Traineeship First Class Specialist

How you grow into a fully-fledged First Class specialist

As a First Class specialist at AFAS, you are the dedicated point of contact for your own group of customers. These customers use our software intensively and are of strategic importance to AFAS. You build a strong relationship with their administrative team, get to know their organization, and ensure they know their way around AFAS. You speak to the customer regularly via Teams and occasionally visit them in person to truly understand what is going on.

This requires in-depth knowledge of AFAS, a genuine interest in customers, a good overview, ownership, and the ability to bring in the right colleagues within AFAS. You look beyond individual customer questions. You want to understand what is happening at the customer's end, which projects are coming up, and how AFAS can help them with that.

That is why you start with the First Class Traineeship. During this period, you will learn step-by-step how our software, customers, and processes work in practice. You first build a broad foundation and then develop yourself more and more specifically towards First Class.

As a trainee, you support customers with questions, think along about processes, and learn how to translate customer needs into advice, action, and collaboration within AFAS. You work together with colleagues such as First Class specialists, service managers, consultants, product specialists, product development, and success management. This way, you get guidance where necessary and freedom where possible.

Phase 1

The first phase is the same for all our traineeships. You lay a broad foundation in customer contact, software knowledge, and problem-solving.

• You handle customer questions and learn to set priorities.
• You get to know AFAS, our software, and our customers.
• You work in practice and follow targeted training, both for the software and for soft skills.
• You learn how to manage expectations and clearly explain to customers what is and is not possible.
• You develop a feel for business processes and learn how customers use AFAS in their daily work.

Phase 2

From phase 2 onwards, your development focuses increasingly on First Class. You delve deeper into customer relationships, proactive advising, and representing customer interests within AFAS.

• You learn to build and maintain intensive customer relationships.
• You gain more and more insight into what is happening with your customers and what they need.
• You practice preparing for, conducting, and following up on customer meetings.
• You learn to proactively advise customers on the successful use of AFAS.
• You discover how to bring in the right colleagues within AFAS, for example from product development, product management, or success management.
• You learn to clearly represent customer interests within AFAS.
• You delve into industries, customer processes, and implementation issues.
• You grow in planning and organizing your own work week.

How you help our customers further

After the traineeship, you will work as a First Class specialist with your own group of customers. You are their first point of contact within AFAS and ensure they feel seen, helped, and represented. From AFAS, you are the specialist who helps them with their questions, challenges, or just to spar about the content.

Not only do you discuss open questions, incidents, or product development requests, but you also look ahead. What projects are planned at the customer's site? What developments are happening within AFAS? Where can the customer get even more out of our software? And which colleagues need to be brought in to help the customer further?

You get to know your customers well, also through on-site visits. This allows you to know what is truly important to them. Based on that knowledge, you provide valuable input for product development, think along about our services, and help customers during events such as Succestival, AFAS Open, and other customer moments.

The focus of this traineeship is on First Class, but with the knowledge and experience you gain here, you can also potentially grow towards a role as a consultant, service manager, or product specialist.

And once I have completed the traineeship?

Then you are a fully-fledged First Class specialist. You have your own group of customers, get to know their organizations and administrative teams better and better, and ensure they receive the warm, exclusive First Class experience that AFAS stands for.

You combine customer contact with content, overview, advice, and ownership. You know what is going on with your customers, represent their interests within AFAS, and ensure the right people are brought in at the right time. You are then in charge with all your acquired knowledge, skills, and energy. You embody what we stand for. Indeed: you are then an inspirer yourself.