INTERVIEW: Make your business case about being different, not just about giving more

Highlight speaker interview

This written interview was conducted with one of our highlight speakers in the run-up to Total Rewards Reloaded Europe 2025.

Keytopics

Why “freedom within a frame” boosts engagement without adding cost

How to make a differentiated business case for rewards, not just “pay more”

Overcoming union/works council skepticism with transparency and persistence

Implementing choice-based rewards: clear guardrails, IT readiness, and simple comms

What’s next: sustainable benefits (health & commute) and phased rollout toward 2026

Interview with

Swen Laarveld

Head of Reward

The Company

Schiphol

Royal Schiphol Group is an airport company, owner, co-owner and partner in several Dutch and international airports. Our main airport is Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. It is the third largest airport in Europe, measured by the numbers of passengers and cargo. Schiphol as a company offers employement to more than 4000 employees and next to that to over 75.000 employees on the airfield and it's surroundings, who are guided by our 5 core values – to be reliable, efficient, hospitable, inspiring and sustainable. These values help us realise our ambitions to be Europe's Preferred Airport and the most sustainable hub airport in the world. The magic of working at the airport is evident everywhere – whether you work in operations, at the head office or as a contractor. The complex, dynamic and diverse activities at the airport and in its job roles makes Royal Schiphol Group an ideal career hub for me.