Robert Jan Hylkema
Region Apeldoorn, Gelderland, Overijsel, Zwolle
Specialist: Labor Conflicts, Interim Management
Role: Employment mediator, Coach, Director
My Mediation Style
With my background in management and organizational development, I help parties get to the heart of a problem quickly. I help bring both the business and the human side of a conflict to the surface. Clarity, structure and pragmatic solutions are essential, especially in complex situations. I work purposefully, but always with an eye for the people behind the conflict. My approach is personal, accessible and solution-oriented. I provide a safe environment where everyone is heard, without judgment. Sometimes as an employer or employee you just need a neutral, expert outsider to get the conversation going and move forward together. That is what I am there for.
About Me
Mmy experience and specializations are alabor conflicts, business conflicts, cooperation within teams, manager-employee relations and absenteeism guidance (Wet verbetering Poortwachter). I work for companies as well as government agencies, healthcare and educational institutions and NGOsand conduct mediations in Dutch and English.
I have worked at small companies, start-ups, large corporations and semi-governmental organizations. In various management roles, both in the Netherlands and the US, I have always been looking for clarification, understanding and clarity. I haven't always found it, but precisely because of this I have come to appreciate collaboration and management more and more - with all the challenges that come with it.
That collaboration, that need for clarification, and the deepening of views into underlying interests, eventually brought me to the profession of mediation and coaching.
Since early 2025, I have co-owned, directed and mediated with Marjanne at Van Opstal & Partners. My great drive is to guide escalated conflicts to sustainable solutions - so that parties can look forward again - as well as to make people and organizations more conflict-ready.
Favorite Mediation Quote
Mediation is not a judgment, but a meeting - in which even conflict can take on meaning.
Proud of
Pride, I think, is a tricky word. Within mediation, it is ultimately the parties themselves who do the work. If it succeeds that they can really hear each other, grant each other something - even if that means the future is not together - then I am especially happy for them. And maybe, quite honestly, also a little proud.
What parties say about me
Parties feedback that they feel safe with my style. I keep direction and ensure progress, by carefully and attentively bringing the underlying interests to the surface.
Funniest questions I get asked as a mediator
"As a mediator, shouldn't you be especially empathetic?"
I sometimes get that question with raised eyebrows. My answer: empathetic? Sure. But it is a verb. Not just feeling, but doing - by providing structure, keeping calm and getting in focus what really needs to be said.
