Support for stockpiling Netherlands

The rapid progress continues for twenty years, until mid-March 2020, when OTTO faces a new challenge. The coronavirus crisis erupted in all its intensity. Frank, along with the Antivirus Prevention Team, is in constant contact with his staff and shared employees. The service center now has twice as much work. The phone lines operate twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week; two thousand phone calls are handled each day: topics of conversation include reports of illness, concerns; questions also arise.

Frank: "Every decision at that time was important. Thousands of the employees we made available worked in distribution centers and supported people hoarding supplies for times of pandemic. During this time, we realized how important it was for our clients to be able to continue working and operating in the marketplace. Our decisions also had a big impact on our employees: we had to prevent them from getting infected. My friend's father ended up in the hospital infected with coronavirus. Karolina's newborn twins also became infected. Everything happened in a short period of time and left its mark on us. It was a time of hard work, fortunately supported by the wonderful OTTO team”.

"In April, we conducted a recurring customer satisfaction survey. Were we worried if we handled the challenges well? We received an average score of 8.0 out of thirteen thousand respondents in 2019. In March, and thus the month of the outbreak, the average score rose to 8.5. And so it has remained. People clearly appreciated how we communicated and how we operated, they appreciated that we put the safety of our employees first".

Frank: "Technology should make our lives easier, support people. Another great example of our innovation lab's work is Best Match: algorithms allow us to estimate whether new people posted to a company will perform well there. Why does one employee in an order picking position perform better at Albert Heijn than at Jumbo when the work is essentially the same? It may have to do with the culture of the organization. With the Best Match tool, we know in advance where a particular order picker will perform best".

Protection of foreign workers

Foreign workers are especially vulnerable in times of crisis. No wonder the media invents horror stories. As usual, Frank van Gool thinks in terms of challenges, not problems.

"During the pandemic, we noticed that some foreign workers served by our competitors found themselves trapped without warning. This was a serious problem: suddenly, after finishing a day's work, they could end up on the street and homeless. We have created a team to provide accommodation for such people and, of course, if possible, to help them find work. We don't want people to take bad memories and experiences with them when they leave the Netherlands".

How foreign workers rate the duration of their stay and work in the Netherlands is highly dependent on the issue of the organization of their accommodation. Initially, OTTO handled the matter itself. Frank: "But we realized that it's not nice for employees to have their employer also rent them an apartment. Since 2011, we have therefore outsourced accommodation arrangements to external companies whenever possible. However, we continued to support the employees on this issue. Around 2017, development in this area stopped: we couldn't go further than single-family homes and employee hotels. Change was not happening fast enough and on a large enough scale. Thanks to our agreement with the Japanese, we were able to set up our own accommodation organization: KaFra Housing. It not only works for OTTO, but also supports other companies".

Phone number on business card

Frank van Gool is known for being one of the few CEOs to include his cell phone number on his business card.

Frank: "And I always will. I do not see myself as positioned somewhere above others. I view my actions as service. If people have a problem, they can call or send a message. Fortunately, because we have a well-organized work structure, the phone doesn't ring constantly. While I certainly receive phone calls and messages on a regular basis, I also receive them from people who say how pleased they are to be working for OTTO, but also from people who are disappointed about something, such as not having their contract renewed. Then I make sure that we check to make sure everything went well and that we give feedback to that person. I'm here for our people, even in this difficult time".