Employee of the Year 2020: Bob de Ligt

An employee since the very beginning, Bob has been with Ditio since 2012. First as a business consultant and over the years grown to Director Solutions. In this article we introduce Bob! 

Bob, can you tell a little bit about how you started at Ditio? What did the company look like back then?

I started at Ditio in February 2012. At that time I was still working at Fluor and was ready for a new challenge. I got in contact with CEO Rick and soon we started talking about my area of expertise Document Control. A very open conversation in which it became clear that my ambitions went beyond Document Control and that in the long term I would also like to do more within the organization itself. It immediately became clear that Ditio was a good fit for my personal development.

A fun fact is that this conversation took place in a roadside restaurant since Ditio had no office at the time and was a true start-up. That is different now!

Soon I started working at Ditio within Document and information management at Jacobs. I quickly outgrew this work after which I also became involved in DMS implementations. In the meantime a new office opened in the Treubstraat in Rijswijk. At that time Ditio was only about 5 to 10 people strong.

Meanwhile, almost 10 years later, I have been given many responsibilities that focus on large customers and accounts and I actively get involved in product development (e.g. our own DMS) and account management. But also with internal matters such as the implementation of a new HR system and managing and supervising Ditiosi. I am now doing this as Director solutions!

What makes your work so enjoyable?

If you look at my story, 1 thing comes out strongly: that is that much of my work has stemmed from my own vision and proactive action. A lot is possible and doable at Ditio, as long as you put in the energy and time. Own initiative is highly valued so from day one I was allowed to do a lot around the growth and development of both myself and Ditio. After a few years, for example, we also formally started with consultancy and from there we started looking beyond just secondment. Advising, bringing knowledge to our customers and looking for the best solution together with the customer. Own input, creativity and entrepreneurship are encouraged which makes working here so dynamic and fun!

What did you want to be as a child? And is this in line with where you are now?

As a young child, I actually always wanted to become an accountant. Mainly because as an accountant you are involved in a lot in the company and everything that goes on there. You are informed from A to Z to be able to give advice - apart from the financial picture - on growth and development. This is also where I started training in a previous life. But the reality is that it's a lot less dynamic than I thought. Looking at my position now, it does give me the opportunity to be aware of many things and contribute directly to the success of Ditio. In that respect, I have definitely come out well.

About the past few years, what are some memorable moments within your Ditio career?

My 5-year anniversary was a memorable moment. An evening of memories that I will not share further in this interview... We went out to dinner with the management and the appreciation that was in the dinner and the conversations motivated me extra to go up for the next 5 years. Meanwhile, my 10-year anniversary is not far away either... In addition, I also look back, for example, to winning the first managed service contract. But above all, the customer dinners, bright nights and knowledge sessions are what I remember most outside of work!

How do you envision the future of Ditio?

If we can come together again we will take even bigger steps toward the transformation into an organization that will market new, smart products from its own expertise. My dream would be to have all colleagues together in the office more often in a daily work situation. That all our Ditiosi in rotation, whenever possible again, are in the office at least 1 day and that the connection becomes even greater!