Case Study

Digital Service Transformation – From Back Office to Expertise Center

To evolve the Back Office into a clearly positioned Expertise Center with defined team identities, a structured service offering and visible stakeholder value.

Client

Flemish Public Employment Service

Situation

The Back Office of the Digital Service Delivery department consisted of several teams that had emerged historically based on operational needs. While they delivered high-quality second-line case handling and strong knowledge management, several challenges existed:

No clearly defined team identity per sub-team
Limited strategic positioning
Insufficient stakeholder visibility
Fragmented stakeholder management
Perception as “administrative support” rather than expertise
Large teams combining people management and content responsibilities

The organization required a repositioning from reactive back-office support to a structured, recognized Expertise Center aligned with DDV's strategic objectives.

Assignment

Lead the transformation of the Back Office department into a future-oriented Expertise Center.

The assignment focused on:

Defining clear team identities
Developing concrete service offerings per team
Building a structured stakeholder management framework
Strengthening internal positioning and visibility
Supporting rebranding and change management

The transformation aimed to shift from operational support perception toward strategic expertise recognition.

Challenge

Key Objectives

1 — Define Team Identity

Translate “as-is” operations into clearly articulated core missions
Define core assignments per team
Refine the overarching identity of the Expertise Center
Ensure alignment with DDV's strategic framework (OGSM)

2 — Develop Concrete Service Offerings

Clarify what each team delivers
Define value propositions for internal and external stakeholders
Move from task-driven to service-driven positioning
Make expertise visible and understandable

3 — Stakeholder Mapping & Management

Identify current, potential and desired stakeholders
Prioritize stakeholder groups
Map needs and expectations
Integrate stakeholder management into daily practice

4 — Rebranding & Positioning

Shift perception from “Back Office” to “Expertise Center”
Develop communication and change initiatives
Increase organizational visibility and accessibility
Reduce invisibility and dependency on informal networks

5 — Governance & Team Strengthening

Clarify roles and responsibilities
Strengthen ownership within teams
Define quality criteria for deliverables
Create bottom-up engagement within clear strategic boundaries

Approach

The transformation followed a structured yet co-creative approach:

Analysis of the current (“as-is”) situation
Bottom-up definition of team core missions
Validation against predefined quality criteria
Structured stakeholder mapping exercises
Bi-weekly progress reviews with management
Integration of communication and change management support

Teams were given freedom in defining their identity, provided they met agreed strategic and quality principles. The project balanced autonomy with governance.

Results, delivered

Clearly defined core missions per team
Refined overarching identity of the Expertise Center
Structured stakeholder mapping framework
Increased clarity of service offering
Improved internal and external visibility
Strengthened ownership within teams
Foundation for rebranding and future-proof positioning
Clear governance structure for sustained development

The department evolved from an operationally perceived back office to a strategically positioned Expertise Center.

Our involvement

As Project Manager, I was responsible for:

Designing the full transformation roadmap
Structuring identity and stakeholder workstreams
Facilitating co-creation with team leaders and teams
Aligning transformation with DDV strategy
Integrating change and communication principles
Guarding clarity, quality criteria and validation
Ensuring sustainable embedding beyond rebranding

The role combined organizational design, service design, stakeholder strategy and change leadership.

Total Mandays

(Project- & Change Management)

Get In Touch

kris@factter.be