e-office believes in the power of people. Since 1991, driven by this belief, they have been ensuring that employees, teams, and organizations collaborate optimally. How? By putting people first. e-office wanted to bring their story back to its core, back to the ‘why’ of e-office: empowering people with the help of IT. They asked us if we could assist them in reshaping their identity, website, and marketing strategy. We can. Therefore, we conducted a complete rebranding.
PUT
PEOPLE
FIRST
BRINGING THE STORY BACK TO THE CORE
The origin of e-office, according to founder Roland, brings us to his college years: “During that time in my life, I was in a high-level rowing team. Together, we worked towards one goal: the 1976 World Rowing Championships. I was already fascinated by seeing what people are capable of to deliver high performances and the high commitment that can exist within a team. When I started working for the first time, I discovered that, in my opinion, there was put too little effort in people’s potential in the business world. I felt dissatisfied with the way I was working back then and wondered why that was. In colleague Rutger Stekelenburg, I found a like-minded person. For years, we discussed every Wednesday night about where we were in life, how we looked at certain situations, and how we could bring about change. We wanted to show that things could be different. And that turned out to be the birth for e-office.”
Clear goal
Roland has a clear goal in mind; he wants to transform organizations into people-centric entities. Why? So that the potential of people is optimally utilized. Technology is a facilitator in this process. And that mindset and determination perfectly align with that of UBO.
People-Centric Organizations
The idea for e-office started for Roland and Rutger out of dissatisfaction with the way of working in organizations. “Our goal was – and still is – to develop people-centric organizations. But in 1991, entrepreneurial Netherlands was not ready for that yet. So, we set up a training center for end-users, where we taught them how to use PCs. During breaks, we told them what we were genuinely interested in: improving how people collaborate using software. The complexity of this concept is that you can’t just press a button to make it happen. Because to make a person flourish, you also need to think about the technology and the environment in which someone works. I believe this is necessary to create a safe, supportive environment in which creativity can thrive, and you can achieve top performances,” Roland explains.
And nowadays? Is entrepreneurial Netherlands ready to transform their company into a people-centric organization? Roland: “In the conversations I have now, you can tell that society is ready to think differently about work. They desire a good work-life balance. This is also due to Covid-19 because it forced us to work differently. In addition, technological possibilities are much better than 30 years ago, and there is a shortage of employees in the job market. Companies must now listen to the labor market to win the war for talent. Traditional forms of entrepreneurship no longer work; you must organize things differently. Organizations must find a new balance between wanting to be in control and making the most of people’s creativity. I would like e-office to play a leading and inspiring role in this and find the right form of a people-centric organization. If the market sees us as a significant player in this, I would really appreciate it!”
- Completely unexpectedly, in 1999, e-office became the most attractive employer in the Netherlands. We ranked above KLM, Andersen Consulting, and Cap Gemini;
- Our idea is confirmed by Microsoft, as they are now heavily investing in employee experience;
- The arrival of CEO Jasper Snijder. He brought a lot of board experience, allowing us to lead e-office to great heights together.
BRAND IDENTITY VIDEO
The brand identity video of e-office was filmed during the COVID-19 era. It was quite a challenge, but it also sparked our creativity! Following the “put people first” philosophy, we convey the story by placing the people at the forefront. They explain what e-office does, what “put people first” means to them, and show a glimpse of their lives. Because people are not just employees; they are people.