Hennie Vrij 

: “I was very keen to move back into a hands-on role. I always really enjoyed coaching and training people, but l missed the customer contact. This role ties everything together nicely; I provide assistance to customers, help colleagues improve their communication skills and I can also put my mortgage experience to good use.”

Providing clarity

The Service Desk for Next of Kin handles the contact with the people taking care of things when a banking customer has died. “That could be their children, partners, parents or other legal heirs, but also a solicitor administering the deceased person’s estate. Next of kin often have no idea what they have to sort out with the bank when someone passes away. We’re here to provide clarity and help them with the next steps. Most people really appreciate our help. Some of the people I speak to on the phone are upset or angry, of course, and that’s fully understandable. They’re angry at the situation, not at me. You have to be able to deal with those kinds of reactions.”

Pretty complex

“What I particularly like about this work is the huge contrast between the emotional aspect and the rigid, process-based aspect. I help people during a difficult time, plus I’m also involved with very tangible products. The situation surrounding inheritance and estate can be pretty complex sometimes, and I love getting my teeth into such matters.”

Strengthening the team

“We work in self-organising teams. Between us, we ensure that the work gets done and we plan our own rosters. Besides handling the phone calls, we have a central mailbox with incoming customer enquiries and other post: death certificates or other documentation we need to administer the estate. That’s often legal correspondence, which can be interesting because you have to be able to understand and interpret the contents correctly. A couple of colleagues have a legal background so they can help the rest of us. That’s how things work in a self-managing team: you strengthen the team by helping your colleagues to improve their skills. Everyone contributes their own talents for the team’s benefit. I bring my mortgage knowledge and my experience in coaching and training. But I’m interested in tackling extra tasks too, such as complaints handling and safeguarding the overall quality of the service we provide. This way of working offers plenty of scope for initiative, ownership and opportunities for personal development, and it’s right up my street.”