Arvind serves as Vice President, Customer Success and Support, at Omada Health, a digital care provider that encourages sustainable lifestyle change. In this role, apart from navigating the direction of the company, he leads the Customer Success and Support and is responsible for post-sales strategies for SMB, mid-market, and enterprise companies. Arvind excels at designing and executing strategies to eliminate single points of failure, contributing to the development of new products and services, and building global support teams that create exceptional customer experiences.
Interviewed by Nimish Vohra
// What significant challenges are you facing as a result of COVID, and how do you work around them?
Getting quality time with customers is proving difficult. Everyone is exceptionally busy, and virtual meetings are more challenging when it comes to cultivating close relationships. We spend more time focusing on fostering human connections through listening, learning, and empathy. People are going through a lot right now, so it's important to understand those challenges and be there for them in any way possible.
// Has there been a change in the way you furnish prospects and customers with information, either in method or content?
Yes. We've had to change some of our forums, such as customer and health partner summits, from being in-person to virtual. One of the largest challenges in this area has been keeping the audience engaged through each session; having short, concise and powerful content is a must. We've also leveraged creative videos through LinkedIn as well as webinars to focus on personalized outreach.
// Have you noticed any difference in how prospects evaluate your offerings since the arrival of COVID?
I have. Companies are more focused on must-have services at the moment. We're fortunate that digital healthcare has been proven to produce the necessary return on investment to justify spend during this challenging economic environment. Large companies are also adding Chief Medical Officers to their rosters because of the importance of investing in meaningful programs that produce clinical outcomes supporting greater health for their employees.
// What are the most significant changes you’ve observed in customer behavior?
Time is more scarce; many customers have very limited support and resources around them, so adding new vendors is more of a challenge for them than ever.
// Has the shifting business environment exposed any shortcomings in your technology or processes?
Being in digital healthcare, we were fortunate to have built a company that has primarily thrived in this environment because of its virtual footprint. The largest challenge we've faced has been in maintaining and nurturing our work culture — something we take very seriously and care immensely for. It's exceptionally challenging to foster relationships with co-workers without spending quality time with them. The startup culture relies on face-to-face interactions when sharing ideas and solving problems. We all miss seeing one another.
// What has been your single biggest focus during this period?
Externally, it's been on growth; how to grow faster so we can help more people during this time where health is more important than ever. Internally we've been focusing on how to best support the mental health and happiness of our employees; they are going through a lot in their personal lives, so we're trying to help everyone achieve a necessary balance.
// Are you looking forward to a return to business as usual? Please expand on this.
I don’t think there will be a return to business as usual; events like COVID change companies in many ways. I believe there will be more focus placed on balancing work that needs to be performed in the office as opposed to letting employees work from home one or two days per week. We've learned that we can establish a more productive environment by providing a bit more flexibility. The startup culture was fostering toxic work cultures by driving people away from a balanced lifestyle, so COVID will serve as a forcing function to bring us back to a middle ground. I am looking forward to seeing our amazing co-workers on a more consistent basis.
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