Three things that helped me achieve my professional goals at Tietoevry

There are three significant factors that have influenced my career growth at Tietoevry. Firstly, I got the right opportunities that matched my skills and helped me discover my strengths and use them fully. Secondly, I got to work with, observe, and learn from inspiring leaders. And thirdly, the fact that my personal beliefs and values are inherently compatible with the Tietoevry culture and values.

My almost two decades long journey has been exciting and rewarding

I have studied mechanical engineering and began my professional journey with a Swedish manufacturing company in Pune. I happened to get involved in the development of a small Microsoft platform-based application program for the company’s EDP division. It was this project that triggered my interest in technology and led me to pursue a degree in computer applications. I then moved to the IT sector, where I started working as a software developer. In 2004, I joined ITB, a German IT company, which later got acquired by Tietoevry, and that’s how I became a part of this incredible company. My 19-year journey with Tietoevry since then has been challenging, but extremely exciting and rewarding.

Tietoevry helped me identify my biggest strengths and develop them suitably to take up leadership roles

When I joined Tietoevry, then known as ‘TietoEnator’ we had a small team of just 50+ people in India. I was responsible for testing management and ensuring quality delivery of the healthcare sector products, and this required acquiring knowledge of the healthcare industry in addition to technical skills. I further developed my expertise in products and process development by becoming a CMMI certified auditor and actively contributed to Tietoevry India getting its CMMI Level-3 certification.

Over time, I got multiple opportunities to work laterally across industries like healthcare, telecom, financial services, retail, and manufacturing. Tietoevry has a culture of providing people with opportunities that fit their capabilities, and this has worked very well, especially for me. I gained rich experience in program management, managing application service transitions from the Nordics to offshore. I had multiple opportunities to interact directly with key customers and over the years, I realised that I was proficient at customer engagement, which, in fact, turned out to be one of my greatest strengths. I gradually started managing complete project delivery as a delivery executive for two of the most strategic Nordic customers. In addition to providing equal opportunities to all employees, Tietoevry is well known for successfully building capabilities through their continuous learning programs. In addition to various technical certifications, I had the opportunity to complete the Executive Management Program at the Stockholm School of Economics in Sweden.

There have been challenging situations, but I now thrive on challenges and enjoy solving problems whether they are for a customer or a colleague. I find the process of ‘breaking down a problem and determining ‘what’ before the ‘how’ very interesting and for me the most rewarding part is that ‘aha’ moment when, together, we are able to identify the root cause of the problem. Finding a solution becomes easy thereafter.

As part of the new Tietoevry Tech Services, my unit is uniquely positioned to drive enterprise-wide digital transformation, modernization, and development of our customers’ processes and applications. Since 2021, I have been responsible for the Salesforce team in India and the number of consultants working offshore and globally has increased by almost 90%. I recently took up the role of Global Head of Salesforce and CX. As a result, I am focusing on capability development, add-on sales generation, supporting sales initiatives, and elevating customer engagement.

To further expand learnings and growth in Salesforce, we established a capability enhancement program and encourage and assist our consultants in obtaining certifications. Every month, we have Salesforce Knowledge Hours - a knowledge sharing session, that keeps team members connected and allows us to learn from one another.

For the team’s newest members, we follow the mentor-mentee arrangement to ensure an effective learning cycle.

I am proud of our CX team for having created a wide range of product and service offerings that truly enhance customer experience. We have made sure that we keep our capabilities updated and have a solid plan with focused offerings and accelerators to meet our customers’ business-specific expectations.

As a part of the new Tietoevry Tech Services setup, my unit is uniquely positioned to drive enterprise-wide digital transformation, modernization, and development of our customers’ processes and applications. Moreover, this new setup adds muscular strength, which undoubtedly will provide business agility and a faster time to value.

The ability to empathize and be proactive helped me understand about teamwork and team dynamics

I believe that a team’s strength is in its individual members, and that a member’s strength is in his team. In my list of tried-and-true strategies that have consistently improved customer experience and trust-building, I rank empathy and proactivity at the top.

Whenever we face a challenge with any of our customer service deliveries, I make sure that the team is united, the problem definition is clear to everyone, and goals and priorities are agreed upon. Today, SLA and OLA KPIs have become hygiene factors in a contract. We have also introduced a new KPI called ‘Proactive Index’ which requires each team member to contribute at least one proactive suggestion to increase efficiency. We then prioritize, select, and present these suggestions to the customers in the steering committee meetings. This has helped us create a ‘wow’ effect for our customers and secure excellent DEx ratings and contact renewals even for challenging deliveries. When logic fails, experience works!

The team works best when everyone on the team shares the same vision

Tietoevry is truly a ‘Developer of Digital Futures’ which believes in developing global capabilities while having a strong Nordic heritage that promotes values like openness, trust, and transparency. We have global mentoring programs which I have been a part of which involved being a global mentor for some of our colleagues from the Nordic and Baltic countries.

When I look back and reflect on all the years that I have been with Tietoevry, I realize that the primary reason for my stint here is that my personal values are naturally aligned with those of Tietoevry.

We are individuals from different geographies, upbringings, skills, beliefs, and capabilities, yet we understand each other and work collectively towards common goals. Tietoevry is very transparent about its roadmap and company-wide goals and there is a process for employees at all levels to align with those goals while steering their own professional growth paths.

I believe a team derives its strength from its individual members, and the strength of each individual comes from his or her team. Our Salesforce and CX team are a dream team and colleagues from other regions have always responded to me with empathy. It has been 19 years since I have been a part of this amazing company. It has been an exciting and rewarding journey that required me to leverage all my professional experiences apart from my analytical, technical, and soft skills and make full use of strong teamwork. This would not have been possible without some of the amazing leaders, managers, and colleagues I have had the opportunity to work with.

My message to all colleagues and friends...

Albert Einstein had once said, "I have no special talent; I am just passionately curious". I believe every professional must nurture one important characteristic - curiosity! Do not be bound by the way things have always been done, be curious enough to find new and innovative options and continue to push yourself towards them.

Be proactive and harness the entrepreneurial spirit of Tietoevry to pursue your passion!