Caroline Kott, End Customer project leader at Babilou Family gives us some benchmarks on her company and management of resource-related issues by FiveForty°.

Caroline Kott: Present in all regions with 1,900 locations, Babilou Family is the leader in enterprise preschools in France. We also work for localities, schools, daycare centers and have our own childcare training school.

When and why was the company created?

CK: Babilou saw the light of day in 2003 following the finding of an blatant lack of adequate daycare solutions for children under three years. Even though France is the country where the rate of employment of women and birth rate dynamics are among the highest in Europe.

What needs led you to FiveForty°?

CK: Faced with this ever-increasing workload, we had a real need for additional expertise and resources. We were facing

an acute lack of operational staff. It was a struggle to fill the open position want ads we were issuing.

"Repeated unmet requests"

How did you reach them?

CK: We called upon our networks and step by step we made it to FiveForty°, having heard about their approach and already experienced the qualities of some of their consultants.

Basically, what motivated your choice?

CK: Well, of course the competence in the implementation of Dynamics on the Finance stream, but not only that. The human aspect, the relationship and character of the consultants were decisive factors. I had already previously worked with competent people with whom, it didn’t match at all. Here, we can count on the availability of the resources at all times.

What initial balance can you draw from this collaboration?

CK: In my opinion, it's very satisfying. I can delegate a lot regardless of whoever I talk with at FiveForty°. I don't have to

re-explain everything. I was also struck by the rise in competence of a consultant who in two days’ time had a real dialogue with our professionals whereas after several weeks nothing was happening with his predecessor at another integrator.

How is FiveForty° different?

CK: A perfect knowledge of Dynamics 365 and these dual skills, IT and accounting. They provide tips on business operating methods. They are able to talk just as well with the integrator, the IT department and the business people.

It is appreciable when in a technical dialogue, you don’t have loss of information nor risk of distortion. The resources of FiveForty° make it possible to compensate for the lack of bandwidth of the internal experts. And then, contact with the end users is perfect.

"They are able to talk just as well

with the integrator, with the IT department and with the business people"

What do you think are areas for improvement that you could consider?

CK:  Going down to the nitty-gritty, you would have to compare with the IBM-type mega structures. But that wouldn't make any sense as opposed to the nimbleness the human-scale size of FiveForty° allows. And then, everything works with the test books and the  proposed operational modes. 

If you had to recommend FiveForty°, what would you say?

CK: The level of knowledge of the subject matter and the availability. I never hear "we'll fix this later", for instance. Ease of contact as well. I like this ability to switch from one subject to another right away. The transfer of knowledge from one resource to another, this substitutable capability is a real comfort.

What would you suggest to be vigilant about?

CK: Not easy. I’d say, maybe to stay alert even when everything is going fine while keeping a proactive outlook, just in case.

What differentiates FiveForty° from other BTCs? [Business and Technology Consultants]

CK: Because they are more involved than the others. We feel that we are not treated only like a number. The respect is tangible, sincere. We feel that they are trying to build a trusting relationship. Yes, with them there is the added respect in the interest they have about their client's success.

Three words to sum them up?

CK: Expertise, collaboration, availability.

How would you rate your relationship on a scale of 1 to 5?

CK: Personally, I would go all the way up to the square root of 25.