MY NAME IS HESDY. I CHOOSE ESSENT.
‘As a Data Analyst for C+ Activation, I am involved in reporting activities within C+ Activation and am primarily responsible for the KPI dashboards. Besides that, I do analysis work to support marketing activities. In short, that means that KPIs are formulated based on Essent’s financial targets. I make sure that the KPI dashboards are filled in with the correct data and analyse and report matters that stand out. Try and think of data for our contract base (the number of contracts), the acquisition and retention of clients and the channels those clients come from. That enables our marketing teams to have data driven performance dialogues and make adjustments where needed.’
‘I COULD BARELY UNDERSTAND MY COLLEAGUES IN THE BEGINNING’
‘I still remember well when I arrived at Essent in 2000. I didn’t understand half of what was being said. A bunch of colleagues with a very strong southern provincial dialect, I still laugh about it when I think back. It was probably the same for my colleagues at the time, I reckon they couldn’t understand me as a native of Rotterdam either. But the culture shock wasn’t just because of the local ‘lingo’. I was used to the very direct, fast Rotterdam city culture. At Essent I experienced that work can be more fun and relaxed by doing things together in particular, without diminishing the result.’
FUN AND COMPETITIVE WORK
‘In the 20 years after that, I have seen Essent change; the split between grid operators and energy suppliers has made the market many times more competitive. We have transformed into a retail business. You then automatically attract different employees with a winner's mentality who want to be part of that rapidly changing market. For me, that’s the best combination: the fun southern provincial atmosphere and the desire to achieve together have remained, but that stuffy government image has been shed. And now colleagues from all over the world have discovered this ideal combination; about half of the colleagues of Essent come from outside of Brabant.’
FROM PROCESS SPECIALIST TO DATA ANALYST
‘In the time I’ve worked at Essent, I’ve taken various career steps within the different business units. I started at client administration after studying Commercial Economics. After an interlude at Rotterdam Municipality, I returned to Essent as a Process Specialist. I knew what I had been missing at the time and that I wanted to go back to Essent. Not just to go back to those great colleagues and that way of working, but also to a company where I could continue developing. In my case, by studying Business administration alongside my job. And now in my position as Data Analyst, in such a competitive and dynamic market, I am constantly working on new solutions and improvements to achieve the set targets. There seem to be no limits to the possibilities in the field of data. Exploring those possibilities provides opportunities to become and remain successful for both Essent as a company and for me as a person.’
LIVING IN ROTTERDAM, WORKING IN DEN BOSCH
‘I was working at Essent again, but after 9 years I moved back to Rotterdam. For me that's the perfect combination. Den Bosch is definitely a great and nice city to live in. But my family is in Rotterdam and it has a bustling multicultural environment. It also means that I usually have to travel a bit longer before I reach the office, but that doesn’t bother me. I can just as easily work in the train. And that way I can combine the best of what my work and private life have to offer me.’
Hesdy Kortstam (45 years old) lives in Rotterdam. He likes to spend his Friday afternoons with his girlfriend Vanessa and with his other passion: sports. (Indoor) football, fitness, boxing, Krav Maga and his own Ducati motorbike are his favourites. Until recently, Hesdy had also been a Team Manager at the youth academy of Sparta Rotterdam for over six years.