“The selection procedure took quite a while, but Babbage kept in touch with me and gave me feedback.”

For over 25 years, we have been connecting organizations with the best marketing, communication, and content professionals. We find suitable assignments or positions for junior, medior, and senior professionals. In Spot On, we would like to introduce them to you. This time, Spot On: Caroline van Daatselaar and Marjan Huisman about their role in the IV transition at UWV.

“In our view, communication, training and experience cannot be viewed separately when it comes to changes.” – Marjan

Purpose of the IV transition

Marjan: “UWV is working on a major internal change, the IV transition, where IV stands for information provision. The questions UWV receives from politics and society are becoming increasingly complex and require an integrated approach.” Caroline: “UWV has therefore introduced Agile working, among other things, to make the IV organization more effective, efficient and flexible. This allows it to respond better and faster to developments in society. But also to the change questions that politics, customers and the internal organization ask UWV. With the higher goal of improving UWV's services, of course.” 

Collaboration with each other

Caroline: “We had already been on the way with the program for a while when Marjan joined. What I liked about working with Marjan is that she was able to jump on the moving train and tackle the major communication challenge of the transition almost immediately together with me. It was a very complex program and it is nice to have a professional and subject-matter sparring partner”. Marjan: “I did indeed get on a moving train and when Caroline is on that train, it goes very fast. In her approach to communication, she always pays attention to who it is about and who we are doing it for. That is also how I look at communication.”

The use of Gamification

Caroline: “One of the focal points of the transition was improving the collaboration between the different divisions. You really have to make people part of that change. We did this by using Gamification: introducing the new working methods with self-developed games to familiarize people with them.” Marjan: “There were games in the context of organizational change and culture, but not so much as part of a training course. In our view, you cannot separate communication, training and experience from each other when it comes to changes. By presenting the processes in this way, employees really experience what the process entails. The game is part of the training.”

Change in the workplace

“People were mainly working from behind their desks when I started at UWV. Now you see people really working together. They stand at boards, in groups, and they are giving demos. People like being responsible for something with which they jointly contribute to the result.” Marjan: “We have organised many different meetings in which people at all levels and from organisational units have discussed the new way of working with each other. For example, name badges were required at the meetings of IV managers, but now they know each other. They have now set up their own community to share knowledge and experiences with each other under the name #Hoedoejijdat?” 

The collaboration with Babbage

Caroline: “I started as a self-employed person eleven years ago. My first assignment was via Babbage at UWV. That's how I got to know Monique van Vliet”. Marjan: “Caroline and I were both interim at UWV. UWV decided to work with agencies during our assignment. We both knew Babbage and together we looked at the possibilities. It took some time to find the right way and Carina Snaas thought along in a solution-oriented way.” Caroline: “Babbage thinks along with you and looks at what is possible in your situation. That was the deciding factor in working with Babbage.”

Advice to other professionals

Marjan: “When you think of anything in the field of communication, start from the intention. Think from the impact that a change has on the environment and respond to that.” Caroline: “Involve employees in change and keep them involved. Give them a role in this, so that it is not only your change but also theirs.”

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