JA Del Río - Q&A: Customer Service
JA Del Río: Innovation and Customer Service, Keys to a Successful Latin American Firm
Bernardo Del Río, JA Del Río's CEO, shares with Zoya Malik, International Accounting Bulletin Editor-in-Chief, his strategies for the firm's growth, as a success story in Latin America. Topics include the importance of customer experience, expansion strategies, organisational culture, and the firm's outlook for the coming years.
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Zoya Malik: What factors have contributed to JA Del Rio's growth in different countries, as a Latin American firm?
Bernardo Del Río: There are three main factors: people, people, and people. Everything is linked to people. Without outstanding people, there is no outstanding service. Without outstanding service, there are no outstanding clients; therefore, you cannot attract outstanding talent to work at the firm. Likewise, organising and creating, together, a system for our firm so that professionals can give their best and being a place where people are treated as people and not as numbers is very relevant, especially nowadays. Cultivating the importance of customer service, prioritising active listening and proactive attention has been fundamental in our growth strategy, and belonging to Praxity, the largest global alliance of accountants in the world, allows us to help clients worldwide, collaboratively.
Bernardo Del Río
CEO, JA Del Río
ZM: What does Customer Experience mean to JA Del Río's team, and how do they proactively serve their clients?
BDR: For us, customer experience (CX) is not just a component of our business, but the heart of our operation. This is an ongoing battle, something you must plan, monitor, and intentionally encourage. We use tools such as the Net Promoter Score (NPS) to constantly measure our clients' satisfaction and ensure that we are exceeding their expectations. Thanks to this approach, we have been recognised by Best of Accounting, an achievement reflecting our team's commitment and dedication to service excellence. We work proactively, anticipating our clients' needs before they arise, allowing us to provide effective and timely solutions.
ZM: What is the "why" behind your client listening programme and the rationale for your client experience culture?
BDR: We really want to help our clients because their success, is our success. If you try to understand the business, see what their challenges are and how you can help, I believe that shows why we team up with our clients. To achieve this, we need to listen actively and attentively. This not only allows us to constantly improve our services but also reinforces trust and loyalty in the long term. We have developed a culture where every team member understands the importance of client experience and how their work impacts overall client satisfaction.
ZM: What is the vision and projection for JA Del Río's growth over the next 10 years?
BDR: I believe it is being within the top 10 fully integrated firms in all the markets we participate in, while being recognised for our excellent service quality. We want to continue expanding our service offering and integrating emerging technologies that will allow us to offer more efficient and customised solutions to our clients. And, as we mentioned before, without our people, we would not be able to achieve any of this, so being in a constant state of improvement of our talent development processes so that they can reach more and more achievements is essential to be able to accomplish this.
ZM: How has JA Del Río managed the challenges and opportunities that have arisen from LATAM’s economic and political environment?
BDR: Latin America is a diverse and complex region, with challenges that in themselves create opportunities. Over the years, we have learned to realise something very basic: what you can't control does not matter as much as what you can control. In this case, providing excellent customer service and being an excellent place to work is in your hands. If you focus on what you can manage, the results will happen on their own.
ZM: What role have emerging technologies played in the evolution of the services you offer, and how do you plan to integrate future innovations?
BDR: We come back to the people again. Technologies are not adopted on their own; you need people who do not fear change and do not oppose it. The best technology, when poorly implemented, is useless. There must be a culture of innovation, of betting and not always winning, of dedicated project execution so that you can be successful. The most useful changes or innovations never come from the CEO, but from below, it's about being open to them.
ZM: How has JA Del Río's organisational culture transformed with its growth and expansion into other markets?
BDR: Being a truly, fully integrated multi-Latin firm gives us, I think, an interesting flavour, opening our eyes to a broader horizon. I think it has also opened us up to the idea that we can compete at any level of projects. Although we maintain our core values, we have adopted new practices, benefits for our employees to be competitive, and ways of working, such as home office, to adapt to the diverse cultures in which we operate. This culture and flexibility with our employees has been key to our successful integration into new markets and to attracting and retaining talent in different countries.
ZM: How would you describe the leadership within JA Del Río, and how has it contributed to the firm's success and expansion?
BDR: Leadership at JA Del Río highly values taking the initiative and believing in the team's skills, which is first class, to compete in a high-demanding market. We believe in leadership that inspires, motivates, and fosters an environment of trust and respect. This approach has allowed us to attract top talent and maintain a cohesive team, even as we expand our operations into new territories. Clear vision and committed leadership have been key factors in the firm's success.
ZM: What have been the most important milestones that have marked JA Del Río's growth over the past decade?
BDR: Over the past 10 years, we have reached several important milestones, such as the opening of new offices in strategic countries such as Colombia and Costa Rica, the consolidation of key alliances, such as Praxity, the recognition of our clients through ClearlyRated® NPS surveys for our service quality, and the wide range of services that we have incorporated to meet our clients' needs. Being recognised as a Great Place to Work is especially important. Recognitions are nice, but the important thing is to actually live them as part of our culture.
Main image: Bernardo Del Río, CEO, JA Del Río