Sabio Transforms Essent Contact Centre, Cutting Costs 50%

Sabio has delivered a contact centre transformation for Essent N.V., the Netherlands’ largest energy supplier.

They reduced technology costs by 50%, improving agent satisfaction, and modernizing operations across more than 1,000 agents in two locations.

The migration was completed in under 12 weeks, replacing a legacy on-premise system that had become costly to maintain and limited the organization’s ability to introduce new capabilities. Agents had previously worked across multiple disconnected systems, creating inefficiencies in daily operations.

“Our agents were constantly working with different screens – multiple chat instances open at once, multiple agent desktop instances. It was messy, and in some cases, quite stressful.” – Michiel Kouijzer, SAFe Product Manager for Customer Interaction, Omnichannel and Digital Transformation, Essent

A phased migration approach was used, beginning with the SME segment before scaling across the wider organization.

This avoided disruption to customers, including during peak winter demand, when a live chat migration was completed without impacting service levels.

Following the transition, Essent reported zero critical incidents, alongside improved performance and stability. Agent workplace satisfaction also increased, with NPS rising from +19 to +26.

“A lot of colleagues were saying I was mad for even suggesting this approach. It kind of feels like a victory on a personal level that it did work out. You just have to be a little ambitious – and have the right expert partner who can make it work.” – Michiel Kouijzer, Essent

The programme involved close collaboration between Sabio and Essent teams, with consultants embedded on-site to support delivery and integration across systems and partners. The result is a unified agent workspace, bringing voice, chat and customer data into a single interface.

“This project showcases Sabio’s unique position in the contact centre technology landscape. We’re not just moving Essent to the cloud – we’re establishing a foundation for continuous improvement in their customer experience delivery.” – Wouter Bakker, Country Manager, Sabio Group Benelux

Author: Hannah Swankie

Reviewed by: Jo Robinson