The impact makes the work interesting

Igor Trijnes, data management consultant

"Where would we be without data? Data is what feeds everything we do.

At APG, in addition to capital and people, we see data as the third precondition for being able to do our jobs. Data on funds and members is needed to help members with their pension administration. For example: An online environment for members gives people an insight into their financial status and the opportunity to improve their pension situation. If we make mistakes with the data processing, members are given the wrong image of their financial situation. Even something as simple as an incorrect e-mail address can have an impact. That impact is what makes this work so interesting.

At ICT, Data & Change I’m the odd one out. I studied International Business Communication and after my traineeship I did what I’d been trained to do: Marketing & Communication. That changed when my manager at the time asked if I would like to supervise a project to make the rights management organization better and more efficient. That request came at just the right time: after a year and a half of policy correspondence things were getting repetitive. This gave me the opportunity to apply my communication knowledge and skills in a world of data, technicians and programmers previously unknown to me. For someone with a communication background and little experience I was given a lot of trust and freedom. I explored new target groups, did the rounds, came up with organizational structures and taught my data colleagues how to serve the internal customer differently. No more 'you want it, you got it', but rather 'we’ll think along with you.'

I'm proud of what the team has achieved. In just a few years we've made quite a transition and have grown enormously as a team. If we continue to improve our work and guide the rest of the organization to promote even more data-driven work, then we’ll really live up to the ambitions we have as APG. I'm convinced of that.

#doyouseeyourfuturewithAPG