Scaling up for the annual summer peak is routine for the ANWB Emergency Centre. The permanent staff of 450 emergency responders is more than doubled with an additional 700 peak-season employees. But since the coronavirus pandemic, even the ANWB has found it increasingly difficult to recruit those additional 700 temporary staff. With an eye to the future, the ANWB opted for a combination of measures, including offshoring to Suriname.   

 

The pressure on the labor market will only increase, predicts Victor Geskes, director of the ANWB Emergency Centre. “Consider the growing need for healthcare and, more recently, defense as well. The 15- to 25-year-old demographic is much smaller than before, and that's what we'll have to draw on in the future. In short, to guarantee service to our members in the future, we've been looking for other solutions, including outsourcing.” Outsourcing isn't something the ANWB Emergency Centre is accustomed to, although the Lyon support centre does collaborate with a partner in the form of a joint venture.

"We started by talking to various players in the market: how are you handling this? Discussions have also started within our organization. We considered expanding the model we use at the support center in Lyon and wanted to find a partner who can handle a downturn when we're at our peak. But that proved difficult, both internally and externally. After that, we looked at foreign partners in Morocco, Spain, Suriname, and South Africa."

In that search, the experiences of other A-brands with Suriname proved decisive, according to Geskes.

Visiting various BPOs

In October 2022, we concluded that Suriname needed to be investigated, says Fenny in 't Veld, operational manager of the ANWB Emergency Centre in Assen. This location primarily handles breakdown reports from within the country. In 't Veld: “We spent a considerable amount of time conducting a thorough preliminary investigation and involved all internal stakeholders in drafting a request for proposals. This was sent out to several companies in November 2022. After that request, our longlist of six companies was narrowed down to a shortlist of three, and we went to Suriname. In a week and a half, we visited the three major players on our shortlist and several smaller companies.”

Combination of strategic measures

The decision to choose a Surinamese BPO service provider isn't an isolated incident. It's part of a series of measures to overhaul capacity planning.

Geskes explains: "On average, we receive around three to four thousand requests for assistance in the Netherlands every day. With additional training, the staff who process domestic requests are perfectly capable of handling international requests as well. Therefore, we've chosen to have our internal staff primarily handle international requests during peak periods. We're addressing the shortage of domestic assistance capacity with a combination of additional investments in digitization and automation, and additional capacity in Suriname."

70 percent start in the app or online

Digitization is therefore a key pillar of the ANWB Emergency Center's capacity plans. Geskes: "When I started here ten years ago, 100 percent of assistance began by phone; now, 70 percent starts in the app or online. Half of them are routed entirely through the app—without employee involvement—to the roadside assistance vehicle, from where the assistance is provided. Furthermore, we didn't want to become dependent on a single provider. That's why we want to handle a maximum of a quarter of domestic assistance requests in Suriname."

Other sourcing solutions were also considered

Other alternative solutions have all been checked off, including Southern Europe with and without digital nomads and working from home. "We know from our support centers what the possibilities are in places like Barcelona, ​​but we couldn't organize everything to meet the demand. Even with better locations. We've somewhat backed off working from home. Employees can still work from home partially, but in practice, we see that employees actually prefer being in the office. It also allows them to quickly exchange information," says Geskes.

Back to partner selection. After company visits in Suriname and presentations in The Hague, Geskes's team made a selection. They paid particular attention to how companies view partnerships, Geskes explains. "We don't want to change partners after a year; we aim for a long-term relationship."

In 't Veld adds: "Of course, we also looked at quality, as well as things like local employment conditions, career opportunities, and corporate social responsibility policies. Is the company a good fit for ANWB?"

ANWB Alarm Center, Concentrix Paramaribo – photo ANWB

Choices in offshoring – In Suriname, you can pay €1,80 per hour, or €3,50 per hour. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) was discussed extensively internally before the ANWB chose Suriname, Geskes explains.

We don't want to sit on the front lines for nothing; on the contrary, this is a strategic move for the Dutch labor market. We don't want to take any risks in that regard, not even in terms of public perception. Within the support services business unit, we went through an intensive preliminary process and paid a lot of attention to building support, the why, and the how. If there was any resistance, it initially came from IT regarding security. We had to spend a considerable amount of time explaining the choice for shielded workstations, ANWB laptops, and VPNs—which I had anticipated differently, because we already work internationally with our support centers. Suriname was different in that respect—for example, outside the EU.

The final choice was Concentrix. "The decisive factor was their vision of partnership and their explicit request for the involvement of our trainers – instead of simply saying, 'Give us all your training materials and we'll be fine.' That request for help instilled confidence: we're going to do it together," says In 't Veld. And Concentrix scored remarkably well in terms of turnover – which speaks volumes about how people feel at work, according to Geskes.

Cost advantage is relative

"Price wasn't a factor," Geskes emphasizes. "And no, it wasn't going to be cheaper automatically. If you factor that in, it's not that bad. We invest a lot in time and attention, and in face-to-face contact. Our managers, trainers, and HR staff regularly travel to Paramaribo to set up the operation together, but also to provide training and education. This isn't just about the initial start-up; we do this systematically. We believe this is the critical success factor for us: a high level of presence and intensive collaboration."

While the move to Suriname may have been a rational decision, the beginning of the process was quite nerve-wracking, says In 't Veld. "We launched on a small scale in the spring of 2023 after a lengthy preparation period with a pilot project of about 25 employees. That pilot project ran until the end of September. It was a fairly busy and warm summer. However, the team was able to scale up and down easily based on the weather conditions in the Netherlands."

Starting up during the peak period: the first experiences

During the pilot period, customer satisfaction turned out to be slightly lower than that achieved in Assen. This wasn't a major issue for the ANWB, but the cause was investigated. "It was a matter of comprehensibility, language, and culture. What is the A1, what is an exit, or a kilometer marker," says Geskes. In 't Veld adds: "We had all covered these things in the training beforehand, but apparently, they needed extra attention. The vocabulary has also been significantly expanded." Additional attention was also needed to effectively deliver "bad news" to ANWB members – such as "unfortunately, you are not entitled to alternative transportation."

Digitalization makes the biggest difference

More than seventy Concentrix employees now work on the ANWB Alarm Center account. Within the ANWB, Geskes can demonstrate that Concentrix Suriname delivers what was promised.

In addition, capacity is being used at support centers in Lyon and Barcelona to handle domestic requests for assistance. The Member Service Center also helps during peak periods, according to Geskes, but digitalization has made the biggest difference in the new mix. "And there's still a lot to be gained there." In short, a combination of measures has resulted in the decimation of 700 staff members for the peak period.

Customer contact volumes in the future

This raises questions about the future workload. "We're fully committed to AI within ANWB, but the human factor will always remain a differentiator in our services. However, that human factor isn't always necessary everywhere. If you're in a hospital abroad and need to provide the name of the attending physician, that can easily be done via AI or a digital solution, although you'll also be in regular contact with our staff," Geskes explains.

Will real-time speech translation bring about change? Geskes is familiar with the examples of TUI and Transcom. Having non-Dutch-speaking employees handle the intake of emergency services is not something Geskes sees happening at the ANWB (Royal Dutch Touring Club). He does, however, see opportunities to use real-time speech translation in the organization of international emergency services themselves, such as having an ANWB employee call a local garage in France about the status of a specific repair. The association is conducting pilot projects in this area, but the use of voicebots is "not a priority at the moment."

Stable team, little outflow

In 't Veld: “We've been working together for two years now since we started and have built a good working relationship with Concentrix. Good preparation is absolutely essential. We now have a stable team with extensive ANWB knowledge, with few staff turnovers. There's tremendous drive and commitment, and employees are very service-oriented. In Suriname, the first colleagues start work as early as three in the morning. After their workday, they often attend training courses.”

All things considered, the move to Suriname hasn't caused any sleepless nights at the ANWB. "We're used to quite a bit here at the Emergency Center," says Geskes. "I'm glad things are going well. My advice to organizations considering a similar move: don't go to Suriname for the money, but focus on a partnership in which you continuously invest. Don't underestimate the latter."

(Ziptone/Erik Bouwer)

Case, Featured, Human Resources