Behind the scenes: Tech Support, Credit, and Customer Service

Did you know that 70% of technical support cases at Genetec are resolved within the same business day, and that the global team handles 53,000 cases annually?

While the technical support team is busy interacting with existing clients, our credit and customer service teams work around the clock to process orders and ensure that customer expectations are met.

We recently interviewed Hiba Elshobary, Senior Manager of Global Technical Support, and Melanie Bialas, Credit and Customer Service Manager at Genetec, to learn more about their everyday successes and challenges.

Q: In your words, what sets our customer service and tech support apart from others in this industry?

Hiba: Our woman-led technical support team is highly skilled and effective, with a customer satisfaction rating of over 97%. Our strength lies in our technical expertise. With every support ticket, we’re committed to conducting thorough investigations and analyses without limitations. Our team is not bound by predefined steps or scripts—they have the freedom to take extra steps in troubleshooting, diagnosing, and investigating problems. We empower them to follow their path to identify the root cause of each issue. We ensure to provide our team with a wealth of resources and encourage them to collaborate with anyone within or outside our department for assistance.

Melanie: Our primary focus is on cultivating relationships. One of our senior members on the team even schedules bi-monthly virtual coffee sessions with customers. This personalized approach is something we aim to establish across the board. We strive to have every team member engage in chats with customers, which forms the basis for our differentiation and what will set us apart.

Q: Could you share an instance where you encountered a highly challenging customer service or support case and how you successfully managed it?

Hiba: Our team once faced a challenge while assisting one of our multinational retail clients during their initial deployment and product rollout. Due to stringent limitations and the complexity of the customer’s environment, unexpected issues arose, but our team was committed to getting things up and going quickly for the customer. To address the situation, we assigned senior experts who thoroughly understood the customer’s systems and architecture and worked closely with their IT teams. Our developers went the extra mile and created custom scripts to streamline manual tasks for the customer, enabling them to overcome some of the limitations within their environment. The customer was pleased with the support they received and are now proud advocates for our products.

Melanie: We once faced an urgent request from an enterprise customer who needed to upgrade hundreds of systems within a tight two-day timeframe. Despite the challenging deadline, we collaborated extensively across teams and devoted ourselves entirely to fulfilling this customer's request.

Q: How do you go about training staff? How has the implementation of the Genetec Support Academy impacted your team?

Hiba: The training process within the technical support department goes beyond product knowledge, ensuring our representatives deeply understand how the Genetec product functions at its core. We equip new employees with the skills to act as detectives, investigating and diagnosing issues systematically to resolve them. To further enhance their technical expertise, we conduct multiple training sessions within the team covering networking, database structures, hardware, and integrations. New employees undergo shadowing and reverse shadowing sessions with our trainers to ensure they feel confident handling various scenarios with real customers.

We also recently launched the Genetec Support Academy to train individuals interested in starting their careers within the technical support team. Candidates with strong communication skills and a desire to enhance their technical expertise can apply to attend our four-week program so that they can learn from our experts and have the confidence to start their careers with the necessary technical knowledge. The academy offers in-person and virtual workshops covering various topics such as Windows administration, databases, cloud and virtualization, and cybersecurity hardware delivered by our internal employees. Upon graduating from the program, candidates join the Genetec technical support team!

Melanie: Our training process is extensive, and we prioritize candidates with substantial training in their previous roles. If a candidate's training period is less than a few months, we typically do not consider them for a position at Genetec. It takes approximately six months for our representatives to learn one specific role in customer service tailored to their skills and experience. We match new employees with trainers based on their personality, as different trainers have various specialties. After completing the six-month training, we continue to provide daily Q&A sessions with senior team members and ongoing training for our representatives. Having been with Genetec for 14 years, I continue to learn daily.

Q: As a team leader in an industry predominantly dominated by men, how has being a woman-led team influenced your approach to work?

Hiba: When I initially joined Genetec, I was the first female technical support agent. And I later received a promotion to Team Lead while being seven months pregnant. It was a wonderful experience to see that my manager recognized my potential and had confidence in me, even as I prepared for maternity leave. This reassured me that Genetec was a different kind of company. Our female team members inspire others, showing they can excel in technical roles and persevere.

Melanie: At Genetec, I am treated equally to my male counterparts. I maintain high transparency with my team, allowing them to see the real me. I receive the recognition I deserve and consistently remind myself that having a successful career and a family is possible. We prioritize work-life balance and strive to accommodate each other's needs within the team.

Q: Looking to the future, what do you foresee for the field of tech support, credit, and customer service in our industry? Any bold predictions?

Hiba: We are currently overhauling our ticketing system and portal to enhance the overall customer experience to not only equip our team but our customers as well with cutting-edge tools to better manage their cases, systems and licenses, and self-serve. Our interactions extend beyond customers, as we collaborate with various departments, such as customer service, technical training, unified content services, and sales. This unique exposure sets us apart from other departments within the company and allows us to provide a seamless experience for our customers. With the ongoing and upcoming advancements we’re incorporating within our tools, we'll be able to proactively support our customers and offer them simplified access to the Genetec Technical Assistance Center.

Melanie: Despite the increasing popularity of AI and automation, we anticipate the customer service and credit departments to continue to expand. Human interaction remains the preferred way of communication by most. However, the nature of our interactions may evolve. We aim to add value to our activities, leveraging automation and digital transformations to enhance our output. As a result, we anticipate the department to grow. We aspire to focus on fostering relationships with our customers, allowing for more meaningful interactions such as virtual coffee chats.

Genetec is a great learning environment for anyone looking to grow their career. As our company continues to expand, the customer service department is a great starting point for newcomers since we collaborate with sales, training, and other departments.