For your organisation
Looking for temporary support or a permanent operations colleague? We start with the assignment, the experience required and the people the professional will work with.
Explore sourcing & talent mappingFor you as a professional
Do you work in operations and are you open to your next step? This is a dedicated place to introduce your expertise, interests and preferred way of working.
More for candidatesOperational expertise across different roles.
We start with what the role involves. These are the areas of expertise we welcome conversations about; this is not a list of current vacancies.
Operations & leadership
Production leadership, plant management, operations management and temporary leadership responsibility.
Improvement & quality
Lean, operational excellence, quality management and structured process improvement.
Engineering & supply chain
Technical expertise, process engineering, planning and collaboration between production and logistics.
Does this sound familiar?
A useful profile describes what someone needs to take on in your organisation. Is the requirement daily operational direction, a change assignment or missing specialist knowledge? Which decisions belong to the role, and who will the person work with? We distinguish essential experience from preferences that may be less decisive.
The environment matters too. An SME with short decision-making lines may require a different way of working from an international organisation with several levels of consultation. Describing that context supports a more focused discussion of profiles and prevents a familiar job title from overshadowing the actual need.
- 01Assignment
- 02Expertise
- 03Organisation
The right expertise starts with the right question.
A job title does not always describe the experience an organisation needs. We discuss the operational challenge, responsibilities and working environment. This creates the basis for a focused profile and clear expectations.
From insight to action.
A network for temporary and permanent operational expertise
From production, quality and engineering leaders to Lean/OpEx specialists and (Master) Black Belts, Ronald draws on his network to address missing expertise. Together, we consider which experience fits your organisation and change challenge. Temporary and permanent roles are possible; scope, availability and terms are agreed beforehand.
Discuss experience through practical examples
We look beyond the name of a previous position. What responsibility did a person actually hold? In which circumstances did they work, how were people involved and how was change followed through? The discussion connects past experience with the situations relevant to your organisation.
Consider a general example: experience with a large improvement programme says little by itself about working in a small team with limited support. We therefore also discuss how someone sets priorities and uses available resources. Assessment relies on specific examples and clarifying questions, without assuming that success in one environment transfers automatically to another.
Agree the boundaries of support
We agree what support would be useful in finding or assessing expertise before starting. Availability, responsibilities and follow-up are discussed for each request. Choosing a candidate or a delivery partner remains a considered decision for your organisation.
A closer look at our approach.
Consider how the collaboration will begin
A suitable person needs a clear assignment and access to the right colleagues. We therefore discuss what your organisation should prepare: shared expectations, defined responsibilities and clarity about who makes decisions. This may reveal that a request for a person also contains an organisational question.
For finding, introducing or assessing expertise, we agree the precise division of responsibilities beforehand. You understand which support is being discussed and which decisions remain with your organisation. Availability and terms may vary with the situation. We do not promise a placement or an outcome before the need, profile and collaboration have been carefully considered.
Expertise that fits the assignment.
Ronald Schuermans combines more than 35 years of operations and supply chain experience with a practical approach to improvement and leadership.
Ronald Schuermans is the founder and your direct counterpart at Continuo Consulting. He has built more than 35 years of experience in operations, supply chain and general management, in employed and independent roles. Responsibility at plant, executive and COO level taught him both the strategic choices and their consequences on the shop floor.
He has also worked independently since 2012. His approach is practical: understand the situation, substantiate decisions and implement them with the organisation. Respect for people, ethical conduct and involvement guide that partnership. When a question needs additional expertise, Ronald can involve his professional network in a targeted way. Each person’s contribution and responsibility are clearly agreed beforehand.
Good to know before we start.
Is this the same as a complete recruitment service?
Not automatically. We discuss which help with defining the need, talent mapping or assessment fits your question. A wider search or selection role requires a separate agreement. You understand our contribution before work begins.
Do we already need a job profile?
No. We can start with the operational challenge and the missing expertise. If a profile already exists, we examine whether it describes the assignment and working environment clearly enough. That creates a basis for the next steps.
Who makes the final decision?
Your organisation decides on a candidate or collaboration. We can help deepen the questions and assess experience. Expectations, availability and terms also need to be discussed directly and carefully before a collaboration begins.
What do you mean by talent mapping?
Talent mapping helps investigate which kind of experience and expertise fits an operational question. We connect possible profiles with the assignment, working environment and responsibilities. It is a focused exploration that makes the discussion about people more concrete. We agree the exact search or outreach activities and our contribution beforehand; a mapping does not guarantee an available candidate.
Is sourcing only about permanent positions?
No. A need may concern temporary operational responsibility or specific expertise for a defined question. We first explore what your organisation is missing and which kind of contribution fits. We then discuss the possible form of collaboration and next steps. Terms and availability always need to be agreed directly with the parties involved.
How do we assess whether experience fits our context?
We discuss concrete situations from a person’s career: what responsibility they held, how they made choices and how the surrounding organisation contributed. We then connect that experience with your scale, team and challenge. A familiar job title or employer alone is insufficient to assess suitability for a different context.
What should we prepare before someone starts?
A clear mandate, shared expectations and access to the right people help at the start. We discuss who takes decisions, which operational priorities matter and how the collaboration will be reviewed. This also reveals whether the people question is connected to unclear organisational agreements. Further guidance requires a separate agreement.
Let’s discuss your challenge.
Tell us what your organisation is dealing with. Together, we can explore the support that fits.
Your next step starts with your story.
A CV provides an initial picture. It is just as important to understand the responsibility you are looking for, the environment in which you work well and what you want to contribute. A temporary assignment and a permanent role may each need a different approach.
Your profile
Describe your experience, expertise and the type of assignment or position you are open to.
Getting acquainted
Where there is a relevant connection, we discuss your expectations, availability and practical preferences.
A potential collaboration
We discuss specific opportunities personally. Registration does not guarantee an assignment; your details are not automatically shared with our network.
Tell us where you make a difference
Would you like to apply your operational experience in a new role? Share your profile and the collaboration you are looking for.
Already have a question about working together? Email Ronald