Behind the scenes: life as a Care Expert at Alan Belgium

If you've ever worked in customer support, you know the drill: queues, scripts, metrics, repeat. At Alan, we do things differently. Roxanne Callaert and Elouiza Blanckaert talk about what it really means to work in Alan's Care team.

Elouiza: I'm 29, previously a Care Lead at a Brussels startup. I had Alan as my own health insurance for years and it always intrigued me. When they reached out, I was immediately interested. And the rest, as they say, is history. I’ve been at Alan for a whopping three months!

Roxanne: And we’re so excited to have you join us! I'm 36, with 13 years experience in customer care. Same story, I had Alan health insurance and loved it. And I fell in love even more during the hiring process. I’m close to reaching dinosaur status: I’ve been with Alan for three and a half years.

Elouiza: I start by writing my daily objectives in our Care Slack channel so the team knows what everyone's up to. Then it's a mix of shifts, and project work. During shifts, we answer member questions through chat and e-mail. Today I’ve done two hours on shift, a coffee catch-up with a colleague, published the daily performance report for our external partner. And this chat. 😊

Roxanne: I love the variety. Outside of shifts, we get to own projects on several topics: outsourcing, hiring, product improvements, AI supervision, … It’s genuinely broad. Right now, I’m working on a complete overhaul of our knowledge base. Get it right, and you make thousands of member interactions smoother. That's the kind of impact that keeps you motivated.

Roxanne: The ownership. At most companies, acting on a good idea means jumping through hoops. At Alan, if you're convinced something is the right move, you just do it.

Elouiza: Definitely! Even six weeks in, I already feel a lot of trust on me. For example, I was given real ownership of outsourcing tasks early. The message from day one: you were hired for a reason, we believe in you.

Roxanne: Two years ago, I was working on outsourcing, managing our external care partners. Our goal was 40% outsourced volume by year end. I ran trainings, mapped the pain points, worked closely with the external team. We hit 75%. And it wasn’t just gut feel that got us there: we tracked quality metrics, productivity scores, contact rate projections. Data is how we make decisions here. Not with 100% certainty, you rarely have that, but with enough confidence to move fast and course-correct along the way.

Elouiza: I’m just getting started on outsourcing, so I really want to get a coffee with you about that.

Roxanne: Let’s!

Elouiza: Radical transparency. From day one, I had access to decisions, big announcements, all of it. At first I worried: okay, everyone at this 800 person company can read every single thing I write in Slack. But nobody has time for that 😅. Yet the principle remains: nothing’s hidden, everything’s findable. And if it isn’t written, it didn’t happen.

Roxanne: And it is written… With a lot of emoji’s.

Elouiza: Oh God, the Slack emojis. There are so many. My favorite is the cat that moves its head back and forth.

Roxanne: Mine’s the head banging disco parrot. It's me, basically.

Elouiza: I’m discovering that there is a perfect emoji for any occasion!

Roxanne: For me what stands out most is our feedback culture: we are constantly giving each other feedback, encouraging and constructive. Daunting at first, but I've never grown the way I've grown at Alan. You get so good at giving and receiving feedback.

Elouiza: All of this ties back to the same thing: Alan genuinely wants you to succeed. Which shows up in the day-to-day more than you'd expect.

Roxanne: It really does. Even something like flexibility. It's not just a buzzword on a careers page, it's just how we actually work.

Elouiza: Yesterday I wasn't feeling great, so I took a longer lunch. That's it - no guilt, no explaining yourself. I also work from home, so it’s very easy to organize my work day.

Roxanne: The trust and flexibility are amazing as a parent. Kids come with surprises, and it’s great not to have to worry about that. Time off is also genuinely encouraged. I once went five months without a break and my coach and lead were both like: Roxanne. Take time off. Now.

Roxanne: Managing Slack. You could spend your whole day on it. And the pace: I've been here three and a half years and the job has never been routine. I love that, but it means being deliberate about your energy.

Elouiza: We're running a marathon, not a sprint.

Roxanne: Exactly! Everything is constantly moving and changing. It’s exhilarating, but definitely not for everyone.

Elouiza: For me it's the breadth of knowledge. In most care roles you specialize - that’s not the case in Belgium so you need to know everything.

Roxanne: We’re definitely experts, that’s for sure!

Elouiza: Yes, I’m getting there! And I’m well supported. One step at a time.

Elouiza: Really project yourself in the role, think of what kind of impact you could have. Ask any questions you may have. By the end, you should know whether this is where you'll thrive.

Roxanne: Exactly, we want to get to know you! My advice would be: if you're in doubt, do it. Apply. What’s the worst that can happen?

Elouiza: The process can be intimidating, but in practice I really enjoyed it. Every conversation I had with the team made me more convinced. By the end I wasn't nervous, I was just excited.

Roxanne: Same. Three and a half years later, that feeling hasn't really gone anywhere. 💚

Are you eager to find out if a role as Care Expert at Alan would be a good fit for you? Great, we'd love to meet you! You can find the job posting here.