Dinara Wagawatte scoops Insight Award for CXLOTY 2023

Dinara Wagawatte was appointed Head of CX Transformation, Analytics, and Adoption at Dialog Axiata in 2020. His primary role was to assess, measure and report on the CX provided across all Dialogue Axiata Group customer touchpoints. To achieve this, Dinara used CX Analytics Service Quality Assurance and encouraged the use of digital tools in customer interactions. He emphasised the importance of stakeholder collaboration to ensure everyone was aligned and actively involved in achieving exceptional CX outcomes.

Three key focus areas guided Dialog Axiata's CX strategy under Dinara's leadership:

• Digital CX leadership: The goal was to become the premier provider of digital CX in the service industry. Continuous enhancement of digital capabilities, simplification, digitisation, AI implementation at scale, and metaverse experiences were essential in achieving this.
• Service leadership: Dialog Axiata aimed to maintain its position as a leader in delivering innovative, best-in-class services by offering personalised and memorable experiences.
• Operational excellence: The organisation is committed to generating value through revenue, cost rescaling, and cultivating a dynamic and resilient work culture.

CX metrics were essential for tracking progress, including Relative Market NPS (rNPS), Transactional Net Easy Score (tNES), Transactional NPS (tNPS), Customer Experience Index (CXI), Employee Experience Score (EEX), and overall cost reduction targets. Dinara implemented automated daily, weekly, and monthly reporting mechanisms to facilitate performance reviews.

Dinara's influence extended beyond his organisation to the wider business community.

Dinara's initiatives had a tangible impact:

• Dialog Axiata received Forrester's Customer-Obsessed Enterprise Award for the Asia Pacific Region in May 2023.
• Digital care reached 58% (YTD) compared to human and assisted channels, resulting in an 88% increase since 2015, based on a 60% smartphone penetration.
• The organisation achieved $6.7 million in annual savings through simplification and digitisation.
• Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 lockdown, Dinara and his team launched initiatives to uphold service availability and resolve issues. These efforts led to Dialog Axiata winning the People's Choice SLIM Neilson Award for Best Telecom Service Provider for the 11th consecutive time in 2022 and the Service Brand of the Year award for the third consecutive year.

Dinara's influence extended beyond his organisation to the wider business community:

• He is an international speaker, presenter, and panellist at global CX/DX/Telco forums and events.
• Dinara was an Advisory Board Member for the University of Moratuwa, contributing to shaping the curriculum for business faculty.
• He played a role in the Lighting Digital initiative for digitising the Sri Lankan government and institutions.
• Dinara was a visiting lecturer at the University of Moratuwa business faculty and the Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology.
• He conducted CX Strategy and Management Awareness training for corporate management.

Dinara Wagawatte's achievements and influence in championing CX within his organisation and the wider industry are a testament to his dedication and unwavering commitment to elevating service delivery and CX capabilities. His innovative approach, leadership, and passion for customer-centricity make him a deserving winner of the CX Leader of the Year Insight Award.