Ibenfrits

In 2015, the three Delft entrepreneurs, Thomas, Michiel and Joost, looked at the mortgage market together and found that things could be different. Or rather, that things had to be different. And so they started Ikbenfrits. In the early years, with a small team of 'Fritsers', they could make do with programs such as Word in which they recorded the annual performance and development reviews. Over the years, however, the 'Fritsers' team has grown considerably, to the point where manual record-keeping of development reviews is simply no longer possible. 'Due to the success of our online activities, our team has grown very quickly in recent years,' says Lea Siebes, Head of People within Ikbenfrits. 'We now have almost 100 people working for us; we expect this to double by 2022. That obviously brings with it the necessary challenges. The development interviews are a good example of this. We did have annual meetings, but they lacked a clear structure and overview. And that is exactly what our people need now that we are growing so fast. Moreover, there were differences between the teams in the way they were assessed. In short, it could be done much more efficiently and clearly.

Three Pillars for Performance Management

Enough reasons for Ikbenfrits to start working on the annual interview cycle. Because Ikbenfrits is at its core a technology company - they are, after all, an online mortgage advisor - they developed their own new format for the interview cycles. The new policy rests on three main pillars:

• Continuous conversation cycle
• Setting up goals
• 360 degree feedback

'We call the continuous conversation cycle the monthly 'check-in,' Lea explains. 'Instead of the standard annual interviews, we have a 'check-in' every month. In half an hour, employee and manager discuss together the growth and development of the employee in question. What is the employee proud of, what are his/her challenges and where does he/she need help? Your personal development is an ongoing process; the monthly 'check-in' fits in perfectly with that. The same goes for 360 degree feedback. Previously, the performance review took place between employee and manager, with the manager providing feedback. In the new setup, using 360 degree feedback, employees also ask for feedback from colleagues. This gives a much more complete picture of a person's performance. With these two pillars plus the focus on goal setting, the appraisal cycle is much better suited to the dynamics and diversity of our organization and teams.'

No 'one size fits all'

After they had worked out the design of the desired new interview cycle themselves, Ikbenfrits looked for a partner who could work with them to automate the interview cycle as well as support them in introducing the new way of working properly to the employees. We invited four parties. Our main requirement was a tool with a lot of flexibility and preferably in Dutch. We definitely did not want a 'one size fits all' tool, because it suits us much better if we can personalize timelines and conversation templates and customize them per team. During the conversation with Treams it was immediately clear that the platform met all our needs and that they thought along with us. They listened to us and asked good questions.

"For our new interview cycle to succeed, it is very important that we enthuse and encourage people to actively engage in their growth and development. Treams helps us enormously in this regard. It really gives us the feeling that we are going through this process together."

Clear and user-friendly

In practice, Treams indeed proved to be the sparring partner they were looking for at Ikbenfrits. Our HR coordinator worked with Treams to set up the back end of the tool. Think of things like 'how do you process all employees in the tool' and 'how do all functionalities work'. The nice thing about the Treams platform is that it is very user-friendly and helps to introduce structure. When you log in, it is immediately clear what you need to do, the timeline is clear and employees automatically receive a reminder when an action item is open. We can customize the conversation templates so we can tailor it for each team. With all of this, the whole process of having conversations, asking and giving feedback, assessing and setting goals has become much more efficient. And our HR department benefits greatly from the reports in Treams. This monitors which conversations have or have not been held and who has or has not completed and achieved their goals.'

Collaboration as a big plus

Besides the fact that Treams' platform fits seamlessly with Ikbenfrits' wishes, Lea experiences the cooperation with Treams as a big plus. 'For our new appraisal cycle to succeed, it is very important that we enthuse and stimulate people to actively engage in their growth and development. Treams helps us enormously in this regard. For example, they drew up a communication plan for the introduction of the platform and we also organized this kick-off together. Treams also responds well to our feedback in general, listens well and responds quickly to questions. That really gives us the feeling that we are going through this process together.

About Ikbenfrits.nl

Ikbenfrits has developed in recent years into a very fast-growing mortgage platform. Consumers can use Ikbenfrits' website to gain insight into mortgage options. On October 11, 2021, Ikbenfrits was nominated by Deloitte for the Technology Fast50 awards 2021. This ranking recognizes the fifty fastest growing technology companies in the Netherlands for their exceptional growth performance.