Scount, you want to improve the accessibility of your organization for customers and find out that there is still some catching up to do in terms of planning. What steps are you taking? Belvilla gave a presentation during the 10^e PlanMen Workforce Management congress decision.

Belvilla is the type of organization that wanted to make some changes last year. The tour operator underwent a planning transition with the aim of better meeting customer demand. No longer the supply, but the demand determines the structure of the organization. By working demand-oriented, employees focus on what is coming in in terms of work instead of what is available in terms of 'assets'. Belvilla's mission and vision – offering customers a carefree holiday and guaranteeing accessibility 24 hours a day – serve as the basis for this.

About 13 percent of the holiday homes in the Belvilla range are booked through the contact center, the rest through the Belvilla app. That 13 percent still equates to 300.000 inbound customer contact moments per year. The customer clearly has confidence in the service provided, as evidenced by an overall customer satisfaction of 8,4 and a Customer Effort Score of 6,7. Customers were less enthusiastic about accessibility: a 5,7. There was much to improve. But what choices do you make? Tijn Mahieu, Manager Customer Service at Belvilla, presents his case study.

"Do not disturb"

'Every hero has a beginning'. This also applies to Belvilla's planning department. Before it was decided that drastic changes were needed, managing the workforce at Belvilla was a solitary affair. From a miniscule cubicle with 'DO NOT DISTURB' written on the door in large letters, only one employee was responsible for the planning.

The situation is different now: a WFM tool has been purchased, two extra planners have been hired and the help of PlanMen has been deployed. The aim was to take Belvilla to a higher level WFM maturity level to bring. A basic functioning WFM circle has been developed for this purpose, the WFM tool is operational and the two new workforce managers have been prepared to become rock-solid 'planimals'.

The same rules apply to all employees. The new planning method requires the organization to use a new X-4 schedule. In addition, each employee knows four weeks in advance when he has to work. Adjusting the contract hours once remains possible. In addition, the WFM tool provides an exchange module, so that employees can easily exchange services with each other. An important approach of Belvilla is to involve the employees. A theme that was often discussed during the conference and which was the common thread in Jan van Setten's plenary presentation.

Let's roll

The preliminary phase of the planning transition started in September 2017, the implementation in December of that year. After approval by the Works Council, a sounding board group of employees was put together that provided input for every step in the transition process. Team managers were given a different role, which required explanation, both individually and in groups. And for questions about the new planning method, a consultation hour with a WFM specialist was set up. After about six months, the organization started working with the new planning strategy on February 19. “Quite a quick rollout,” says Tijn.

What went well, what could be better?

Tijn emphasizes that an audit – in this case by PlanMen – is leading at the start of a planning transition. An external party who watches along creates clarity, provides direction and, moreover, knows how to convince you to professionalise. Nevertheless, there were a few challenges for Belvilla. For example, the exchange module did not get off the ground and the preferred roster was quickly seen by the employee as a 'guarantee roster', in which the employee assumed that preferences would be guaranteed.
Tijn gives a number of concrete tips that other organizations can use as tools:

• Make a step-by-step plan, don't apply it rigidly, stay flexible with changes.
• Don't fall into the fear of change. Date is leading. If you demonstrate with data that this has added value for the organization, you will get employees on board.
• Communicate frequently the purpose and necessity of the strategy.
• Visualize and share the results – even if they are disappointing.
• Provide 'photo opportunities': where were you three months ago?

KTV of 8,9

A different planning strategy ultimately resulted in a customer satisfaction rating of 2018 for Belvilla in March 8,9. In order to guarantee accessibility during opening hours, Belvilla had to shorten the opening hours by one hour.

“How satisfied are your employees actually?”, was the question from the audience. A justified question, because not only customer demand, but – with the increasing tightness on the labor market – also the wishes of the employee are of increasing importance. Tijn does not have a clear answer. But: “We hardly had to break into the scheduling of employees. I estimate that the employee is satisfied all in all.”

Recognition

In more than 30 presentations, the congress gave a cross-section of the maturity of current Workforce Management in the Netherlands. It has been ten years since PlanMen drew attention to workforce management with its first conference. At the time a new concept, now an adult term. Not only the presentation of Belvilla evoked much acknowledgment and recognition of existing problems among the public. Although a lot has been professionalized in a decade, there was still so much to improve, was the general tenor.

Case, Customer Experience PlanMen, Vlirdens