Picking the brains of Kristina, Customer Relations Group Lead

Today, we are introducing Kristina Mudri, our Customer Relations Group Leader. Always on the ball, she loves sarcastic jokes, good deeds, and honest people. Kristina is the downright definition of who we are and who we aspire to be at Barrage.

What are your primary responsibilities and what does your day-to-day look like?

Oh, starting with the tough questions! My primary responsibilities are leadership and being the link between the management and the department. I am in charge of the Customer Services, Content Management, and Digital Marketing teams which make up the Customer Relations Department. Overall, I am a mediator, jokester, and organizer.

My day-to-day is never the same. Even though I am a part of Customer Relations, I cooperate with all the other teams on a daily basis; I’m involved in public procurement, coordination, creation, and implementation of internal procedures, security awareness, all kinds of research and calls, cooperation with HR, cooperation with software engineers for products the department uses…

Some of the tasks typical for my position:

• Client reporting
• Group leading
• Evaluations, feedback, and feedforward, development of team members
• Research and suggestions for improving processes
• Creating educational materials for the department or public
• New team members coaching
• Making sure the company goals are known and we are moving towards them
• Monitoring team and department performance
• Statistics and metrics, all you can think of
• Cooperation with other departments and heads of departments

What drew you to the Customer Relations department? Have you always worked in customer relations roles?

This is actually my first job in general. No special reason, nor did I target the Customer relations department. I quit my studies and decided to start working, so here I am. I started as a customer service agent and moved up to the current position.

However, working with people was a part of my childhood since my mom is a chef and she worked in restaurants for years so I kind of started with the basics. I was surrounded by people all the time and it may have affected me subconsciously. Let’s say that’s how it was and not me being a lazy student :D

If you could switch your job with anyone else within Barrage, whose job would you want?

I wouldn’t want any other job. I love what I do, I love the challenges, the busy schedule, a lot of tasks, the versatility of tasks, I communicate with almost all departments. I have the best job for me.

What do you like most about Barrage?

• Doing different things each day, unrelated to the job position.
• People. The team vibe at Barrage is one of the things I value most and is the reason I’ve been here for such a long time. Each colleague brings something different, but we all have an awesome sense of humor and we curse a lot (studies show you can endure more time if you curse while doing a difficult task).

Oh, and people don’t get offended when I create nicknames for them (and I do that a lot, I don’t call anyone by their name :D).

What’s your next step, or a few goals you’d like to accomplish in life, or while with Barrage?

Business:

• Contribute to educating people and therefore creating the best team that values each other and works together in the full capacity of that phrase.
• Contribute to educating outside people about the company, but also passing the knowledge I’ve gathered so far.
• Set high priorities on time management awareness, independence awareness, proactivity.
• Increase the motivation, help in getting people more aware of their qualities to find their maximum potential.
• Also, help people realize what they are not so good at and encourage them, with the best intentions, to work on it.

Life:

• Visit bucket list places
• Do more charity work and give more to those in need
• Learn the German language
• Forget all the bad stuff
• Go to Ricky Gervais live

This goes both for life and business: I want to change people’s minds. Especially if the mind is negative, discriminatory, run by greed... One changed mind affects another. That is all we can wish for.

Kristina on one of her vacations

How do you describe your work personality vs. your home life personality?

Pretty much the same, OCD/control freak that bothers people around but gets away with it due to being funny and delivering/finishing stuff. The only difference is the home life Kris dresses like a hobo.

How do you define success in life?

I think being successful has lost its true meaning in the past few years. Seems like people measure success with material things and power most of all.

Success is being happy with all segments of your life. It seems too easy, but it doesn’t seem to be the case very often. Doing what you love, having a balanced private life, taking the time for yourself, giving back, or helping someone simply because you can.

Success is being happy and paying it forward. (a reference to the movie Pay it Forward, yes)

What is the most important thing you have learned in the last five years?

So many things. I’ve learned that I am a totally different person than I was 5 years ago.

I’ve learned that if you don’t have anything positive to say, you shouldn’t say anything.

I’ve learned I am a lot like my mom.

I’ve learned I can’t shut down the comedian inside.

I’ve learned I have waaay too many clothes.

I’ve learned I love leadership.

I’ve learned that making an effort in anything, even a small one, can make a great difference.

I’ve learned Donald Trump was in Home Alone.

I’ve learned I hate driving.

But mostly, I’ve learned that I know nothing and there is an entire universe of stuff I can still learn, from everyone and everything.

What is one thing you cannot resist?

Sarcasm, and coincidentally—Ricky Gervais :D I looove comedy, especially Gervais’s as he has no limits, no boundaries and there is nothing he doesn’t joke about. Also, he never apologizes for anything he said as a joke. I like that and think that if we were a bit more relaxed, more direct, less defensive, and less offended by everything—the world would be a better place.

Another “thing” that Kristina can’t resist, puppies! :)

What is an ability you wish you had?

Implementing good practices and educating people. I’d like to an X-Men mutant that can stop people when they do stupid stuff, get to their head and make them act like normal human beings, make them know the other side, instantly teach them some good practices, etc. Basically, mind control :D

Or a backup wish - I’d like to be able to sing and not sound like a can dropping down the stairs.

What have you always wanted to try and never did?

As a little girl, I was very interested in psychology and wanted to be in that line of work. I still find myself fantasizing about it. Luckily I am working as a leader, which is close enough. I believe I have a talent for listening to people, detecting rapidly what they mean, want, how they will affect others, if they are lying, etc.

I think I give good advice and can help people in finding a good way to express themselves and find their strengths, so that is something I’d be doing if I wasn’t working in Barrage.

What are your three most overused words/phrases?

No, That’s okay, Oukey, Well.

If I was to go into more detail, the most overused phrases would be:

• I’ll do it.
• I’m sorry, but do you have a minute?
• I don’t know what’s wrong with my plants, they always die.

Get to know Kristina and the rest of the team at Barrage!

We’re extremely proud to have Kristina as a part of our team as she is a reflection of the personalities we attract to our company and can be a role model for every current and future employee. If you’d like to know more about Kristina on her duties as a Customer Relations Group Lead, get in touch with us.