Pon Power: “The HPO scan was a reality check for us”

HPO talks to Giel Claes, Director of Pon Power

A business consultant referred us to the HPO Center. Once I learned about what they do, I was particularly attracted to their philosophy. Their vision of what makes an organization successful and the decisive elements in that is in good keeping with my ideas on the matter. Like them, I believe that a clearly defined strategy for the long term is important for the quality of management and employees.

Gut feeling

They took stock of our situation using their unique set of instruments. The HPO scan was used as a zero measurement, giving us a basis from which to work. It was a reality check for us.

We knew that we were a successful company, but were we really as good as we thought? Was it not just a matter of ‘luck’ that we operate in the right sector with the right business model?

The results of the scan were thorough and went further than the gut feeling we all had. The aspects requiring improvement were clearly formulated by the HPO Center and an initial impetus for a plan of action was included in the recommendations. It turned out, among other things, that our overall customer orientation could be improved.

Multidisciplinary customer teams

On an individual level, all of our employees are customer oriented, but the level of internal collaboration was inadequate. We have now started a new project that will guide us towards working with multidisciplinary customer teams. The responses of both employees and customers to this project have been enthusiastic.

On a personal level, I am still in contact with HPO Center, since I’ve joined a network of HPO Leaders. During the meetings, an interesting guest speaker holds a lecture and there is ample opportunity to network and talk.

I like the fact that the HPO Center is a small organization, one in which the responsibilities are clearly allocated. I have found them very pleasant to work with and very professional. I am now trying to campaign for an HPO scan at other subsidiaries.