Customer-centric redesign for efficient service delivery

Karel de Grote Hogeschool

For Karel de Grote Hogeschool (KDG) we guided a process to embed customer-oriented thinking and working within the support services. In this first phase, we used a customer journey bootcamp, customer research and a strategic workshop to identify the main pain points and opportunities. The result: a clear view of priority customer journeys and concrete recommendations to make services more efficient and user-friendly. In the second phase, we continue to work on pilot projects to put these insights into practice.

facilitate

training

Karel de Grote Hogeschool wanted to improve the quality and efficiency of its support services. Staff noticed that processes were not always aligned with the needs of their internal customers, such as students, faculty and administrative teams. This led to:

A lack of customer-oriented thinking and working within the organization.
Fragmented and non-optimized customer journeys.
The need for a strategic approach to make services more accessible and user-friendly.

The challenge was to structurally embed customer focus and identify and optimize priority customer journeys as a basis for further implementation.

The first phase involved a participatory and step-by-step approach, closely involving KDG staff:

Customer journey bootcamp: An intensive two-day session that taught the basics of customer journey mapping. Employees worked together to define and visualize existing customer journeys.
Customer survey: we organized focus groups and interviews with key "customers" (students, faculty and administrative teams) to identify their experiences, needs and bottlenecks.
Strategic workshop: During an interactive session with the executive team and department heads, we prioritized the most important customer journeys. The focus was on concrete actions and a clear vision of customer-centricity.

Under the guidance of Emely Buyck and Grisha Verlinden, employees were coached in applying service design methodologies. This laid a solid foundation for further optimization of customer journeys.

The first phase provided clear insights and concrete results:

Defined priority customer journeys: the journeys with the greatest impact and improvement for internal customers were identified.
A supported vision of customer focus: The management team and employees have developed a shared vision of customer focus.
Concrete action points: A concrete roadmap of pilot projects through which the organization can begin experimenting with true service design.

The knowledge gained and vision written down ensure that KDG employees can continue to work on optimizing their services themselves.

With this project, Karel de Grote Hogeschool is demonstrating its commitment to strengthening customer-oriented work within the organization. This first phase laid the foundation for sustainable service improvements. In the ongoing second phase, we are working on pilot projects to effectively engage with service design and further implement customer-centric processes. We, as The Argonauts, remain on board as coaches on the sidelines for these pilots so that the knowledge and expertise in service design is further strengthened as we go along.

This track is an inspiring example of how co-creation and design thinking help organizations develop more efficient and user-friendly processes.

Why is action being taken?

How do we put customer centricity at the heart of support services?

Karel de Grote Hogeschool wanted to improve the quality and efficiency of its support services. Staff noticed that processes were not always aligned with the needs of their internal customers, such as students, faculty and administrative teams. This led to:

A lack of customer-oriented thinking and working within the organization.
Fragmented and non-optimized customer journeys.
The need for a strategic approach to make services more accessible and user-friendly.

The challenge was to structurally embed customer focus and identify and optimize priority customer journeys as a basis for further implementation.

A hands-on bootcamp and strategic workshops

The first phase involved a participatory and step-by-step approach, closely involving KDG staff:

Customer journey bootcamp: An intensive two-day session that taught the basics of customer journey mapping. Employees worked together to define and visualize existing customer journeys.
Customer survey: we organized focus groups and interviews with key "customers" (students, faculty and administrative teams) to identify their experiences, needs and bottlenecks.
Strategic workshop: During an interactive session with the executive team and department heads, we prioritized the most important customer journeys. The focus was on concrete actions and a clear vision of customer-centricity.

Under the guidance of Emely Buyck and Grisha Verlinden, employees were coached in applying service design methodologies. This laid a solid foundation for further optimization of customer journeys.

A clear basis for becoming more customer-centric

The first phase provided clear insights and concrete results:

Defined priority customer journeys: the journeys with the greatest impact and improvement for internal customers were identified.
A supported vision of customer focus: The management team and employees have developed a shared vision of customer focus.
Concrete action points: A concrete roadmap of pilot projects through which the organization can begin experimenting with true service design.

The knowledge gained and vision written down ensure that KDG employees can continue to work on optimizing their services themselves.

Karel de Grote Hogeschool: A strong focus on customer orientation

With this project, Karel de Grote Hogeschool is demonstrating its commitment to strengthening customer-oriented work within the organization. This first phase laid the foundation for sustainable service improvements. In the ongoing second phase, we are working on pilot projects to effectively engage with service design and further implement customer-centric processes. We, as The Argonauts, remain on board as coaches on the sidelines for these pilots so that the knowledge and expertise in service design is further strengthened as we go along.

This track is an inspiring example of how co-creation and design thinking help organizations develop more efficient and user-friendly processes.

Emely Buyck

Facilitator and coach

emely.buyck@theargonauts.eu

"With this process, we not only mapped the most important customer journeys, but also initiated a culture change toward customer-centric thinking. The enthusiasm and commitment of the employees at KDG made this process particularly powerful. "