A widely supported online strategy and multi-year plan: the foundation for better customer experience, lower costs, and modern self-service for more than half a million households and businesses.

Online vision, strategy, and multi-year plan for GBLT

GBLT is the joint tax office of five water boards and six municipalities. The organization collects taxes, implements the Valuation of Immovable Property Act (WOZ), and serves over half a million households and businesses. Accessible and reliable online services are therefore essential. Their motto: Simple when possible, personal when needed.

The challenge

The existing website and digital channels were not user-friendly and did not meet the needs of residents and businesses. There was an overload of information without clear structure, and content was not always easy to understand. Navigation was organization-driven instead of task- and audience-driven, the customer journey was fragmented, and conversions to My Desk were low.

Self-service was inadequate: forms were cumbersome, digital signatures were missing, and modern channels such as chat or WhatsApp were not available. The site was also not mobile-first and did not fully comply with WCAG and B1 standards. The result: user frustration and additional workload for the organization.

The motto “Simple when possible, personal when needed” was therefore not being delivered. GBLT needed a digital strategy that would bring this motto to life: a future-proof foundation with clear priorities, enabling residents and businesses to manage their taxes quickly, safely, and easily.

The solution

We developed a digital strategy and multi-year plan built on four pillars:

• Customer-focused: task- and audience-oriented information, personal communication, and smart self-service.
• Accessible: a user-friendly, mobile-first approach fully compliant with WCAG and B1 standards.
• Data-driven: continuous optimization based on customer data and insights.
• Innovative: leveraging technology, AI, and automation for greater efficiency and scalability.

To achieve this, I conducted a UX analysis and facilitated customer journey workshops to clarify needs and key tasks. I delivered an online vision, strategy, multi-year plan, and roadmap with both quick wins and long-term initiatives. I also created a high-level UX design for site structure, navigation, and homepage, and provided advice on CMS, governance, accessibility, legal compliance, and scalability. Finally, I prepared a project plan for phase 1: the development of a new website.

The result

The project delivered a clear strategy with priorities and initiatives that provide immediate guidance. There is now a strong foundation: a future-proof plan that allows GBLT to improve its online services step by step in the coming years. The plan outlines how GBLT can better align customer experience with the customer journey and make processes more efficient through digitalization and automation.As a first tangible step, the development of a new, scalable website has been initiated – ready to grow with future needs. The first steps are the first steps are already in progress.