud detection and document processing. But it remains a means, not an end in itself."
MAARTEN: "We always keep our finger on the pulse. You see consolidation onto platforms, new solutions for clients... It's up to us to stay on top of that and bring our colleagues along."
HARMONY: What are the main priorities for Harmony Business Consultancy in 2025?
MAARTEN: "We will keep building on three clear pillars. First, we want to further strengthen our brand in the market as a trusted partner in digital transformation. Second, we will keep investing in our people-centred culture. And third, we are expanding our expertise further to stay relevant to our clients."
THOMAS: "Combining advisory and hands-on roles at clients is crucial. We see that clients increasingly need partners who combine advice with implementation skills. We have a great deal of expertise in-house here; that knowledge is there for the taking, so to speak."
HARMONY: So there are certainly opportunities for further growth.
CHRISTOPHE: "Indeed. We've already come a long way in recent years. Our nomination for the Trends Gazelles as one of the 250 fastest-growing companies in our region is proof of that. Our goal is to keep up that sustainable growth of around 20% a year. Attracting the right talent and keeping our strong culture will play a crucial role."
HARMONY: That sounds healthily ambitious. What gives you the confidence that you'll succeed?
MAARTEN: (smiling) "The foundation we've laid is strong. Our diverse client portfolio, our close-knit team, our expertise in digital transformation..."
THOMAS: "And we will keep investing in the future. Just as we did in 2024 with our new office, our training programmes and our 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 the extra mile for clients, I'm convinced we're on the right track."
