Meet Martijn
"Fitting out around 300 new stores each year with software and hardware is the norm for our small team."
Martijn de Leeuw, Service Delivery ManagerHi! Could you introduce yourself?
My name is Martijn de Leeuw, I'm 35 years old and I live in Hoorn. It's nice and close to work, so my commute isn't very long! I've been working at Action for seven years now, and three of them have been as a Service Delivery Manager.
What's your role as a Service Delivery Manager?
Together with my team of seven technical specialists, I'm responsible for stores, real estate and fraud prevention in the area of IT. In other words, all the hardware and software that's running in the stores. We handle incidents that the Service Desk can't manage and assist with a lot of tech projects. As a Service Delivery Manager, I'm also the contract owner for hardware and software suppliers and responsible for budgets.
Why did you choose to work at Action?
My heart lies in stores, so as a fast-growing store organisation, I've always found Action interesting. I knew a few employees and got talking to them. The hands-on culture, flat organisation and pace of work convinced me to apply. And Action's international nature is something I still find interesting.
Has anything surprised you at Action?
I'd expected Action to grow quickly, but I'm surprised at how fast things actually go. Time flies by at Action, and a lot happens in a week. I experienced the opening of 650 stores seven years ago, and we're already up to 2,300 stores!
"I love the variety and the responsibility in my job."
What's the best part of your job? And what can be challenging?
I love the variety and the responsibility in my job. I also get a lot of energy from seeing my team grow and develop. On a personal level, I also enjoy the dynamics of our fast-growing organisation. The flexibility that this requires is challenging sometimes. As an example, we need to think carefully about whether the solutions we're looking at today will still work in a year's time.
What are you proud of at work?
A lot of things! In particular, the smooth process of opening Action locations in new countries. Fitting out around 300 new stores each year with software and hardware is the norm for our small team. I'm also proud of the fact that we've got good monitoring systems in place. By detecting incidents in good time or – better still – preventing them, we have more and more control over the situation and can take proactive action.
What's the working atmosphere like?
It's great. We like to have a laugh and work well together. We do everything for the stores. When we're really busy, we help each other out and know who and when to ask for help. The team has lots of different personalities, which makes it a lot of fun and provides new insights. Our team is one of few that's completely Dutch-speaking. But that can always change, as we've got many international colleagues throughout the organisation.
Do you have any tips for future colleagues?
Don't take the pace at which we work lightly, as you'll be jumping on board a high-speed train. But if you love a dynamic environment where you can learn a lot, want to grow and know how to tackle things, you've come to the right place!