Five Minutes With . . . Verint’s Maurice van der Heijden

In the ‘Five Minutes With...’ series, we will be asking a wide range of our Verinteers the same six questions. This allows us to hear new ideas, share fresh perspectives, and showcase the talent that exists within our company.

Next up, Maurice van der Heijden

Name: Maurice van der Heijden

What is your job title:

Just to confuse everyone, I have two job titles. I am the VP of Sales, Benelux, where I am leading the sales team in that region. In addition, I am the VP of Digital and Voice of the Customer, EMEA, which means I head up a group of specialist salespeople for our digital-first engagement and VoC (web/mobile) portfolio.

Please describe what you do day-to-day in one sentence (your description can be as serious, or as fun, as you’d like).

My day-to-day is really simple to describe. I am supporting my sales teams to be as successful as they can be.

Name a distinct moment in your career that has had a significant impact on you. Why was it impactful?

In the early 2000’s (that makes me feel ancient…) I got my first promotion into a people management function. This was a normal progression path in the consulting industry, but I had never thought of myself as a leader in that way.

Soon after, I was quite surprised that I did like that new part of my role, and that I was actually quite good at it. This was a pivotal moment, because it meant I could expand my career into a whole new, different direction.

What would you tell your past self on your first day at Verint, considering your current experience and perspective?

Go out and listen to customers. All the Verint onboarding training is super helpful, but talking to customers about how they experience our software in day-to-day use is a real eye opener. It really shows the strengths of the solutions we provide and how we help our customers to improve their CX. They are also very helpful in pointing out the shortfalls. 😉

How do you navigate change when working in an industry where technological advancements are constant?

I don’t think constant technological advancements change the fundamental principles of our business.

We shouldn’t overthink or overhype it. Some things don’t change. Verint has been solving CX business problems for decades, and customers are looking to us to provide proven solutions for their CX issues.

Tell us about one of the role models that has contributed to your success and why.       

Early in my career I had a visually impaired manager. He was outstanding at understanding and interpreting customer and staff issues. We talked about this, and he explained that due to his disability, he really had to listen intently to people without having any visual clues.

That real listening to people was the key to his success. In this world, it is very easy to get distracted, to fill pauses with words, to try to answer before really knowing the question. Listening is an underrated skill!

Your team was just given a TV show! What’s the title? Bonus point for the genre.

‘Closing the Deal!’ A reality TV show about the exciting life of software sales.

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