Miguel Magán

Redk is a technology consulting firm specialised in digital transformation. It offers its clients all the services they need to complete their transformation processes, relying chiefly on CRM systems and focusing on customer service, sales and marketing automation.

Present in both the United Kingdom and Spain, Redk has physical offices in London, Madrid and Barcelona, and the business is also growing in mainland Europe —last year the company secured clients in France and the Nordic countries. The services it provides are similar in both the UK and Spain and extend to both face-to-face and online projects. Miguel Magán, General Manager at Redk Spain, explains that they work “with the same technologies and often there are cross-services, in the sense that from London we frequently provide services to clients in Spain, and vice versa”.

What does CRM mean to Redk?

CRM systems were traditionally used to manage a client’s customer base and nothing else. CRM systems now extend to a wider range of aspects when running a company. They are therefore an integral part of any enterprise’s digital transformation.

We do technology projects, but we don’t stop there. We also try to help from a more strategic angle by focusing on tactical issues.

A CRM system is a combination of business and technology. And this is where Redk stands out: “We do technology projects, but we don’t stop there. We also try to help from a more strategic angle by focusing on tactical issues”. This approach has been in place for some time and has allowed them to watch the tool evolve first-hand and get involved in the process of redefining what a CRM project is: “Now it is something much broader and perhaps a more accurate term would be customer experience projects”, says Magán.

Redk has amassed over 10 years of experience and expertise in CRM. Magán points out that “while we have been doing CRM projects for 15 years, we have only been working directly with Salesforce over the last two years”. In a market with such a wide range of different options and solutions, why choose Salesforce? “It’s a question of platform depth. As things currently stand, no other platform covers all customer relationship processes so well and so comprehensively. There is not a single niche within a company’s business that cannot be filled with a piece of Salesforce technology”.

Attracting and retaining talent

As for the constant growth of the ecosystem and the incorporation of new functionalities within it, he acknowledges that “it is no easy feat for the team to work with a platform that throws up constant challenges. We’ve started working mainly with Sales Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Commerce Cloud and Service Cloud. Little by little —with the help of ISDI CRM— we want to gradually incorporate new lines of business with Salesforce”.

Jorge Villabona, Managing Director at ISDI CRM Worldwide, recalls that this led to the first contact between the academy and the consulting firm, “through an agreement to train more people and expand the lines of service”. In addition, Redk has continued to rely on ISDI CRM for training its teams in the lines they have already developed. And, with both companies in agreement that one of the biggest challenges is the shortage of trained talent, we have the big question: “How is Redk addressing the need to attract and retain talent”?

Building and maintaining a senior team is also a talent attraction policy.

Magán remarks that “the retention side is key. For some time now, we have managed to keep staff turnover figures at a desirably low level. Our People and Culture department sees to it that our talent feels at home, that they have the right tools to work with and the flexibility they need today”, and he adds that “building and maintaining a senior team is also a talent attraction policy”.

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ISDI CRM as a partner

In a market in need of talent with specific training, and for a consulting firm like Redk, which has extensive experience in CRM but is relatively new to working with Salesforce, ISDI CRM plays the role of a talent accelerator; a strategic partner that gets the team ready in very little time.

“When we decided to start working with Salesforce, we recruited talent for key positions, yet at the same time we knew that within our team there were already many profiles who knew a lot about CRM and were adept at the strategic side of commercial processes and marketing, but were not fully familiar with the tool. Working with ISDI CRM has allowed us to add all these platform management skills to the talent we already had within our company”, explains Magán.

After three years of collaboration between the company and the academy, there are still many new projects to be undertaken together. In Magán’s eyes, ISDI CRM will continue to grow as a generator of talent and as a partner when it comes to attracting it. One of Redk’s objectives is to continue training in new Salesforce products and “to embark upon joint marketing initiatives… ISDI CRM is an extremely important part of the ecosystem and we maintain very close contact with the manufacturer”.

Thanks to its structure and operation, its technological vision and its strategic support, Redk is more than ready to face the hyper-acceleration we have been witnessing in recent months: “From an internal standpoint, we had long since implemented a policy of digitising our work, which has allowed us to maintain these same standards and run our business with very little disruption.

Acceleration, continuity and recovery

From his experience at the helm of Redk, Miguel Magán believes that many of the innovations of the last year are here to stay, whether in relation to process automation, conversational channels, or customer service. “They are something that all companies now need, as they have been shifting from a face-to-face model to a much more online approach”.

Magán remarks that for a company of its profile, “the impact of Covid-19 has been quite different. We posted record turnover in 2020 and have made a strong start to 2021. We have seen that companies are dramatically accelerating their digital transformation, with Salesforce as a cornerstone of that process. At the same time, he acknowledges that certain sectors have been hit hard, “notably travel and hospitality, which are drivers of the economy. Together we need to come up with solutions so as to ensure that they do not fall by the wayside; solutions that will allow us all to continue to accelerate at the same speed”.

Villabona points out that the same momentum and growth seen in other sectors, such as education or e-commerce, has had the simultaneous effect of deepening the talent shortage. “How do you think ISDI CRM should move forward, in our approach as an intermediary between talent and the market? And what would you recommend to someone on the outside, so that they can also harness the opportunities?

Joining forces with a partner such as ISDI CRM, who can train them, will also accelerate their entry into the Salesforce market.

“What you are doing is the right way to go. You are a player that we don’t see in other countries and you’re doing a great deal to bring talent into the market. There are many people who work in sectors that have been hit hard. If these people are technologically minded, I would recommend that they look at Salesforce as a clear career opportunity. Joining forces with a partner such as ISDI CRM, who can train them, will also accelerate their entry into the Salesforce market”.