Interview Nicole van den Heuvel about the power of change

According to Nicole, this underestimation is mainly due to the comprehensiveness of such a transformation. “Suppose the management decides that the organization needs to become more digital and they then only work with the technology, for example. Or they teach their employees to work agile and only do so with part of the organization. But you can only achieve lasting change if you involve three axes: people, processes and resources. Usually when it comes to change, people only focus on one of these axes and that is not enough to succeed.” In Dialog Group she recognizes an organization that focuses on more than just technology (and therefore resources). “They also view the world from people and processes. A good example is a recent online event of theirs, The Future of Customer Interaction. Among other things, it was about how important it is to involve the customer in digital transformation. Instead of just looking at digital KPIs.”

In my opinion, changing to a customer-oriented organization is severely underestimated

'We want to put the customer first'. Countless organizations say it and most undoubtedly want it. But in any case, practical objections stand in the way between dream and action. Also thinks Nicole van den Heuvel, formerly Customer Experience Manager at VodafoneZiggo. “Becoming a customer-oriented organization is truly a transformation of your company. It requires the power to change. Too often I see that organizations think they just do that on the side. In my opinion, however, changing to a customer-oriented organization is severely underestimated.”

Playground for change

Nicole regards her period at VodafoneZiggo as a 'playground for change'. As a CX Manager, she experienced that putting 'the customer first' is not something you can leave to a project group, but that it must be an integral part of an organization's strategy. And yes, you need willingness for that at the top of your company. “I have also noticed a difference. One director really wanted to make a distinction in the field of customer service. The other actually thought turnover and costs were more important than customers. The latter will undoubtedly be recognizable for many organizations. Then it requires flexibility and persuasiveness to demonstrate that a better customer experience has everything to do with turnover and costs. So it's not about either costs or customer experience, it's both-and, where relevance for every manager/department is crucial.”

The Dutch market vs. Europe

Nicole also sees quite a few differences between the Dutch market and that of other countries. ''When I look at the Netherlands within the world, we are absolutely at the forefront. That is also related to urgency. Due to the favorable business climate and a population with an average level of education and available resources, competition is fierce. So you always have to keep running for the ball. In addition, the Netherlands is an ideal environment to try innovations, which are then rolled out in larger countries such as the UK, France and Germany. If we compare ourselves with Germany and France, we see that we can show much more decisiveness through our culture and employee training. Management can and dares to give confidence in its employees. After all, change doesn't just happen in the boardroom.”
Customer needs also differ per country, Nicole indicates. "The Dutch mainly focus on convenience, more than in other countries." Nicole does indicate that changes in the Netherlands are quite slow. Consider, for example, the implementation of chat for Customer Service. ''We already talked about this 6 years ago and now organizations are labeling this as a revolutionary organization. And consider, for example, working from home for Customer Service and office staff. In my experience, we had been doing this for at least 10 years. But when I see the enormous growth of working from home last year, we were really moving away from the classic model. Then you see how quickly changes can happen when there is an urgency. Everything becomes fluid under pressure.”

Stay with yourself

“Nicole now works as a Value Delivery Manager at VANAD Engage. With a CX model she developed, she helps organizations transform towards customer focus. She would like to share practical first steps, because how do you approach that transformation, how do you create the power to change? “It really starts with getting a clear picture of who you are as an organization. What is your right to exist, what sets you apart from the rest? A pitfall is that you start to emulate a well-known existing company. For years I have heard Coolblue mentioned as a shining example. A great organization, of course, but don't copy them. Stay with yourself. After you have done this, map out your customer. Who is your customer actually and what are his needs? Finally, you add your strategic plans. Only when all this is clear will you actually start working with your people, processes and resources.”

''For me, Dialog Group is the club that understands that customer service is part of the digital transformation. That there is always a connection between people, processes and technology. Only then can you make digital interaction easy. Easy for the customer and for internal users. It becomes easy if it is relevant and valuable to people.”

The rate for 2021

According to Nicole, 2021 is really the year of digital transformation. But in combination with customer service or digital omnichannel transformation. ''If you don't have your website, delivery and customer service in order, you have a serious problem. Business Intelligence is crucial, because where and why does it go wrong.'' That is the second focus for 2021. Continue to invest in Business Intelligence where you also look ahead and predict instead of just analyzing what has happened to us. And the third focus is relevance. Why is the customer and therefore customer experience relevant to your job? ''There was a commercial on the radio at a time that asked the question: ''Did you earn your salary today? In fact, everyone should ask themselves the question: Have I earned our customers' money today? Your customers are not a cost center. So service (and for me this also includes sales, which is after all a form of service) is a value and not a cost center.

* The translations on this website are provided by G-Translate from Dutch