Want to improve your service? Start with your customer journey

The Raad voor de Kinderbescherming (RvdK) is there to protect children who are at risk of getting into difficulty. They always do this in consultation with the child and the parents. And if there is absolutely no other option, the court is involved. In short, these are not easy tasks. The RvdK is involved in a vulnerable, sometimes life-changing period in the lives of both parents and children. This therefore calls for high-quality service delivery with clear communication. The RvdK was therefore keen to find out where they could improve their services.

We were keen to help the RvdK improve its services. The RvdK had specific questions regarding the themes of ​‘Parental authority and access (G&O)’ and ​‘Supervised care orders (OTS)’. They wanted a clearer picture of the steps that clients (parents and children) go through during a case. What is their experience? What are their needs? What is going well? What needs to be improved? The ultimate aim is to ensure that services and communication are better tailored to the needs of children and their parents.

Together with the RvdK, we mapped out the customer journey for both themes. In collaboration with our research lab, Happy Labs, we conducted ten in-depth interviews with both parents and children. This enabled us to identify exactly which steps they go through in the process – and how they experience those steps. This resulted in two comprehensive customer journeys, highlighting areas for improvement throughout the entire process.

Why understanding your customer journey is so important

Understanding your customers’ world enables you to view your services and processes through their eyes. You learn exactly what is going well and what could be improved. But you also discover how they experience their interactions with your services, and just how important these are to them. You gain access to all their needs, and you see how these are often interconnected: the well-known ​‘common thread’. And you build on that knowledge. You work more efficiently and in a more targeted way – because you now know what is needed for a better (digital) service.

Three steps to a customer journey

We have broadly followed three steps to develop the customer journeys for RvdK.

1. A working session

In a working session, people from different teams come together to share knowledge. Often, staff members are focused on a single part of a process and aren’t entirely sure what other departments do for the same customer. By bringing people together, they gain a better understanding of how customers experience the service as a whole. So a session like this is, in itself, very valuable.

One thing that always stands out is that organisations often know more than they realise. That’s why, before we started talking to parents and children, we wanted to put some questions to the people at RvdK first. How do you see the customer journeys unfolding? What insights have emerged from previous research? Where do you see pain points? What questions and assumptions are currently circulating? What would you like to know more about? We translated all the input we received into an initial rough journey map: the starting point for the interviews with parents and children.

2. Online interviews

To really get to know the target group, we conduct in-depth interviews. These are one-to-one conversations that focus primarily on deeper-seated wishes and needs.

For both customer journeys, we carried out ten online interviews. We spoke to parents and children who had recently been involved with ​‘Supervised Care’ or ​‘Parental Authority and Access’. We wanted to know how they had experienced the steps in the process. What do you remember about those steps? What did you like? What didn’t you like? We gave parents and children time to tell their stories – precisely because the subject is such a sensitive one. We gave them the space to share their personal, often emotional stories. But at the same time, we gently steered the participants towards the main purpose of the interview: their views on their contact with the RvdK.

Surprising and thought-provoking insights

The interviews yielded important insights. For example, one child had this to say about her conversation with the council investigator: ​‘Straight away, I was expected to say: hello, this is my life and this is what I do and who I am. That was far too quick. I’d like to get to know you for two or three days first before I tell my story.’

And a parent said of the period leading up to the investigation: ​‘It would be nice if they got in touch before the investigation. Just to get to know each other, and for them to put you at ease a bit. Plus, they should explain what the investigation involves and what you can expect.’

Staff from the RvdK watched the interviews via our livestream. Quite apart from the final result – the customer journeys – it was already hugely valuable for them simply to hear clients talking about their experiences.

‘You think you have a rough idea of what could be improved in communication and service provision for clients,’ said one staff member. ​‘But the interviews with the clients themselves flesh out these ideas. They offer surprising and sometimes challenging insights that are extremely valuable in shaping your improvement plans.’

Staff at the RvdK watched the interviews via our live stream. Regardless of the final outcome – the customer journeys – it was valuable for them simply to hear clients talking about their experiences.

3. The results

We have distilled everything we heard during the interview into brief insights and conclusions. We used these to map out the customer journeys. We always deliver the customer journey in the form of a poster – this can be easily shared internally. On that poster, you’ll find the steps that clients go through. In the case of RvdK, this covers everything from the initial contact to the appointment of a guardian, or the implementation of the recommendation. Below this are the key needs, touchpoints, ​‘pains’, ​‘gains’ and opportunities that arise. We also produced a video compilation of the key insights that emerged during the interviews – a useful tool for bringing clients’ stories to life within RvdK.

We presented the customer journeys to the team during a workshop. We shared the insights and discussed key questions: how can we better align with the customer journey? What can we start working on? Together, we identified areas for improvement, so that the RvdK could move forward with concrete actions.

The biggest benefit

But what was the greatest benefit of this research? Awareness, believes researcher Saskia Slegers. ​‘The research showed how parents and children experience a process with the RvdK. That was sometimes quite confronting for RvdK staff who were observing the interviews. But it did remove the blind spots. The RvdK now has an overview of the key opportunities to improve its services. And it has brought them much closer to their target group. And that is perhaps the greatest benefit.’

Together with RvdK, we’re making an impact

We are proud of our project with RvdK. This is because, together, we are making a difference: through its research into customer journeys, RvdK is helping to strengthen the public sector. 

Now that the customer journeys are in place, improvements to the service no longer stem from processes or from RvdK’s own perspective – improvements are driven by what children and parents need. How do they want to be approached? What do they need? How can we best get in touch with young people? Which means of communication do they prefer? For example, it’s easy to assume that young people prefer to be contacted digitally, but when dealing with RvdK, they actually want to meet face to face. ​‘When I’m sitting in a room with someone, I feel I’m taken more seriously,’ said one of the young people we spoke to. 

Based on the customer journeys, the RvdK implemented changes straight away. The design principles for both parents and children have been refined. Communication has been adapted. Take their letters, for example: they are now written in a more empathetic way, with better visual support. Videos have been produced offering a more accessible explanation of the investigation, so that children have a better idea of what to expect. 

In every area, RvdK has done what was necessary to better connect with the world of parents and children.

How much do you know about your customers?

Understanding your customer journey helps you see what’s working well and where there’s room for improvement. Knowing what drives your customers helps you set the right priorities. This allows you to work step by step towards a better customer experience. In short: it brings you closer to your customers than you’ve ever been.

Need help mapping out your customer journey?