Bringing Hard Rock Cafe to Brussels

When Hard Rock Cafe wanted to open its first location in Brussels, the international group was looking for a reliable payroll partner for Belgium. The challenge, however, went far beyond payroll alone. The management team had to start up an entirely new location in a country whose labour law, salary structures and local market were largely unfamiliar to them.

Erik guided the conversations directly with the international decision-makers, including the COO and CHRO in the United Kingdom and the CFO in the United States. He translated the Belgian reality into understandable business language: from holiday pay and end-of-year bonuses to the specific salary and employment conditions within the hospitality sector. On that basis, he developed a commercially and operationally strong solution, which led Hard Rock Cafe to choose his proposal. During the start-up phase, it turned out that the local management team did not yet have a fixed base while the location was still under construction. To avoid delaying the project, Erik temporarily made office space available so the team could start operating immediately. When more than a hundred employees subsequently had to be recruited, he also helped organise the recruitment days. By thinking along strategically, a solution emerged that gave both the client and his own organisation extra visibility.

The Brussels location was launched successfully and the collaboration grew into much more than a classic payroll relationship. What started as a payroll project grew into a permanent role as sparring partner to the General Manager, on strategy, P&L, deploying people smartly and cost efficiency. The relationship with local management grew into a lasting bond of trust.