Introducing: Bas Strijbos

In several interviews with employees, we would like to introduce Focus Enterprise Solutions to you. This time an interview with Bas Strijbos, Customer Coordinator (Support Consultant).

Who are you?

I am Bas Strijbos, 55 years old, married to Luisa, without children and I am the owner of a small cheerful dog. My education, a long time ago, is technical (electronics), but I have never actually worked in that field. Early in my career I started working as an assistant manager in a production company and over the years, within that family business, I grew to manager and sales manager. In 2007 I drastically changed course and moved to Brazil. I quit my job, sold my house and everything I owned, and left with the idea of never returning to the Netherlands (only for holidays and family visits). In Brazil I worked as a self-employed person for a Spanish company, I built websites for local companies, I worked for a Dutch company and I had my own handyman company. All with success, but the irregularity of income caused a lot of stress and finally I decided to return to the Netherlands, after seven years. In the meantime, I met my current wife who wanted to marry me and has been living in the Netherlands ever since.

I feel responsible for the well-being of our customers, making sure customer issues are addressed appropriately and handled on the right way.

What is your positition at Focus Enterprise Solutions?

I started as a Sales Manager at Focus Enterprise Solutions (at the time named GreatCircle). But sales in the IT world is different from sales for a production company That is why, in consultation, my work was quickly aligned with what suited me better and that was customer support. Currently I am a Support Consultant within the MA (Managed Applications) department and I call myself “Customer Coordinator”. I feel responsible for the well-being of our customers, making sure customer issues are addressed appropriately and handled the right way. For this I often rely on the substantive knowledge of colleagues, who handle certain topics on request. It is my job to give the customer a happy feeling about the collaboration with Focus Enterprise Solutions.

What does an average working day at Managed Applications look like?

My work is driven by the problems (incidents) reported by the customer and can therefore never be predicted. Plans can never really be made, I never know what will be on the table that day. There are many daily interactions with colleagues, partner companies and customers. Everything to make the progress of the process as smooth as possible. I also try to support the department with non-operational matters, such as planning, where I try to help the colleagues to get capacity available for times when they need it. And of course all that comes my way; I feel comfortable with that and I hope that this adds value to the company.

How do you feel about us now being Focus Enterprise Solutions?

The setup of Focus Enterprise Solutions is more in line with my own values; not big, warm and with knowledgeable and committed colleagues. The management layer is back at the level that I consider responsible and ensures short lines of communication to be able to make quick decisions. Absolutely right! I would like for the market to see this as well. I believe that the current corporate structure and culture is an important segment of our market benefits. I always say: our customers are people too! That may seem logical, but not always clear in actions. Customers want a partner who helps them, who makes them feel good and then the commercial aspect comes naturally.

Which colleagues do you have the most contact with?

I actually have contact with everyone, but especially with the colleagues in my department. I want to be a team player and help everyone if possible. Contact with the other colleagues is also intensive, especially because I need them to solve operational problems. And out of interest, I speak to the entire organization regularly.

The setup of Focus Enterprise Solutions is more in line with my own values; not big, warm and with knowledgeable and committed colleagues. … If you want to feel that your work contributes to overall success, then you should definitely be at Focus Enterprise Solutions.

What about the career opportunities?

As I am used to, career opportunities come naturally if you do (well) what is necessary in your current position. This is also at Focus Enterprise Solutions. There is room and attention for development, but growth should not always be an end in itself. As employees, we are faced with a task, as part of the whole and it must always be carried out first, I am very strict about that. Good employees grow automatically, that is a logical next step.

Why should someone join Focus Enterprise Solutions?

That is a difficult question, because everyone has a personal preference of course. If you want to have a “nine to five” job where everything is predictable, then you shouldn’t be at Focus Enterprise Solutions. If you want to be close to your colleagues, the company and the customers, then you have to be at Focus Enterprise Solutions. If you want to be busy with new technology and processes and you want to continue to delve into changes, then you have to be at Focus Enterprise Solutions. If you want to feel that your work contributes to overall success, then you should definitely be at Focus.

Do you recognize yourself in the above text and do you want to work together with Bas? Check the vacancy for a Support Consultant on our websit (Dutch only).

This interview is part of the series ‘Introducing’.
Introducing: Andre Snijder, CEO

Introducing: Paul de Bruijn, Consultant

Introducing: Angelo Plasschaert, Developer

Introducing: Jeroen Huijsman, Financial en Supply Chain Consultant

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