Women Leading with Clarity and Empathy to Inspire Lasting Change

By: Rajanee Balaram, Managing Director, British Airways

Rajanee Balaram leads one of British Airways’ largest global customer engagement hubs, overseeing over 6 million interactions annually. She champions provider excellence, innovation, and digital transformation, ensuring her teams deliver seamless, personalized stories that support British Airways’ reputation for tremendous customer care globally.

In an engaging interaction with Women Entrepreneurs Review Magazine, Rajanee Balaram shares her leadership insights and transformation journey at British Airways CallBA. She discusses building purpose-driven teams, fostering inclusion, and driving innovation to deliver remarkable customer experiences on a global scale.

While leading large-scale contact center operations, what leadership principles have helped you build a cohesive and high- performing team at British Airways CallBA?

At British Airways CallBA, clarity of purpose is more than a guiding principle, it’s the foundation of everything we do. In a fast-paced, customer-centric environment, having a shared and well-articulated purpose ensures that every team member, regardless of geography or function, is aligned and empowered to make the right decisions.

For us, that purpose is clear - to deliver a consistent customer experience that reflect the warmth and excellence of British Airways. As a woman leader managing large-scale contact centre operations, I’ve leaned into principles of clarity, empathy, inclusion, and structured communication. I’ve built a blueprint that defines tone, resolution time, escalation, and customer empathy—ensuring seamless service.

My focus is to build a diverse and inclusive workplace for my team that contributes to a sense of well- being and belonging, enabling people to thrive. This requires constant work by everyone to ensure there is complete alignment, and our employee engagement scores are testament to this. The result is a cohesive, high-performing team that’s not just delivering results, but doing so with genuine passion and commitment.

I see myself not just as a leader, but as a change-maker, and someone who turns operational clarity into cultural momentum. I’ve built systems that empower teams to see beyond their daily tasks, connect with the bigger picture and create an environment where people feel safe to challenge norms and think boldly. Structured learning and transparent communication are key to help teams not only adapt to change, but drive it.

What strategies have proven effective in transforming CallBA from a 125-member unit to a 2,000+ employee center?

From the outset, I defined where I wanted CallBA to be in five years and built a structured, year-on-year plan to achieve these goals. Our journey from a 125-member team to a thriving operation with around 2,000 colleagues has been guided by a clear long-term vision and a commitment to excellence at every step. We’ve focused on demonstrating our capabilities, celebrating our successes, and positioning ourselves as a trusted in-house team. The airline has recognised our progress, committing to significant investment to grow CallBA across two new state-of-the-art locations in the Delhi region.

We built a culture where every voice mattered. From frontline agents to senior leaders, we have invested in growth, mentorship, and belonging. Our strategy wasn’t just about recruitment, it was about retention through purpose and pride. I focused on developing leaders who could cascade vision, coach with authenticity, and build high-performing teams.

I also continue to reflect on past successes and identify areas that need strengthening. So whenever we have needed to scale up, we know our areas of development and build a plan to mitigate them in advance.

Of course, our people are at the heart of everything we do. As we’ve grown, we’ve invested deeply in onboarding and supporting new colleagues, embedding them in our culture, aligning them with our purpose, and equipping them with the skills they need to succeed from day one.

How has British Airways customer contact model evolved to drive both revenue and customer satisfaction, and what can other service-driven businesses learn from this dual focus?

At British Airways, we’re proud of the products and services we offer to our customers around the globe. By focusing on delivering a world-class experience and using the latest technology, our teams are empowered to act as trusted advisors. For example, when a customer is preparing for a long-haul overnight flight, our colleagues can recommend pre- selecting a seat that improves their comfort and overall experience.

This shift has been as much about mindset as it has been about process. We’ve worked hard to embed a culture where our people recognise the value of meaningful conversations, where active listening and thoughtful insight lead to happier customers and ultimately driving business growth.

We embraced automation and AI, but never at the cost of human interaction. Our digital transformation empowered employees to deliver faster, smarter service, while keeping empathy at the heart of every interaction.

We are very excited to have won a Bronze and Silver industry award in the UK for the innovative use of conversational AI. This tool works when customers calls us with a simple query, and we provide all the relevant information via ba.com. This allows for a swift resolution and enables our team to concentrate on the more complex customer queries.

Our operational and strategic decisions are based on strong data analytics, which provide a deep insight into all areas of the operation. We constantly review our customer satisfaction scores across voice and non-voice channels and continually work to improve them.

For us, the key takeaway is that when you put the customer at the heart of your commercial strategy, and build a strong team driven by the same values, success follows on both fronts. It’s also about taking a thoughtful and strategic approach to identifying the key initiatives that will deliver the greatest impact—not just within our contact centres, but across the entire airline.

With British Airways handling multi-channel services across the globe, how do you ensure operational consistency and adaptability?

At British Airways, our operational philosophy is rooted in delivering a consistent, high-quality service across every channel, whether it’s voice, chat, email, or social. We aim to meet customers wherever they are, whilst ensuring every interaction reflects our British Airways tone of voice and commitment to first-contact resolution.

To achieve this, we’ve built a strong foundation of multi-skilled colleagues who are trained to operate seamlessly across channels. This not only improves flexibility but also fosters a deeper understanding of our customers’ needs. We’ve developed specialist teams to manage more complex processes, ensuring expertise is always available where it’s needed most.

We’ve designed our learning pathways based on real-time feedback from new joiners and frontline teams, allowing us to continuously evolve our programs to reflect operational realities.

While the framework is global, execution is local. Regional teams are empowered to adapt messaging, workflows, and escalation paths based on cultural context and customer behaviour, all without compromising brand integrity.

A centralised Customer Relationship Management tool and AI-powered analytics platform allows British Airways to track customer interactions across voice, chat, email, and social media. This not only ensures consistency but enables predictive service, anticipating needs before they arise. Our global contact centers feed insights into a shared knowledge base, which allows best practices to travel faster than planes, what works in one market can be tested and scaled in another.

What roadblocks did you face in developing a transparent and positive work culture?

Since joining the team 14 years ago, one of the most significant challenges was encouraging an open and honest dialogue, particularly among senior managers and team leaders. I encountered resistance from leaders who equated transparency with vulnerability and feared that openness would dilute authority. With teams managing real-time customer crises, flight disruptions, and regulatory demands, culture-building was often dismissed as a ‘nice to do.’

As a woman driving change in a male-dominated space, I did face some scepticism, not just about the strategy, but about my voice. I had to navigate through this and build coalitions that transcended gender. So, creating a culture where people feel safe to speak candidly was my first priority.

Equally important is the accessibility of leadership. We’ve worked hard to ensure that every colleague feels heard, supported, and empowered to share their thoughts. This, combined with clear pathways for growth and development, helps foster a workplace where people feel genuinely cared for. Recognition played a vital role in shaping this. Through ongoing initiatives like our digital recognition platforms and Quarterly Excellence Awards, we celebrate colleagues at every level, reinforcing a sense of value and belonging.

We made culture measurable, linking transparency, collaboration, and employee engagement to performance reviews and team goals. Culture change starts with you – your tone, your choices, your courage. Find champions across all levels who believe in your vision and amplify it. When resistance rises, your values will be your North Star.

What advice would you offer women leaders encountering resistance to culture change?

Finally, to all women leaders, my advice is simple: stay true to your values and never let your voice be diminished. CallBA’s journey is proof that when women lead with strategy and heart, transformation isn’t just possible—it’s inevitable. Be the leader who speaks with clarity and conviction, who brings their team along on the journey, and who leads with both strength and empathy. Change isn’t easy, but it’s always worth it.