'Change' wants to do things completely differently – that is the claim that the three founders of the launching their business already entered the market. Change is a new facility contact center with a new business model and new working methods. Ziptone spoke with Jasper Klootwijk, director of strategy and one of the three initiators of Change.

Change does not want to work on the basis of the hour model that is customary in outsourcing customer contact. Part of the new business model is that the company wants to be rewarded for the change that has been made. That change could be anything, explains Klootwijk upon request to Ziptone. “We are going to work with contact reduction at our first customer. The model of outsourcing combined with the implementation of improvements based on consultancy has of course been around for some time. But as long as the service provider benefits from working more hours, it often remains with good plans. That's frustrating for both sides. We are convinced that we have to take small steps. We will initially take over part of the operation. We do this on a cost basis, meanwhile we conduct research: what can be done differently and better through technology and process change? Our first client, who also outsources to three other service providers, offers the average cost price as a rate. We deduct 10 percent from this as a reserve for investments in analysis and process improvement.”

Get out of the red ocean

Working below cost, that sounds like a new step in the race to the bottom. Klootwijk responds: “We absolutely do not want to participate in that. That race has already stopped a bit anyway because the remuneration of customer contact employees has risen in many places. We will pay a minimum of 12,50 euros (including holiday pay, ed.). Our concept stands and falls with employees, who must also have an analytical sense. They are expected to spend part of their time participating in analyzes and process improvement. That is part of our method. We have therefore opted for an attractive location, an office on Weena in Rotterdam, and we want to offer employees the prospect of continuing to grow from a part-time job, acquiring skills and using them in other projects. Change also provides consultancy, so employees can also grow towards that.”

Tailor-made agreements about the revenue model

Klootwijk is now investigating various business cases at Change's first client and hopes to start training in March and go live in April. By that time, tailor-made agreements will have been made with the client about the 'gains' associated with the realization of improvements. Analyzing opportunities for improvement and making business cases requires openness from both sides. “This model is based on mutual trust,” says Klootwijk. “In any case, the concept is catching on; we also recently won a second client for us.”

Finding employees

In April, Change wants to have about 45 to 50 employees at work. Where does Change want to get it from? Klootwijk hopes to be able to draw on the network of another company he set up a number of years ago, Noether & Partners, active in medical-administrative services. “We also see enthusiastic reactions to our message that employees have a role to play in the improvement process. But,” he admits, “it finding employees definitely not going to be easy.”

The new company is not the only one of its kind. Also other (niche) players, such as Outliers, Engage or ContactCare claim to be committed to process improvement and value creation. Klootwijk, who has a solid track record in customer contact, would like to stay away from discussions about positioning and benchmarking. “The latter has given me many gray hairs so far. If we talk about allocating more business within a outsourcing construction with multiple service providers, then it would not be about the hours, but about the business cases. Of course you can ask again in a year how things are going,” says Klootwijk. “Now some modesty is in order.”

Also working with consultancy and technology

The Change team wants to focus on customer experience instead of customer care. “We still see many opportunities there, for example in the area of ​​optimizing software use within customer experience. Not every organization gets the most out of applications. We want to make a difference by observing what is happening in our workplace and then acting accordingly. Many contact center managers encounter the fact that the internal IT organization mainly understands the primary process of IT, but not about customer care. We are also expressly seeking cooperation with software providers and are now in talks with several parties.” (Ziptone/Erik Bouwer)

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