"As a data-driven organisation, we know how valuable data is. It allows us to help customers better, predict glitches and sometimes even prevent them. Recently, we've started using data to improve our own performance," says Robin Kroes, Executive Director Strategy, Insights & Integration. Colleagues who are aware of their data are seeing improvements, which they can then put into practice. For us, this is the ultimate step in the digitisation of VodafoneZiggo: not only a digital solution for our customers, but also for our own development."
Insight on a silver platter
"We're making data as accessible as possible," Kroes says. "For example, feedback from our customers and colleagues, or information we put in our diary. Tools developed by our data analysts create an overview from the thousands of data points and provide insights on a silver platter. These include practical tips on how to increase your own effectiveness, or tools like a chatbot to help our service staff answer customer questions as precisely as possible."
Closer focus on the customer
"Thanks to these tools, account managers find out which messages our customers find of most use, and they can then respond to this information in future conversations with customers," says Kroes. "We now share all kinds of market research with the relevant colleagues more quickly, and in a more targeted manner, so that they can introduce better products. But it could also be a weekly report on how someone spends their time, or on the points for improvement the person receives for customer-friendliness."
Appropriate advice
"For the business market, we've developed a special tool based on knowledge from our data: the Business Scan", Kroes continues. "The customer answers a few questions online about his/her business and the scan immediately tells him/her which ICT systems are best suited to his/her circumstances. In this way, he/she receives tailor-made advice, whenever he/she wants it.
From feel to facts
He gives another practical example: "A technician logging in the morning can immediately see an analysis of, for instance, how many customers they helped the previous day, how much time they spent with them, and how satisfied these customers were. The technician can then modify their current behaviour accordingly, so that their satisfaction rating increases. Sometimes technicians also get information, thanks to smart algorithms, about damaged cables in the neighbourhood where they're heading out to on a particular day, and they might then even be able to quickly fix such issues between visits. This has led to a reduction in faults."
Agenda analysis
Every week, office workers receive a report with an analysis of their schedule: about how many meetings they have, and with whom, for example; or about how much time they spend focused on their work. "Thanks to these insights, we no longer determine how we do our work by gut feeling, because everyone at VodafoneZiggo already has this information," says Kroes.
Strong leadership
After insight comes action. When they saw the report of how they allocated their time, Kroes himself started working differently. "I was spending 95 per cent of my time in meetings, with about two hundred of our 7,500 colleagues. Now I schedule more focus time for myself and look for ways to keep in touch with all of our employees."
The power of improvement
The next step is the exchange of data. "We're encouraging everyone to share their results, because colleagues who see what others do better learn from each other, particularly if this takes place in a safe space", Kroes says. "This works from a psychological point of view: we all want to score well, but we also want to learn. For example, if you see that your colleague is managing to schedule enough focus time, you can ask them for tips. In this way, all of our staff can move forward and we can become a little better at what we do. Driven by data, we continue to develop."
As Executive Director Strategy, Insights & Integration, Robin Kroes is defining VodafoneZiggo's digital transformation and is responsible for strategy within the board.