An Inside Story of the team that delivers business impact through actionable insights to IT/ ITeS majors and keeps customer relations active for decades.
No Feedbacker ever had trouble finding Chandu, Delivery Unit Head – Technology, at the office. If not at his desk, the best place to catch him is the conference room. He spends his time resolving client queries, explaining a POV (point of view), or training his young team members on the nuances of data analysis and customer interaction.
This hideout is where research delivery is planned for India’s IT/ ITeS majors. And, this is the story of how the team drove the customer experience-based research engine for leading tech services enterprises.
A Team That Functions Like a Human Body
The team delivers about 50 research studies, 100 CXO conversations and 100 study readouts each year. The key to delivering quality beyond quantity is always the oneness within the delivery team. The research studies range from Customer Experience, Brand Experience, and Industry Analysis reports to Ad hoc studies that answer specific questions by the tech giants.
They function like a human body with Chandu being the heart, Mithun Shetty, Sanka Phani Teja, Piyushi Chaudhary, Deekshith Hegde, Vaishnavi Shrivastava, Kaushik PKN and Silky Saluja being vital organs. One compliments the other during a challenge and each of them are integral to the organization’s delivery wing.
Meeting the Demand of Who’s Who of Indian ITeS with 3Cs
The eight-member army works with the who’s who of the Indian Tech Services space, raising the bar high and keeping Feedbackers proud. They vouch for consistent planning, clarity of thought and concise communication as the recipe to keep the crème de la crème engaged.
But the secret sauce that creates success is the energy and cohesiveness, according to Chandu.
“It is the energy level and cohesiveness of the team that makes even the daunting work manageable. Each of my researchers is able to see the effect of their work and interaction on client business. I believe that early exposure to client interaction brings the understanding and nuances of business into research. This is crucial, especially in the B2B space. Besides, the team is mentored and trained from day 1 to bring down the learning curve. The approach has worked well for us.”
With this unique approach, the delivery unit has not only met specific client requirements but also built long-lasting client relationships, some crossing over two decades.
There are Bad Days Too
A typical day for the DU team entails interaction with the list of marquee clients, critical and short deadlines and board-level research presentations. Of all the tasks, winning the client cohorts at different maturity levels in business and leveraging research studies remains a crucial challenge for the team. Sometimes, engaging with clients working across time zones becomes a daunting task.
The challenges necessitate the approach to be customized for all 50 research studies. It needs to be unique for the 100 conversations. Therefore, the tactic in client management demands the team to be attuned to keeping the engagement both positive and effective.
Creating Success Stories, One After the Other
What makes all the work, managing time zones, and research deadlines worth it is the visible impact the team has created. The studies delivered have been impactful in predicting competitive trends at a board level for a marque client. The approach is designed to strengthen customer growth based on specific findings for a tech leader or an account. A transparent view/one-account view across service lines and target regions helps the team create the right strategy. Besides, implementing the same for niche players makes the tasks purpose-driven. Training and mentoring the young members early on in customer interaction, research analysis and actionable insights has always helped the team.
Raising a toast to the smart team that makes the ITeS leaders smile.