“ We ’ ve got engineers sitting alongside customer service agents , really trying to bridge the gap between delivery and those that are really close to the customers ”
E . ON NEXT
“ We ’ ve got engineers sitting alongside customer service agents , really trying to bridge the gap between delivery and those that are really close to the customers ”
ABDUL KHALED HEAD OF DIGITAL AND CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE , E . ON NEXT
those that are really close to the customers ,” Khaled explains . “ That ’ s been a real driving factor behind the culture of E . ON Next .”
E . ON Next : Building an awardwinning culture of excellence Emphasising his passion to build and craft products and experiences , Khaled began his career as a developer . His broad skills and experience have shaped him for the corporate world , working with companies such as Cisco .
Today , looking after a team of product managers , engineers , designers , testers and analysts , Khaled ’ s current role at E . ON Next utilises his varied background of hands-on engineering , development , design , managing and building products and represents an interesting challenge .
He adds : “ The industry we ’ re in is very difficult . When I entered it it was a low interest category : getting customers to engage with the energy company is difficult at the best of times . When you add the energy crisis on top of it , it ’ s now not just a low interest category – it ’ s probably looked upon quite negatively by a lot of customers .
“ As an industry , I think we ’ ve got to hold our hands up and say that we haven ’ t done enough to break some of those myths that are out there . We also haven ’ t done enough to be as transparent as customers need and want us to be , especially through difficult times .”
To help overcome some of these challenges , Khaled has built his team at E . ON Next from the ground up . “ We ’ re now a team of over 40 , and we will probably end up at 50 by the end of the year , he adds .” With that comes the empowerment to actually drive and shape the team , which is an immense privilege . It ’ s not an opportunity that you get in many places .”
Building a team which is striving and thriving for excellence is clearly a source of pride . As Khaled describes , building a team with a culture of empowerment and creativity has been key to the organisation ’ s success .
“ Getting people in is one thing , building a culture around it is something else ,” Khaled explains . “ We ’ ve got a culture of enjoyment , of empowerment , of creativity , and it ’ s a really enjoyable place to come and work .”
This approach to the team at E . ON Next has already started to see results . Last year , in its second year of existence , the company was awarded or nominated for five different award categories in the industry . “ We ’ ve got one of the highest app rating scores in the industry , and we ’ ve got one of the highest-rated digital experience scores on Trustpilot ,” Khaled adds . “ We ’ re really punching above our weight , and we ’ re seeing great achievements on the back of it . And I think that ’ s always something to be proud of when you can see people really enjoying
54 May 2024