Goodbye, gut feeling: how VDAB moved to data-driven product enhancements

May 22, 2025

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VDAB, Flanders’ public employment service, set out to optimize its digital services by shifting from intuition-based decisions to data-driven product development. With support from delaware, they introduced a unified KPI framework to define success across products, enable continuous improvement and turn data into a real driver for innovation. (5 minute read)

Challenge

Develop and improve products by means of data and clear metrics, instead of relying on gut feeling or experience.

Solution

Enhance digital products via a KPI-based approach, rooted in shared success criteria.

Results

Organization-wide alignment, a culture of continuous data-driven improvement, and cross-functional collaboration.

Challenge: from isolated projects to evolving products

VDAB’s digital offering – where users begin their journey to find jobs, trainings, or orientation support – needed a new approach. To create more meaningful impact, VDAB wanted to shift towards a more data-driven mindset. They wanted to move beyond one-off projects, and prioritize continuous development and measurable outcomes.

“There were data and reports everywhere, but those weren’t really used to formulate actions or priorities,” says Steven Debaere, Data & Business Intelligence Consultant at delaware and a member of VDAB’s Digicon team that leads the project. “Without clear success criteria for their products or website, it was hard to know what was actually working or if users were finding what they needed.”

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Data without direction: despite having dashboards and reports, VDAB lacked shared KPIs. This made it hard to act on insights or measure real success.
No clear definition of success: product owners ran isolated projects without alignment or shared goals.

Solution: data, dashboards, delaware

Guided by delaware, VDAB underwent a transformative journey, in which they introduced various operational and managerial changes. A cross-functional collaboration led to an integrated, connected and fully data-driven way of working, including a KPI framework with shared success criteria across all digital products. Actionable dashboards were set up to structurally track metrics such as visibility and conversion, with the aim of achieving 80% user satisfaction: do customers actually find what they’re looking for?

“These in-depth and data-informed analyses also created a more objectified view of the customer’s online journey,” Steven adds. “That made it easier to define focus areas for improvement, link KPIs to feasible management targets, and allocate VDAB’s resources more effectively. We also used storytelling to show the added value of this data approach, to ensure it was more easily understood and embraced.”

Build the foundation: define shared KPIs, build dashboards, and support product owners to adopt iterative, value-driven ways of working.
Align the organization: introduce common success criteria across products, and refine them through cross-functional cooperation.
Shift the culture: embed KPIs into daily workflows, integrate best practices, and kick off A/B tests to objectively measure impact and enable sustainable growth.

Before, ‘improving the website’ meant something different to everyone. But once we defined success in numbers, the conversation suddenly became much easier. Collaboration improved, silos disappeared, and we started speaking the same language.

Eveline Belemans, Product Manager at VDAB

Results: optimizations, tests, and new applications

The new data-driven approach has enabled continuous improvement of VDAB’s digital services through quantitative insights, with the optimization of the job tool as a prime example. Currently, A/B tests are conducted to help prove the real impact of these changes, turning assumptions into measurable outcomes and allowing VDAB to move toward a higher level of data maturity.

VDAB will now translate this integrated approach to the website’s employer-facing side. “We’ll apply everything we’ve learned so far, and continue to perfect these data-driven practices,” explains Eveline Belemans, Product Manager at VDAB. “One key lesson? It doesn’t have to be perfect from the start. You need time to grow into your KPIs and mature as a team. After all, the project is never really ‘finished’, it’s about evolving and learning. And by working cross-functionally from the beginning, you gain faster buy-in and reach stronger concepts, built on shared insights.”

VDAB & delaware

“At delaware, we don’t just implement solutions,” says Steven. “We help steering and supporting decisions along the way. This project is a great example of that. Together, we’ve integrated a holistic method that united different teams: a beautiful approach to product development. Data now has a seat at the table.”

“It was a great story of complementary expertise,” Eveline concludes. “The collaboration has been, and still is, an extremely positive experience. delaware always knew the ultimate destination, but guided us step by step without overwhelming us. That’s the true strength of this tale: we achieved this together.”