Laurens approaches societal and organisational challenges around work, talent, and technology from a different perspective. Since 2011, he has been active in participation, innovation, and change programmes across a wide range of sectors, consistently connecting people, organisations, and systems.
He gained extensive experience as a consultant at the innovation and organisational consultancy firm Alares (2004–2014) and as founder of the job carving platform Part-up (2014–2021). Since 2022, Laurens has been active as Chief Evangelist at 8vance, where he supports organisations in applying AI in a human-centred and responsible way for recruitment, internal mobility, and sustainable employability.
Experience
As a speaker, facilitator, and advisor, Laurens is involved in complex transformations where multiple interests converge. He supports organisations in redesigning work, connecting talent across departments and sectors, and applying AI as an accelerator of human potential. His strength lies in combining substantive depth with energy, interaction, and clear, practical perspectives for action.
Laurens works for and with organisations such as a.s.r., UMCG, Rijkswaterstaat, UWV, Heineken, various ministries, large municipalities, and healthcare and educational institutions. In these assignments, he moves effortlessly between the boardroom, HR teams, and the workplace.
With his broad experience across healthcare, wellbeing, government, education, and business, he creates cross-sector connections and opens up new perspectives. Always with the aim of creating movement and impact, not only in thinking, but especially in doing.
Research
- Research into the mobility of HR professionals: in practice, HR professionals are not very mobile. Do HR professionals invest enough in their own learning and development? (Jun, 2023)
- Research on algorithms: fear of algorithms actually creates opportunities for innovation (Jan, 2023)
- The 10 most common mistakes in mission-driven working (Aug, 2019)
- Recommended reading: research report Swarming Talent – A benchmark of innovative ways of organising across different sectors (Oct, 2018)
- Four reasons to start working with self-organising temporary teams (Nov, 2016)
Publications
- Should we pause AI development for 6 months? (Mar, 2023)
- Fear of algorithms creates opportunities for innovation (EW, Jan, 2023)
- 2023: Transforming by letting go and embracing not knowing (Dec, 2022)
- Flexibilise the labour market by organising around talent instead of time – interview with Laurens Waling by Judith Tielen (Dec, 2020)
- Organising temporary exchanges between companies during the Corona crisis (Apr, 2020)
- The 10 most common mistakes in mission-driven working (Aug, 2019)
- Platformisation should not be restricted but strengthened (Dec, 2018)
- Reading tip: research report Swarming Talent – A benchmark of innovative ways of organising across different sectors (Oct, 2018)
- Four reasons to start working with self-organising temporary teams (Nov, 2016)
- Part-up goes for a new way of working together (Jan, 2016)
- Part-up is more than a Tinder for teams (Dec, 2015)
- Start the dialogue, Lucide volume 4, page 13 (2015) – According to Laurens Waling, healthcare organisations should open their data sets to healthcare consumers sooner rather than later
- Projects are far more interesting than jobs (Feb, 2015)
- Organising in the participation society – trust as a guiding principle (Dec, 2014)
- Internet telephony taking over the old telephone system (2013)