How to make the perfect impact on your client as an IT employee?

It’s such a silly term – unburdening. And yet, every IT employee gets the biggest kick out of completely unburdening your internal or external clients – really being able to help them, solve their problems. And doing so in a surprising way. Make an impact. You can do that by building them something – once. But in the end, bringing a major project from A to Z to a good end is what gives you the most energy. Then the question remains: how to ensure that you are really offering added value?

A good example of a complete unburdening project is replacing a decades-old IT system for the Dutch government organization National Mines Inspectorate (SodM). In its search for a new, modern system, SodM came to the cloud solution RijksZaak. This offered SodM a solution for the administration of many processes, from inspecting mining installations to all the advice requests for permits and all violations. In short: the critical business information, and thus the perfect project in which to make an impact.

Consultant & Builder

BPM Company is closely involved in RijksZaak as a Pega partner, and it was consultant Mark Overduin who led the project on behalf of BPM. From the start (2018) to a year after going live (2020), he was closely involved in the project to really help the client move forward. In theory as a consultant, but in practice as one of the spiders in the web, an odd-jobber and jack of all trades. Describing, building and testing user stories: a varied, very versatile role. “I was actually part consultant, part builder. That variety gave both me and the client a lot of energy. As did the fact that I stayed quite close to the business. I was in constant contact with the actual client, that’s how quickly I would switch between things.” And that is tip number 1 for how to make an impact.

Making an impact after ‘Z’

SodM was able to go live at the start of 2019, completing this project from A (proof of concept) to Z (go-live) within a year. But Mark’s involvement did not end with the go-live. Even after ‘Z’ – tip 2 for adding value – he stayed closely involved: “The first year after the go-live is crucial. In my eyes, consultants have to be there to quickly solve any problems that come up. E.g. if there are any unexpected jams.”

The impact Mark was able to make as a consultant for SodM comprised all the possible components of unburdening: the preparations (listening to the client’s problem), the care (actually solving that problem), and as the icing on the cake: the follow-up.

The last handy tip – for how to make an impact:

It all starts with listening to the client: what are their exact wishes? And what are the wishes ‘behind those wishes’? Combine the answers with your expertise to work with the client to come up with realistic solutions that will really help them move forward.