Tell us a little about yourself. What does your job at Telefónica involve?
Apart from having spent many years at this beloved company and working in many different areas, I am currently the National Head of External Plant Customer Provision; in simpler terms, I am responsible for providing service to customers who request FTTH, and who are located in an area with coverage, but where there is a problem with the network that prevents them from receiving the service.
In these cases, my team looks for the fastest and most economically viable solution so that the customer can have their service as soon as possible.
You have worked on digital transformation within your area. What changes would you highlight as the most significant for efficiency and customer experience?
In the world of provision, there are many players, all of them important, who must be aligned to ensure a fantastic customer experience (Business, Commercial Channel, CAOL, Operations, etc.).
To achieve this, we had to bring together the different systems that were part of the process into a single tool to track and control the end-to-end process in a simple and effective way.
It was hard work involving many areas, but in the end the result was spectacular. We have greatly improved provision times, as well as customer satisfaction, as customers can be kept informed of “how their business is doing.”
Coordination between different areas is often a challenge. How do you get all teams to work in alignment on complex projects?
In this area, for me, there are no secrets. You just have to be bold and not be afraid. Let me explain.
As I said in the previous point, there are many players in my area of activity, and what the team did was to find the people responsible for each area involved in the process and set up meetings, initially looking for improvements in the process and then setting up working groups to change them, but with a totally pure vision and with the customer in focus.
Simple, dare to call and say, “It’s me, and I want to change the process…” Go for it!
It took us over a year, but the change was significant. In addition to learning about other areas, it radically changed any biases you might have had about a specific area. For me personally, it was enriching, and for the team, it was a feeling of growth and of feeling important in the company.
Automation and workflows are becoming increasingly important. What impact have they had on your daily work?
Well, imagine this: as I said before, there are many applications in the provisioning process, and having them all interconnected, through RPAs, APIs, WF, or any other means, significantly improves turnaround times, both for the customer and for us.
As you can imagine, this has meant that fewer people are needed to manage and monitor this activity than when we were dealing with each application individually. And those people can now devote themselves to activities that are of greater value to the customer.
Looking to the future, what trends do you think will shape digital transformation in corporate operations?
I believe we have taken giant steps forward and that we are a machine of transformation, although we still need to believe in ourselves more, be brave, and go for it. The world is moving very fast, and we must not lose our momentum if we want to remain, in my opinion, the best company in the world to work for and develop, both personally and professionally.
We must empower the team and make them believe that we are the best (we are) and that we can do anything. One of my mottos is that you always have to go all out, without pause, but without fear.
Which people who work at Telefónica would you nominate for this interview because you consider them to be excellent at their job?
Many; as I was saying, I am one of those people who likes to build relationships from simple conversations, and from these I have met a lot of professionals, many of whom I will take with me as friends.
But to narrow it down and name the most current and closest to me, I would highlight these three:
- Gonzalo Garzón Echevarría, who is my immediate boss and my director, and from whom I learn little things every day.
- Pedro Ripoll Bonnin, my former manager, with whom I have fought hard in the digital transformation.
- María Teresa Ortés Gomez, for managing such a complicated department as hers so well and always with a smile, apart from her invaluable help.
