Monthly Digital Disclosure - March 2024

Interview with Joost Bruins

Could you provide details about your current position and where you are based for Telio?

J: Within the Telio Group, I am the Country Manager responsible for Telio Netherlands since June 2021, based in our beautiful office in Amsterdam, which offers a truly nice view. Before starting to work at Telio, I worked in Telecom, software and data solutions, with RDC InMotive and KPN as previous companies.

Can you share a bit about your motivations?

J: I have a preference to work in a role and context, in which colleagues, products and costumers complement each other like a puzzle. Depending on the situation, you must make them fit, and I really enjoy and get energy from laying this puzzle on a daily basis. When these three are in sync, the result is added value for all of them. And personally, this is what drives me and provides the energy I need!

What are your main responsibilities as a Country Manager in the Netherlands?

J: As a Country Manager I am responsible for the business of Telio in the Netherlands, so our customers but I am also responsible for the Dutch colleagues and our Amsterdam office. When looking at the three main pieces of the earlier mentioned puzzle; the client side mainly consists of the Dutch Prison Services. Amongst others, I am responsible to deliver -together with the different teams- our services to a growing number of customers which is why a lot of my time is spent in customer meetings.

On the product side, I closely work with National and International ServiceDesk and IT colleagues to ensure our services are implemented and serviced to meet our Dutch customers’ expectations.

And lastly, on the peoples’ side, it is important to realise that everybody is important in the daily journey. Hence, collaboration is vital between colleagues, but also with our customers, partners and suppliers. Fascinatingly, I cooperate with the different departments on an international level, e.g. our developers in Hungary, the procurement team in Germany and IT support in several other Telio countries. To deliver services to the Netherlands, an entire international family is part of this process.

How did you feel the first time you set foot into a prison?

J: The first time I visited a prison was when I freshly started at Telio. It was very exciting, because I didn’t know what to expect at all. To illustrate a picture, I learned for instance that you always have to go through security to enter the prison, no matter if you are only there to meet an employee. Secondly, you are never alone in the prison, because you are always guided by people. As a matter of fact, it is one of the safest places in the entire country and the people working there are very professional. When I see how our telecommunication services help them connecting with the outside world, I realise that our means to resocialise are making a great difference.

In which regards are the Netherlands different from other countries, that Telio is operating in?

J: In terms of system functionalities, the Netherlands stands out as a highly mature country with advanced technological development. In this context, we have strategically established several technical relations with third-party entities to further enhance safe and secure communications for our customers.

Do you sometimes encounter cultural misunderstandings when working in such an international company?

J: The Dutch can be very direct. Based on this notion, I was rather preoccupied and concerned regarding international cooperation, because I thought that this characteristic would come with some difficulties.

Surprisingly however, it is simpler and more easy-going to communicate with different countries within the Telio Group. At Telio at least, we are actually very similar and collaboration is relatively easy.

Telio has 100% focus on the prison systems. This leads to a mutual understanding on what we need to do for our customers and makes internal communication between colleagues easy.

What cultural values or norms do you find most prevalent among your colleagues?

J: What I think is most valuable, is to look beyond the mere job qualifications, such as IT skills, and instead put emphasis on the ability to talk to customers. An employee in my eyes should be a “customer ambassador” who takes the ownership, because we have a lot of knowledge in our company and this knowledge can be easily passed on. What is more important is the ability to care for customers. But luckily, this is already the case with the colleagues in the Dutch office.

What excites you the most about the future direction of Telio and the opportunities it presents for both personal and professional growth?

J: Since Telio is growing at a very rapid pace, we also offer a lot of growth opportunities to our employees. As an example, one of my colleagues started at the service desk, grew into system engineer and now is the team lead of the system engineers. There are several examples of these journeys at Telio.

If you are motivated and want to grow yourself, Telio is a great environment to embrace this development.

Could you reflect on a significant lesson you've learned during your tenure as the Country Manager in the Netherlands?

J: To a certain extent, being a Country Manager in the Netherlands, it is like being a local entrepreneur but being supported by a solid International organisation. An important realisation is that you are not only supposed to be giving orders, but it is even more significant to create teams out of different departments. In order to do that, I have to be creative and sometimes step outside of my normal role. The difference from purely managing, which is what I did in my previous jobs, is that at Telio I need to make everyone in the team collaborate, because every position is equally vital. ?To make it work, we have to do it together and embrace the good team dynamics!

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Thank you, Joost, for offering us a window into your? experiences and sharing such insightful perspectives for our LinkedIn community.