‘How are you finding it’ or ‘How is it going’ is the most common question you get asked when you tell people you’ve moved companies in the last year. I often give the classic British non-boasting answer of ‘all good thanks’, but really I want to say ‘Absolutely brilliant, it’s changed my life.‘
Back in December 2023, I was at a crossroads. Should I stay or go? Stick or twist? I was nervous about leaving my team behind and uncertain whether the grass was really greener.
But the risk paid off-it was absolutely worth it.
From One Client to Fifty-Five
Where I was previously, I was managing a single client system, vast, but one sector, one lead, all eggs in one basket. I had reached the point in my career where I felt I needed to diversify sectors and that ultimately meant moving companies. I now support fifty-five different client systems!
How They Differ
- Each client has unique needs, so the platforms and solutions must be tailored to them—no two are ever the same.
- Getting used to entering a new solution (to my eyes), identifying the problem, resolving it, and suggesting improvements has been a steep learning curve but is a great tool to now call on when new clients come on board. Before I relied on my knowledge of the platform, now I rely on my ability to understand the solution quickly.
How they are Alike
- All clients have pain points, stumbling blocks, headaches, whatever they may be, from patching to Azure outages, if one is struggling, you can guarantee others are as well.
- If all fifty-five of our clients were internally supporting their own solutions, they’d all have to solve their challenges separately. With Coeo Managed Services, they can benefit from shared knowledge, scripts and, improvements.
With the recent launch of Managed Analytics, (which I helped shape,) we can deliver these benefits to our clients more seamlessly. Solutions don’t stand still for long, let us improve your Azure solutions whilst managing them – Find out what Managed Analytics can offer you!
Great Ideas
During my onboarding, I found myself thinking, “that’s a great idea” frequently. Here are some of my favourites:
- weekly employee surveys to gauge and track metrics
- leadership AMA (Ask me Anything) sessions, where employees can submit anonymous questions that Justin and the team take time to answer.
- Introductions to all heads of department to understand areas and build relationships
- Delivering Fabric Analyst in a Day training on behalf of Microsoft – Come join the next one!
- Escalation shifts, an assigned person to assist with queries
- Extended lunches to encourage being active
Delighting Clients
Another great idea is to survey our customers regularly, on ticket closure and quarterly as part of NPS. We track how satisfied our clients are and it is a key metric for us in managed services. This is very rewarding for me, as sometimes it can feel your hard work goes unnoticed or unappreciated, but with the surveys, you can see your work payoff and where we have gone above and beyond is recognised with (yet another great idea) our internal recognition programme.
I will admit I was beaming from ear to ear when I got the most recognitions in the first quarter I was at Coeo, I clearly hit the ground running!
Office Vs Home Based
My previous role was technically office-based, and I went in twice weekly post-Covid, mostly for social interactions. Coeo’s office in TVP is incredible, driving past Microsoft is a treat, but it is further from my home so I’m now home-based. I find myself going in once or twice a fortnight now which suits me perfectly, I get the collaboration, team bonding, and podcast listening time during the drive, but also get the autonomy to work from home.
The flexibility at Coeo is fantastic – I have the support I need and the trust to work where I’m most effective. Justin Langford, our CEO treats us like adults, which might sound obvious, but with all the ‘return to the office’ talk in the news, we worried Coeo might follow suit. No way. If this way of working is best for us, then it’s the best for Coeo. It’s genuinely very refreshing.
Mental Health
Perhaps a taboo subject still in some circles, including business (I could write a whole separate blog on that) but I wanted to reflect on my own mental health as a result of this change. 2023 was a very tough year for me, personally and professionally, I was starting to fall out of love with going to work. I woke up dreading what the day would bring, what deeply frustrating moment I’d have that day. Feeling exhausted on weekends, perhaps even burnt out from the grind.
But now, in 2024, I enjoy going to work again, how can I best help our clients, what more could I learn in Fabric, what could I teach others, and how could I help Coeo more and be rewarded for it? I feel like I make a difference!
Summary
If you skipped down to this section, I don’t blame you, but I caught you, thanks for reading any of my ramblings.
But TLDR, I’ve really enjoyed the move to Coeo, I love working for them, getting up in the morning and driving for our clients and for my own growth with Coeo. If you’re ready for the move, why not join us!
Any questions, about Coeo, reach out on LinkedIn, I promise to be honest in responding to any questions. Don’t be scared of change, some are actually good and the grass is greener because they water it over here.