Anyone who has been working in the customer contact domain for some time will think of 'Callflex' when they think of Randstad. But lately it's been a bit quiet around that 'brand'. However, the HR service provider remains active in the contact center market. Ziptone spoke with Mark Niesink and Carianne Dijk about Callflex, about the way the field is developing and about the future of the agent profession.

 

We'll start at the beginning: why is Randstad Callflex now called Randstad Customer Contact?
“Randstad Callflex has never gone away,” says Mark Niesink, director of Randstad Customer Contact. “The name change has to do with the fact that Randstad serves many large organizations across the board. This always happened from the Corporate Services team, which organizes itself as much as possible around the large office locations. But the biggest question, especially from players in the business services sector – banks, insurers, telecom – concerns customer contact employees.”

"Callflex also no longer fully covered the load," says Carianne Dijk, senior operational manager Randstad Customer Contact. “Customer contact is much more than just calls and our services have also become broader. We do more than 'flex'. Randstad Customer Contact mediates in permanent and temporary jobs within customer contact; We have more than 5000 talents working every day for more than 300 clients.”

Carian Dyke is operational manager at Randstad. She has been working in the customer contact domain at Randstad for 18 years and is specifically responsible for customer contact and for a number of national accounts.
Mark Niesink has been ultimately responsible for Randstad Corporate Services for 2,5 years and for six months now also for Randstad Customer Contact, the merger of Corporate Services and Callflex.

“Callflex was also a bit difficult for large account customers who, for example, also needed store staff - they would then have to go to two counters. That is why it is extra relevant for us to organize everything surrounding customer contact in one part,” Niesink adds.

“What you learn in customer contact is of universal value”

Then back in time, that is, the career of Mark Niesink. During his studies from 2005 to 2008, he worked at the renowned Ditmeijers: on the telephone and as a coach and manager. How does he look back on that now?

“After I started at Ditmeijer, I worked outside the customer contact sector for a long time, including at Randstad Zorg. When I returned to this domain, I was curious to see what I would find. The field and customer contact work has become much more complex compared to 2005. But I also realize what I learned there and how much benefit I still benefit from it. Think about managing time, setting boundaries, dealing with both happy people and unhappy people. You also learn this if you work in hospitality, for example. Business interaction with people is truly of universal value.”

There are quite a few people who deal with customer-related matters, but never with customers themselves. Isn't experience with customer contact essential for every position?

Dijk: “I find it difficult to determine whether it is indispensable. But the skills you acquire do contribute very well to your later success in your work. For example, that you can relate to the customer phenomenon at all. Of course you can let someone listen, that is also educational. But if you know what the work really entails, you deal with some things a little differently. For example, with patience, with boundaries, or with multitasking.”

Niesink: “If you work in a chain where you are directly or indirectly involved with customer experience, it is essential to realize that the theory very often does not work out. You will understand this more quickly if you have gained experience with customer contact.”

Is the value of working in customer contact sufficiently expressed?

In the customer contact field, there is a lot of talk about current themes such as AI, CX and labor market shortages. But is the value of working in customer contact sufficient for one's career?

Niesink: “I don't think that is made public enough. This may be because there is no real sector or industry. So who is committed to that? In addition, customer contact has long been seen as a cost center instead of a value center. There may be a task for the Customer Service Federation and the CCMA. And of course we also want to play a role in that.”

Attention to craftsmanship and professionals

Randstad had an appealing one last year campaign conducted around the importance of professionals. When asked whether Randstad could also develop such a campaign for customer contact, Niesink responds that as far as he is concerned, customer contact can also be classified as craftsmanship. “Although a lot is being automated, there will remain a high demand for customer contact employees in the coming years. Also because new work is being added. We will come up with an activation campaign around Randstad Customer Contact, but not as big as the craftsmanship campaign.”

Dijk adds: “We specifically focus on the target group with, for example, 'professional videos' that provide more insight into the work - intended for people who have not yet worked in customer contact. There is often still an outdated image: people think of the telephone factory where 200 people sit in a room. I know it's not that organized these days. It is important to provide newcomers to the labor market with good information and to inspire them.”

Future of the customer contact profession

How do you see the future of the profession?

Niesink: “The number of questions people will be asked is decreasing, but the contact is also becoming more complex. In terms of automation, I don't see things going as fast as is regularly suggested. There is certainly work to be done when it comes to revaluing the role of customer contact employee. How do you train people to deal with that complexity?”

How do you see this revaluation reflected in the requests from companies?

Dijk: “The work is becoming more complex and the scarcity on the labor market plays a role. Companies are becoming less and less attached to certain training requirements: it is becoming more and more clear that it is mainly about people's ability to develop skills. Until recently, the financial services industry held on to a minimum MBO 4 level for customer contact positions, but companies are increasingly letting go of this. So we mainly look at the potential.”

Niesink: “The requirements surrounding the inflow are not always devised by the contact center manager. He has seen for a long time that his best staff does not consist of people with a certain piece of paper. It is often due to the staff organization that sometimes continues to stick a little rigidly to an outdated set of requirements.”

Paper or potential?

Has the potential of MBO 3 or MBO 4 been underestimated in recent years, by only looking at the piece of paper?

Dijk: “Yes, I actually think that any potential is often underestimated. It doesn't say everything which education you have completed. Companies are – often out of necessity – more open to other target groups. Randstad Customer Contact has made some necessary changes to the onboarding itself, in collaboration with clients. Think about learning at your own pace, taking the time to develop skills. We have also set up our own vocational school for this purpose, in which we offer education and training within customer contact. These are, for example, aimed at people who want to work in customer contact, but also at employers with whom we are developing a complete academy together.”

Niesink: “We are also becoming increasingly proactive, so that we can specifically guide people to a specific job and so that they are better prepared. This could range from a course in dealing with aggression to training someone for a WFT certificate. As far as I am concerned, it should be realized more quickly that an education you have completed has little predictive value as to whether you will like the job and be successful in it. It is much more interesting to see what skills and talents someone has. Think of learning ability, solution orientation, collaboration. In addition, there are still companies that think that everyone wants to work for them. Those days are really over.”

Good employment practices at in-house and facilities

Do you see differences between in-house and facility contact centers when it comes to employership in customer contact? And how are the inflow, throughflow and outflow of staff handled?

Niesink: “The differences are becoming smaller, also in terms of employment conditions. I think that the facility contact centers themselves also want that, but it is complex for them to complete the business case. Furthermore, a lot has improved in the facilities sector.”

Dijk: “The facility contact centers have started paying more attention to what the target group wants. In any case, the appreciation for people is better than what it was a few years ago. The range of work offered by facility contact centers is truly structural, which makes them more attractive.”

What are your ambitions with Randstad Customer Contact?

Niesink: “Our ambition is to be recognized by BV Nederland as the number 1 player in the field of inflow, throughflow and outflow in the customer contact domain. We just talked about making work more attractive, but there is still a lot to do when it comes to creating career prospects for employees. I also hope that we can continue to help many organizations get a grip on absenteeism. Because that is comparable in size to the healthcare sector, and therefore shockingly high. Nationally, absenteeism is around 5,7%. But we come to many places where it is 8, 9, 10% or even more. I don't think you want to be that kind of employer. In short, the solutions for all challenges surrounding personnel are not only at the front end.”

Coming soon to Ziptone: a series of portraits of emerging talent in customer contact.

Featured, Human Resources Randstad