Last Monday Erik Reudink was awarded with the bronze award for his distinctive approach to project management. The award was presented by IPMA-NL (International Project Management Association), the largest platform in the industry. Erik got the award for his role as project manager at three Dutch municipalities, where he leads IT projects in addition to his work for ZooEasy. Erik was surprised: “I am proud for winning this award, but this is a team effort. The greatest reward was seeing each and every member of the team grow as a professional.”
In addition of his work for ZooEasy, Erik is involved as IT project manager at the municipalities of Hattem, Heerde and Oldebroek. “I was commissioned to realize a new IT environment for the three municipalities, because the existing IT environment was outdated. We started to provide all workspaces with new equipment. Each employee received an Ultrabook or Thin client, so they could work anywhere they want: at the office, at home or on the road. That is part of the The New Word of Work. It was a complicated assignment; telephone equipment and software had to be adapted throughout the new environment and employees received a training to deal with this new situation. Now there is a modern and future-oriented IT environment. This is safer and can be maintained at lower cost.”
During the mission Erik was confronted with many challenges, such as cost management and time pressure. He says: “We have exceeded the original budget, but by consulting everything and inform the client on time, we were able to solve this together.” Another wish of the municipalities was to move quickly to the new IT environment. “Usually such a project takes about two years, but we moved the municipality of Heerde to the new IT environment withing nine months. The municipalities of Oldebroek and Hattem followed within a year.” How was that possible? “First, learn of experiences from other projects. We have also contracted several subprojects and given a clear deadline. That meant that our team could demand and monitor for hard results.”
Also within ZooEasy both customers as the teammembers noticed that Erik is strong in project management. Erik: “We often provide custom project for customers. Together we define the project from start to finish. Everyone is involved; we really do this together with the customer and the developers of our team.” The result? Many customers are impressed by this service. What is his secret? “You should learn of each project. Do not just think about it, but also act differently next time. It is also important to work together as one cohesive team. Everyone has his own responsibilities and is expert in his own field. By working together, you always get a result to be proud of.”
IPMA-NL annually awards a prize to the best B/C certified project manager of the year. Erik was nominated in the category from 35 years. The jury assesses the certified professionals on their personal qualities. These participants were earlies assessed on the decisions they have made in the project, such as risk management, control of finance, management and more.
Photo above: Riejo Reudink (left) and Erik Reudink (right).
Picture beneath: Erik Reudink (left).