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Mariëlle Mooij (RAI): “As an organisation we can become more transparent”

As far back as 1893 the RAI venue in Amsterdam has been a place where people come together for conferences, conventions and – these days – dance events and theatre performances as well. The RAI considers itself a ‘people connecting venue’. The employees responsible for the everyday business of the RAI are, in turn, connected by the Management Drives software.

HR business partner of the RAI Amsterdam, Mariëlle Mooij: “A few years ago we actively started working with Management Drives under the header of ‘colourful collaboration’. Since then we have rolled out countless initiatives with different objectives. For example, we organise training courses that teach managers better communication when coaching their staff, taking into account their own profile but also the profile of the person they want to coach. During these courses we introduce the Management Drives App. “The great thing about the app is that, just like a social network, you can authorise people to access each other’s profiles. We try to encourage people to do so, because we think it will enable us to become more transparent as an organisation.”

The RAI also uses the Management Drives software for the purpose of improving the communication within teams. “But my favourite was the ‘colourful sales’ training course”, says Mooij. “This training is about signal words. What is the customer telling me? Is the customer looking for convenientsolutions? ‘Convenient’ is very much an orange word. Or is it more about price? In that case everything needs to be more specific, i.e. more blue. Ultimately it helps the sales manager to prepare better quotes.”

 “People aren’t afraid to start talking to each other, also because it’s so accessible.”

The MD software also helps with mediation. Obviously, a large, complex organisation like the RAI will occasionally encounter conflicts, although sometimes, thanks to Management Drives, Mooij can see a de-escalation even before the official mediation. “That’s really great to see. Sometimes two colleagues simply misunderstand each other. So they check their own profile on the app, and they manage to sort it out between them. Not quite in line with the theory, maybe, but that doesn’t matter. They aren’t afraid to start talking to each other, also because it’s so accessible. It really warms my heart.