Mohan Balekundri

Spearheaded a team of diverse specialists including graphic designers, sales development representatives, market researchers, voice-over artists, web developers, and social media managers.

Increased Customer Satisfaction:

• Championed a client-centric approach, exceeding expectations and achieving a high CSAT score of 4.4 out of 5.
• Proactively addressed customer concerns by fostering open communication and ensuring timely resolution.

Enhanced Project Management & Reporting:

• Developed and maintained comprehensive daily, weekly, and monthly volume reports.
• Translated data into actionable insights, providing clear visibility into team productivity, project progress, and potential roadblocks.
• Utilized data analysis to identify areas for improvement and implement process optimizations.

Streamlined Bug Resolution Process:

• Partnered closely with the product team, conducting daily reviews to proactively identify and address bugs.
• Fostered a collaborative environment that encouraged open communication and knowledge sharing, leading to efficient issue resolution and accelerated product development.
• Celebrated team successes in fixing bugs and enhancing the product, ensuring high morale and continued innovation.

Led on-time, on-budget program delivery through meticulous planning, execution, and cross-team collaboration.

Communicated effectively with stakeholders (team, clients, vendors) to ensure alignment and address roadblocks.

Mitigated program risks through proactive problem-solving and solution development.

Championed quality improvement by:

• Developing and implementing program-specific quality frameworks.
• Establishing selection criteria for hiring top talent.
• Designing performance metrics to assess team effectiveness.

Key Projects

2015 - Led the successful onboarding of 1,200 FTEs across various network services for one of Australia's largest telecom service providers (1.5 years). Played a dual role as Project Manager and Solution Consultant, ensuring a smooth transition and exceeding client expectations.

• Owned the entire hiring process, from creating job profiles and setting selection criteria to determining training durations and overseeing accreditation. Established quality metrics to ensure a high caliber of new hires.
• Collaborated effectively across departments (hiring, training, IT infrastructure, facilities, risk, and contingency) to design a comprehensive Transition Plan with clear milestones for successful project execution.
• Partnered with IS teams to design a custom dashboard and performance management framework to track progress, identify areas for improvement, and ensure ongoing success.

2017 - Improved Customer Experience Through Bangalore Case Management Team

Challenge: The Bangalore technical team's performance metrics consistently fell short, negatively impacting Net Promoter Score (NPS), issue resolution rates, and turnaround times (TAT).

Action: Conducted a root cause analysis (RCA) to identify the cause. Identified delays within the case management team, located in a separate organization, as a key contributor.

Proposed a case study highlighting the need for a dedicated Bangalore case management team.

Results: Successfully piloted a 10-member Bangalore case management team and achieved significant improvements in customer experience:

• NPS increased from 35% to 65% (80% increase)
• Issue resolution rate rose from 68% to 89% (21% increase)
• TAT decreased from 6 hours to under 1 hour (83% reduction)
• Current team size is 90 FTEs

This project demonstrates my ability to:

• Analyze complex data and identify root causes.
• Develop and implement solutions to improve operational efficiency.
• Drive positive customer experience through strategic initiatives.

2018 - Customer Empowerment Through Digital Transformation

Successfully transitioned a significant portion of our customer base from contacting the call center to utilizing a user-friendly mobile app to address their needs. This achievement stemmed from a multi-pronged strategy focused on:

• Enhancing Customer Awareness: We actively promoted the app's benefits, educating customers about the convenience and efficiency it offered.
• Driving App Downloads: We implemented initiatives to encourage app downloads, making it readily available for customers.
• Seamless Communication Channels: We provided multiple avenues for customers to access the app, including SMS links to chat functionalities and website chat options replacing traditional IVR menus.
• Incentivizing App Usage: Exclusive promotional deals offered exclusively on the app further motivated customers to adopt the new platform.
• Optimizing Wait Times: We addressed frustrations associated with long wait times by introducing features like chat options on the IVR for extended hold periods.

These efforts yielded significant results. Our digital adoption rates soared from 40% in FY'21 to an impressive 70% in FY'22. Currently, in FY'23, we are maintaining a healthy adoption rate of 68%, exceeding our target of 65%.

This digital transformation project empowered our customers and streamlined our support operations, demonstrating the positive impact technology can have on the customer experience.

2020 - Led the strategic development and implementation of a Community of Experts (COE) program to address customer service challenges and enhance operational efficiency. This program focused on creating versatile frontline agents capable of handling both service and technical inquiries, reducing transfer rates, and increasing first contact resolution.

Key Program Elements:

• Cross-functional training: Developed comprehensive training programs to equip agents with expertise in both service and technical domains. This involved collaboration with various departments to ensure in-depth knowledge across functionalities.
• Knowledge base and resource development: Built a centralized knowledge base with clear procedures, troubleshooting guides, and FAQs to empower agents with self-service resources and facilitate efficient resolution.
• Mentorship and peer-to-peer learning: Established a mentorship program where experienced agents coached and guided new recruits, fostering a collaborative learning environment and knowledge sharing within the team.
• Performance tracking and feedback loop: Implemented performance metrics to measure transfer rates, first contact resolution, and customer satisfaction. Regular feedback loops were established to continuously refine training programs and knowledge resources based on real-world scenarios.

Results:

• Reduced call transfer rates by 60% (from 7.5% to 3%), significantly improving customer experience by minimizing frustration and streamlining the resolution process.
• Increased first contact resolution by 19% (from 64% to 76%), leading to faster issue resolution and improved customer satisfaction.
• Decreased customer complaints escalated to ombudsmen by 42% (from 6 complaints to 3.5 per 10,000 contacts), demonstrating a significant improvement in overall customer experience and service quality.

2022 - Spearheaded the transformation of the Service team

from a cost center to a revenue generator, Sales and Service team, achieving a 7.5% conversion rate in FY'23, exceeding the target of 6%.

• Developed a comprehensive change management plan with clearly defined milestones to guide the team through the cultural shift towards sales and service excellence. This plan ensured a smooth transition and minimized resistance.
• Established effective redressal forums to address employee concerns promptly and efficiently. This fostered trust and improved customer satisfaction, leading to higher conversion rates.
• Developed a robust sales training plan to upskill team members on sales techniques, product knowledge, and customer engagement strategies. This program equipped the team with the necessary tools for success and contributed significantly to the sales performance improvement.
• Implemented a performance-driven incentive plan that motivated and rewarded team members for exceeding sales targets and providing exceptional customer service. This plan aligned individual goals with the overall team objective of revenue generation.
• Proactively hired a dedicated sales coach to provide personalized coaching and mentorship to the team. The coach's expertise helped to improve individual performance, build confidence, and elevate overall sales effectiveness.
• Closely monitored service metrics throughout the transformation process to ensure a continued focus on customer satisfaction alongside sales growth. This balanced approach maintained a positive customer experience while driving revenue.

• Led insurance collections team, exceeding targets and SLAs.
• Managed debt, payments, and reconciliations, utilizing technology for efficiency.
• Mentored and coached team for growth, achieving high performance and satisfaction.
• Collaborated on process improvements, attrition control, and key metrics (NPS, TAT).
• Resolved escalations, and ensured adherence to regulations.

Highlights:

• Achieved 98% TAT through volume forecasting and performance optimization.
• Led successful QMS (ISO 9001-2001) program certification.
• Maintained zero attrition for four quarters.
• Cleared 15,000 case backlog through the strategic plan (awarded "Best Manager").

• Assisting Banking and Credit Card clients with basic questions, balance transfers, upselling, and retention over the phone.
• Developing and implementing strategies to improve NPS scores, such as identifying areas for improvement and
• implementing changes to address customer concerns.
• Monitoring and addressing customer complaints to ensure that they are handled promptly and effectively; developing and
• implementing strategies to reduce AHT while maintaining a high level of customer satisfaction.
• Create and execute methods to lower transfer rates; ensure that customer inquiries are addressed efficiently and effectively

Highlights:

• Client nominated SPOC for accrediting supervisors.
• Received several awards for consistent NPS, AHT, zero complaints, and 100% compliance.
• As the In-charge, handle the escalation desk and report on areas of focus, TNI, and action plans for repeat callers.
• Chosen by the clients to certify team leader's and manager's process knowledge.