VRT responds to anonymous letter about “toxic leadership”: “One-sided version of the facts”

After an eventful session of the Media Committee in the Flemish Parliament, the VRT has responded in writing to the anonymous letter from three (former) employees, who accuse a head of the Young Editorial Team at VRT NWS of “toxic leadership, transgressive behavior, favoritism and bullying behaviour”. According to the public broadcaster, this is “a one-sided version of the facts”.

Shortly after the end of the committee meeting, the VRT acknowledged that “at the beginning of this year, reports were made via formal and informal channels about a welfare problem within a department of VRT NWS. As soon as these reports were received, action was taken and an independent internal investigation was conducted by the VRT Welfare department. 88 percent of the employees involved responded to a request to speak to the Welfare Department about this.”

According to the VRT, this concerns, among other things, feedback culture and disconnection. “No inappropriate behavior or toxic leadership has been identified.”

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“Based on the research, a step-by-step plan has been developed that includes various recommendations,” it said. For example, efforts in leadership and coaching for the management of VRT NWS Jong have been intensified. One employee was also placed in another position as part of this process and is being further coached by the Welfare department. “Clear agreements were made about the future follow-up of welfare reports”. And there would also be clear agreements in the making about the right to disconnect, the VRT said in a response.

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“That plan is currently being implemented. The Welfare Department and the editorial staff have handled this matter calmly in recent weeks out of respect for everyone involved. The editorial team maintains confidence in the editorial staff involved and the editorial director. Our first concern is for these colleagues.”

“We regret that a number of people who do not agree with the conclusions of the report have put forward a one-sided version of the facts. Precisely because we are concerned about the well-being of all employees involved, we will not communicate about this externally. If you have any further questions about this, please contact the Welfare, HR or editorial staff,” the VRT said.

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