Who are they, why did they join Talent Peaks and what’s their mission?
This summer, no less than 4 (!) new colleagues made their debut at Talent Peaks. We thought this would be a nice occasion to invite them all for drinks in a nice and sunny place and get to know them some more. In this interview, Kimberley Bertelkamp, Menno van Keulen, Matthijs Kuiper, and Joachim Noerens will introduce themselves, and discuss why they’ve joined Talent Peaks and what they will bring the team.
So, a warm welcome to you all! What made you decide to join the family?
Joachim: “I’ve known Talent Peaks for quite some time now. My good old friend Karel Vergauwen is one of the Belgian consultants in the team. His enthusiasm about his job, the company and his colleagues always fascinated me. So when I found myself at a crossroads in my career, I decided to go check if there was a match. And the rest is history.”
Matthijs: “I’ve known Joram, Frank and Martijn for 7 years already and I was triggered by the LinkedIn posts on all kinds of interesting projects and cool stuff you do as a team. So when I visited the Salesforce World Tour in Amsterdam I decided to stop by the event booth to meet the team. And they were exactly like I pictured them to be. Attentive, interested in me as a person and always putting the customer and the team first. So we immediately clicked.”
Kimberley: “I can completely relate to that. Once I decided to leave Accenture to move on, I spoke to various parties. What made Talent Peaks stand out, is the pleasant and open culture, the short lines and the enthusiastic drive to do everything in our power to make impact for our customers. Because we work with a relatively small team, we can act fast and really make the change.”
“It’s tempting to just kill the wasp, instead of closing the honey jar”
Menno: “Year after year, Talent Peaks has shown an enormous growth. Three an a half years ago, the company started with four people and look at us now! I’ve counted 28 colleagues already. And you know what I find so impressive? There has been hardly any turnover of staff. For me, this shows that Talent Peaks is a really cool place to work and that the management genuinely cares for the people.”
Joachim: “You know, it’s all congruent. The LinkedIn posts, the tone of voice on the website, the job descriptions, the management, the colleagues, it is all in agreement with who Talent Peaks really is. And that is inspiring. I’m thrilled to be part of all that now.”
We all know, impact is one of the central threads at Talent Peaks. How will you personally make the change?
Matthijs: “Being an implementation architect, if there is one thing I can’t stand, it’s inefficiency. And it just so happens that I have a talent for making things easier and less error-prone. As a consultant at Talent Peaks it’s my mission to implement and optimize Salesforce solutions, unravel problems and make work more efficient and more fun for our customers. Furthermore, with my experience, I can further advance the team by guiding our consultants in their personal and professional growth.”
Kimberley: “I’m looking forward to working with my new colleagues, and as a team do everything in our power to keep Talent Peaks growing as a business and as a partner. As a senior Salesforce consultant, it’s my mission to add value to the business, to improve and facilitate work so people can really experience the difference. In my role as an internal sherpa I will guide my colleagues so they can make maximum impact and at the same time continually advance themselves.”
“Getting a balanced IT-team in place can do miracles for your business”
Joachim: “If a problem or a challenge occurs it is always tempting to take immediate action. But if you stop and think about it, you can compare that strategy to killing the wasp instead of closing the honey jar. In my role as a Design consultant, I will be an ambassador for strategic thinking.
I will help our customers paint the bigger picture of their status quo, their goals and the ‘why’ behind the challenges and ambitions. Once we’re clear on that, we can outline the to-be situation, design optimal customer journeys and then, technology will follow automatically. I love unveiling the story, connecting the dots and advancing cross-fertilization within the business.”
Menno: “I am very excited because I started in a brand new role for Talent Peaks. Apart from being a Salesforce consultant, it’s my goal to set up an Academy where professionals are trained to become experienced and certified Salesforce Specialists. We hire promising potentials and teach them everything they need to know about Salesforce.
At the same time, they will work as Salesforce admins for a customer. In that way they can accelerate their knowledge, gain relevant practical experience and – at the same time get – familiar with the organization. After one year, the customer takes over the contract, and thus have his own, certified Salesforce Specialist.
The great thing is that, with this service, Talent Peaks now offers customers the opportunity to timely have a well-trained Salesforce professional in place. So once we have designed and implemented the optimal technical environment they are self-reliant and sustainable in deploying and advancing their Salesforce ecosystem.”
You’ve all been around for quite some time. What missed opportunities do you see as far as digitalization is concerned?
Matthijs: “I see many organizations who have a blind spot when it comes to smart hiring and organizing a training and development program for technical specialists. Sure, there are IT-professionals, but often they have not enough or similar expertise. If organizations would map the needs and set up a structured plan on how to get a balanced IT-team in place, this would do miracles for the business. Not only it would save a lot of time and money, but also it makes room for creating a future proof technical environment that really supports business goals.”
Menno: “Exactly, and this is also where the Academy comes in. Because our specialists are training and working at the same time, the customer can have a big say in the area of expertise his Salesforce Specialist will focus on. For some, this will be Sales Cloud, while others for example need to extend their knowledge of Service Cloud.”
Kimberley: “You know what often strikes me? Businesses tend to consider Change Management of secondary importance. In major digital transformation projects customers often underestimate the impact and the operating pressure project management brings along. I think, often it is best to assign change management to an experienced team, so you can focus on the delivery priorities in the project.
“Here’s our new tool; good luck to all users”
Take for example user adoption. The business sets their goals, the project team is put in place, the solution is implemented and then .. it often gets deafeningly silent. Imagine how it could improve the user experience and deployment if you took the time to properly train the users. Invest in adoption, so users will become just as enthusiastic as you are about the brand new solution.”
Well, I can see why you guys were recruited. It already feels so familiar to have you around. It’s clear that you know exactly what you want and how you can impact our business. Good luck to you all, and have fun in your projects!
