From fragmented efforts to
Every day, more than 300,000 people travel through the Hague region using HTM’s trams and buses. Public transport may appear predictable from the outside, yet the experience of travelling is shaped by hundreds of small interactions: announcements, clarity, cleanliness, helpfulness and coordination.
HTM already scored highly in traveller satisfaction and was repeatedly named the best city transport operator in the Netherlands. The next question became: how do you shift from “good” service, to an organisation where every department feels responsible for the traveller experience?
For Manager Customer Experience Katja Veen-Buchholz, the mission was clear. She set out to build a shared sense of customer ownership in a complex operational environment.
Who is Katja Veen-Buchholz?
Katja joined HTM after building experience at KPN (telecom), Eneco (energy) and Nationale-Nederlanden (insurance and pensions). These roles shaped her strong foundation in communication, customer focus and organisational change. She brought this experience into HTM, where the CX function still needed to be built almost from scratch. Her approach is pragmatic and people-centred, with a natural ability to unite disciplines and turn ideas into movement.
The challenge: embedding customer focus in a complex organisation
HTM already offered reliable service, yet customer centricity was not woven into everyday behaviour. Improvements happened in pockets, departments worked largely in silos and there was no shared structure or ownership for CX.
Katja’s challenge was to turn customer focus from a good intention into a daily reality, supported from the executive team through to the operational level.
The approach: ownership, rhythm and collaborative improvement
Van Lanschot Kempen began its CX journey in 2015, but early efforts were fragmented, focusing mostly on product and process improvements. According to Mustafa, this wasn’t enough: “With picking up a customer journey, you don’t necessarily change the DNA of an organization. That goes with baby steps.” By 2019, the bank launched a formal CX program, structured around three components: strategy, measurement & improvement, and people & culture.
The solution: A two-fold transformation
Understanding the organisation from the inside out
Katja began by organising duo-interviews across levels and disciplines. Colleagues from different disciplines such as HR, Operations and Legal were brought together to reflect on customer experience strengths, blind spots and opportunities. These insights formed the basis for six CX pillars and a simple maturity baseline.
Giving every pillar clear ownership
Each CX pillar was assigned to a duo consisting of one tactical manager and one operational manager. Together, they were responsible for defining priorities and delivering concrete results. Regular cross-pillar sessions aligned decisions and strengthened collaboration.
Creating rhythm and speed
Katja introduced an agile light rhythm with stand-ups, short cycles and demos. This made progress visible, created learning moments and helped maintain momentum.
Activating the TOV team for quick wins
To show impact quickly, Katja activated the multidisciplinary TOV team. TOV began as “Terug naar het OV” (Return to Public Transport), a post-pandemic initiative, and later evolved into “Top in het OV” (Excellence in Public Transport). The team focuses on small, high-impact improvements in short cycles. One example is refining information at tram and bus stops to make routes and disruptions easier to understand. These practical adjustments helped colleagues see how small changes can immediately improve the traveller experience.
Growing customer focus within her own team
Her team, originally focused on marketing, communication and content, gradually developed a stronger customer mindset. They went into the field, spoke with travellers and brought real customer insights into meetings and decisions. One of the projects they delivered was mapping the journey of travellers who received a fine for not purchasing a ticket. This revealed unclear communication, gaps in guidance and a payment process that was difficult to navigate. The improvements that followed made the experience less stressful for customers and increased payment completion rates, which directly generated additional revenue for HTM.
Building a culture where everyone contributes
What makes Katja most proud is seeing colleagues from across HTM initiate improvement ideas themselves. People discovered that their input matters and that small adjustments create real value for travellers. This culture shift contributed to higher customer satisfaction, cost improvements and HTM being recognised as the best city transport operator for the fifth consecutive year.
Lessons learned & advice for CX professionals
Engage your executive team early and keep them close.
Leaders need a clear storyline and visible progress to stay committed and help drive the movement.
Choose the right name and identity for your programme.
Katja learned that naming matters. The first name she picked did not resonate widely. A strong, clear identity creates shared language and helps colleagues feel part of the initiative.
Work multidisciplinary and build shared ownership.
Combining perspectives leads to better solutions. Predictable working rhythms help colleagues contribute ideas and anchor CX in everyday work.
Share the results you deliver.
Show both the customer and business impact. Improved satisfaction, fewer avoidable contacts, clearer payment journeys that increase completion, and the value created by new propositions all help colleagues see why CX matters and why their contribution makes a difference.
Final thoughts
HTM is an operationally complex organisation where thousands of small actions shape each day’s service. Katja’s work shows that transforming customer experience is not about grand gestures. It is about building ownership, creating rhythm and helping teams take small steps that lead to meaningful improvements for travellers.
When colleagues across the organisation realise they can make a difference, customer experience becomes not just a function but a shared way of working.