Let the Team Drive and Then Take a Backseat – Stefanini’s Award-Winning Management Approach - Stefanini

Let The Team Drive And Then Take A Backseat – Stefanini’s Award-Winning Management Approach

“I believe our work will naturally include automation and digital transformation. But the main thing will always be about people, not technology.”

Those are the words of Stefanini’s EMEA Quality and Customer Experience Manager, Raluca Andreea Andrei, who has just been crowned Manager of the Year at the 2018 GSA UK Professional Awards in Manchester. The GSA Professional awards recognise the most highly regarded sourcing individuals and teams – the real trailblazers of our time driving notable award worthy change in our industry.

“Raluca impressed with her all-round leadership capability. She has achieved great employee engagement and delivery outcomes through empowering her team and focusing on the end results. She displayed a rare mix of technical innovation and creativity combined with honest personal reflection and a caring attitude to her colleagues,” comments the GSA Council.

Stefanini is a company that is driven by technology and innovation, but like any business, wouldn’t be able to progress without a happy team and new ideas, and Raluca is at the heart of encouraging the growth of both.

Raluca runs two teams at Stefanini; the Quality Team and the Employee Experience team, managing people and processes in harmony. But what’s unique about Raluca’s approach to management and how did she become a global award winner?

1.Lead by Example

If Raluca asks her team to go the extra mile, she goes the extra mile. If she asks them to meet the deadlines, Raluca will ensure she meets hers. This balanced and transparent approach increased employee engagement by 8%, from 60% in 2016 to 68% in 2017.

2.Take Personal Responsibility

Instead of blame, shame and excuses, Raluca focuses on results, always ensuring Stefanini customers have the best possible experience. Those employees who become driving forces within their team are the ones who are likely to recognise the importance of owning their career, success and path to fulfillment. This type of personal responsibility can transform an organisation into a key, industry player.

Even before Digital Transformation was set as a strategic goal for Stefanini, Raluca identified automation and digital opportunities within her team and began the education and training process, before it became common industry practice.

3.Focus on People Development

Employees are the true assets of an organisation, so implementing individual development and growth strategies will help build respect and develop a sense of loyalty and attachment towards an organisation.

Raluca’s ethos? Invest everything in your team and then take the backseat, giving them the autonomy to drive projects forward.

Together with her team, Raluca has invested time and resource to practically grow and support those around her. She has established an apprenticeship programme, a mentorship programme and a Business Practices Academy, all inspired by her own career journey at Stefanini.

4.Build a Vision and Make Plan

A vision provides an idealised description of a desired outcome that inspires, energises and helps the business and employees create a mental picture of the target. Without a compelling purpose, it can be hard to inspire a team, so Raluca defined the vision – the end state – built a yearly road-map and ensured it aligned with the wider company strategy.

As part of Raluca’s award-winning strategy, she has also ensured she is pushing forward with new ways of using the technology that Stefanini has at its fingertips, without ever losing sight of the ultimate customer goal. For example, Stefanini is now teaching Power BI how to interpret emotions as part of its customer satisfaction comments, so it can translate results into the language its users speak, helping speed up its personal-mapping process.

But it doesn’t stop there; Stefanini is also teaching Power BI how to interpret the way its users communicate, not just what they say. This helps profile customers quickly, so the team can help them in more efficient and faster ways. It’s these types of forward-thinking ideas that have significantly improved users’ experience and increased satisfaction levels.

Talking about her award-win, Raluca comments: “The key to unlocking innovation lies in empowered employees – to be focused on results without forgetting the people. The combined employee engagement and business results prove that my ethos and management style has a positive impact, and the award win simply reaffirms the work I am doing.”

EMEA ITO Delivery Director Anca Fotache, Raluca’s manager, describes her as “excellent in execution, but innovative and creative as well, focused on the results, without forgetting people” and says that she “possesses the essential qualities that define a great leader: sincere enthusiasm, integrity, excellent communication abilities, loyalty, charisma and managerial competence.”

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