As part of our Employee Spotlight series, we are happy to feature Michael Morkly, the Head of Project Management at Wonderflow.
Having been with our company since 2018, Michael has helped contribute a great deal of success for our users and customers. It’s unique to gain his perspective on how our VoC solution has developed and transformed the lives of everyday consumers.
Read on to learn more, including Michael’s smart working tips and what keeps him staying with the Wonderfamily!
Thank you, Michael, for your time sharing your thoughts! Let’s start with you telling us about yourself and something not many know.
I began my career as a Project Coordinator in a multi-service organization in Ghana designed to enhance the learning experiences of Study Abroad and CIEE (Council on International Educational Exchange) students. My involvement in day-to-day operations and project coordination informed my career path in Project Management.
Moreover, I have a Social Psychology and International Management background from the University of Ghana and the University of Trento. The knowledge acquired through the framework of these two fields has allowed me in my current role to exert influence and develop and maintain a high-functioning, productive team.
Outside the office, I am an avid dancer, love exploring different places and cultures through food, and have begun hiking with friends in recent years.
Michael at Lago d’Antermoia in the Dolomites
What was your initial journey with Wonderflow like, and what do you look forward to soon?
I started as a Project Management Intern in early 2018, becoming a full-time member and moving up the ranks to being a Team Lead, then now the Head of Project Management – all in the span of 5 years. How time flies!
When I joined Wonderflow, there were few employees. Most of our processes weren’t fully automated, and we had a limited number of clients. Looking back today, I must say we, as a company, have come a long way. We have grown and work with many Tier 1 customers and diverse clients. Additionally, process automation has also been at the forefront of our activities.
With the support of our product and engineering team, an advanced version of the Wonderboard is being built to offer value to our customers quickly and increase customer satisfaction. I work best in a collaborative environment, so I look forward to working with colleagues with different backgrounds, skills, and experiences to align on and achieve our goals.
What does the Head of Project Management do?
The job description of a Head of Project Management might vary from company to company or industry to industry. However, at its core is overseeing the selection and training of qualified professionals for the project management team, managing budget, resource allocation, and performance to guarantee efficient operations.
In the company, I have the privilege of managing 10+ brilliant and hardworking Delivery Managers and Operations Specialists who work on different client projects. I ensure the team has a customer-centric focus while delivering results within budget, timely, and exceeding client satisfaction.
On a higher level, my role involves collaborating with internal stakeholders such as the Product, Engineering, and Linguistic departments to address client requests and translate client queries into features that can be implemented to improve the customer experience and satisfaction.
What is the impact of the Project Management team on our customer success?
One way to describe customer success is ensuring customers receive their desired outcome while using a product or service. Therefore, one of the goals of the project management team is to deliver quality projects that satisfy client expectations in the shortest possible time and within budget. Consequently, my role is to support the team in navigating and understanding customer requirements so that clients get what they’ve paid for while maintaining a high project margin.
Also, we can’t talk about customer success without mentioning the involvement of Customer Success Managers (CSM), who evaluate and analyze the needs and demands of our clients and educate them on how to obtain value from our product. Here, I support the CSM to review all missing features or client requests needed to enhance the customer experience, discuss with the product and engineering team and ensure the requests are evaluated and a delivery date provided.
Additionally, I serve as the first point of contact for any client queries, questions, or bugs reported while using the Wonderboard. I ensure we address inbound messages from our clients in the shortest time possible by escalating any issues to the product and engineering team for fixing.
Any general tips for those in Project Management and/or smart working tips to be optimally productive?
While managing remote teams can be challenging in many ways, it could also be a stimulus to rethink processes that are no longer productive and are ripe for review.
One area of improvement is communication. It is advisable to keep communication open but don’t allow meetings to proliferate. Lengthy meetings can be counterproductive if they prevent people from getting on with their duties. Therefore, use the right collaboration tools to enhance planning and team alignment.
Regarding smart working, it is important to keep a dedicated desk or table space and some peripherals only to be used for work. Making small adjustments between work and personal time helps your brain when you are off the clock, significantly contributing to a better work-life balance.
What do you like best about our company culture and benefits?
I appreciate Wonderflow’s support in bringing everyone to our headquarters in Trento, Italy, at least twice a year to deepen workplace relationships, build trust, and foster collaboration among colleagues.
Michael with our Project Management team during one of their homecoming events in Trento (HQ)
Michael, which do you embody the most of our four company core values (Integrity, Excellence, Team, and Think Big)? Why?
I wouldn’t say any of the core values are less important than the others because they guide us in everything we do as a company and inspire us to show up daily to provide our clients with the best product and service possible.
However, if I had to choose, I’d say I embody Integrity and Team. Integrity is the foundation on which all the other core values stand. All our actions are rooted in this quality. They hold us accountable and ensure that we are the best versions of ourselves.
We can build strong teams and hold each other to high standards with integrity at play. When colleagues do great things, we make sure to recognize those responsible. This drives our teams, reflected in how we show up for our clients.
Why should anybody join Wonderflow?
Simple. Wonderflow is a place where cross-functional collaboration is a given, yet you can still take ownership of your work. If you thrive in a collaborative environment where no one holds you back in sharing your ideas or inputs on a subject matter, this is definitely a place for you.
