When I worked for Kyndryl, I was delegated to assist with a new partnership by onboarding over two hundred employees from Stallantis to Kyndryl. These employees were located across Europe, North America and South America. Normally, my focus would be Operations in UKI & Nordics plus a few European responsibilities.
I’ll never forget the first Microsoft Teams call. Directors, stakeholders, HR, operational specialists, a full house. The vibe was anxious but communicative. Unusually, not many of the participants’ webcams were active. I turned my webcam to show I was present, to show my transparency and my openness.
When it was my turn to speak, I introduced myself. The director spoke for a couple of minutes explaining to me how I would perform my duties.
I kept stoic and played my role as attentive and unthreatened.
The director hadn’t met me before, didn’t know me, and the services I would provide were key to the success of the project. Without my work being executed correctly and on time the new employees would be unable to onboard with Kyndryl, which would have been a disastrous beginning to the new partnership.
I then explained to the director and to the assembled team how I would complete my role and closed the conversation with: “I will take care of this and manage the project from my side. If any issues arise, I’m the go-to person. For this multi-country onboarding, responsibility and communication rest solely with me at all times. If there is a problem, please do not escalate to my first- or second-line manager until you have spoken with me. You can reach me on Teams or phone me if needed – even out of hours, here’s my number.”
The shift was immediate; the director acknowledged my pitch and boundaries were set.
The project ran smoothly. I coordinated across ten countries, navigated local legislation, and ensured compliance without friction. There were occasional challenges outside of anyone’s control, but taking ownership and making myself accessible made all the difference.
From a communications perspective, I attended the calls, updated and responded to the Teams group chat, and shared updates to my onboarding plan with all stakeholders. This both provided status updates and clearly documented when delays were due to dependencies on others.
Two such discussions:
- Team: “Steve, why haven’t you deployed to XYZ?”
Me: “As per the onboarding plan, HR are collating the employee details and they tell me their current plan is to have the data by the end of this week. Once they have provided me with the data, I can then begin my work.” - Team: “Steve, why hasn’t Brazil been deployed? You have the HR data.”
Me: “As per the onboarding plan, anti-corruption legislation in Brazil requires a government process to complete. The team has submitted the request to the regional government, and we can deploy when the regional government has completed their checks and issued the notarised approval. We can’t deploy ahead of receiving the approval, the operative in Brazil doesn’t want to go to jail.”
By quantifying WHY the work was on pause, I headed off any potential escalation. This opened the door to HR, who immediately corroborated the legal situation and cooled the discussion. By using a little humour in my response, I acknowledged the gravity of the situation, lightened the tone, and made it clear the demand was non-negotiable.
The lesson? When you take full responsibility, communicate it clearly, and own the outcome, people respond. Projects run better, trust builds faster, and you can make meaningful connections along the way.
At VitaAssist VA, this is the approach I bring to every client: full ownership, clear communication, and a commitment to making things happen so you don’t have to worry.