https://simplecast.com Support Heroes by Kaizo is a podcast made to celebrate Customer Support and develop the industry by sharing high-level insights in weekly, long-form discussions with expert guests. We want to shine a light on the contributions made by our brothers and sisters in the industry, and share best practices from some of our most trusted and talented colleagues. It's not very widely understood how tough it is to provide exceptional Customer Service, nor how much of an asset it is to companies looking to dominate the market. We'd like to change that misconception by putting Support Heroes from world-leading companies in the spotlight and connecting them to you- our dear listeners. 2020-2021 Kaizo Operations B.V. en Wed, 27 Oct 2021 09:27:02 +0000 Wed, 27 Oct 2021 09:29:46 +0000 https://podcast.kaizo.com https://image.simplecastcdn.com/images/27abc3f9-1524-4eb1-99c5-4240b07fc7e3/c2d7d835-864b-4edb-8c0b-615de423acb8/3000x3000/podcast-cover-final.jpg?aid=rss_feed https://podcast.kaizo.com episodic Support Heroes by Kaizo is a podcast made to celebrate Customer Support and develop the industry by sharing high-level insights in weekly, long-form discussions with expert guests. We want to shine a light on the contributions made by our brothers and sisters in the industry, and share best practices from some of our most trusted and talented colleagues. It's not very widely understood how tough it is to provide exceptional Customer Service, nor how much of an asset it is to companies looking to dominate the market. We'd like to change that misconception by putting Support Heroes from world-leading companies in the spotlight and connecting them to you- our dear listeners. Kaizo no https://feeds.simplecast.com/ESJdDiyC customer service, call center, customer success, call centers, crm, cs, customer experience, kaizo, customer relations, customer relations management, customer satisfaction, customer support, cx, support Kaizo hello@kaizo.com f1d2162e-ec8a-4097-95c4-202b60bd4666 Wed, 27 Oct 2021 09:27:02 +0000 hello@kaizo.com (Kaizo) https://podcast.kaizo.com/episodes/ep-39-dutta-satadip-wHJUFrDe Ep. 39 How ActiveCampaign revolutionizes customer experience Kaizo 01:00:05 In this episode, Dutta summarizes what has been happening in the customer service industry, how you can go about setting expectations with your customers, and how businesses can leverage data to upscale the quality of their customer support services. In this episode, Dutta summarizes what has been happening in the customer service industry, how you can go about setting expectations with your customers, and how businesses can leverage data to upscale the quality of their customer support services. no full 39 653973d6-379c-4508-8ee0-499c00ea58d4 Mon, 18 Oct 2021 15:00:50 +0000 hello@kaizo.com (Kaizo) https://podcast.kaizo.com/episodes/ep-38-dominik-TUBxBPq5 Ep. 38 How Kaizo leverages gamification to drive team productivity Kaizo 00:45:33 In this episode, Dominik Blattner — Chief Product and Tech Officer at Kaizo tells about his road towards founding Kaizo and leveraging gamification to help customer success heroes upscale their performance. With solid start-up experience up his sleeve, Dominik spotted a new market opportunity and set out to build a product that would meet the needs of his target customers. Enjoy listening to this one! In this episode, Dominik Blattner — Chief Product and Tech Officer at Kaizo tells about his road towards founding Kaizo and leveraging gamification to help customer success heroes upscale their performance. With solid start-up experience up his sleeve, Dominik spotted a new market opportunity and set out to build a product that would meet the needs of his target customers. Enjoy listening to this one! no full 38 96dacd8c-5391-4ba5-ae1c-48eceb350346 Wed, 21 Jul 2021 02:00:00 +0000 hello@kaizo.com (Kaizo) https://podcast.kaizo.com/episodes/ep-37-john-riordan-b5H5UKBq Ep. 37 Road to Remote Customer Service Excellence with Shopify’s Director of Support Kaizo 01:08:15 In this episode, John Riordan - Director of Support at Shopify translates his lessons from almost 20 years of remote work experience, 15 of which were spent in remote customer service. Shopify being a fully remote company has enabled John to fully exercise his expertise in remote customer service excellence. Following are some common remote work myths dispelled by John and his top tips for support staff getting it right. Enjoy! In this episode, John Riordan - Director of Support at Shopify translates his lessons from almost 20 years of remote work experience, 15 of which were spent in remote customer service. Shopify being a fully remote company has enabled John to fully exercise his expertise in remote customer service excellence. Following are some common remote work myths dispelled by John and his top tips for support staff getting it right. Enjoy! shopify, remote customer support, remote, remote customer service, remote work no full 37 92081362-dfe2-4336-89b1-72a0e90a8e15 Wed, 14 Jul 2021 04:00:00 +0000 hello@kaizo.com (Kaizo) https://podcast.kaizo.com/episodes/ep-36-zoe-koven-fsqqejxi Ep. 36 How Zendesk evolves customer service with change management Kaizo 00:42:22 In this episode, Zoe Koven - Senior Director of Innovation & Customer Advocacy at Zendesk, offers her advice and guidance on change management in customer service. In order to improve any department, change must take place. Managing that change successfully and coming to a result that’s better for the customer is always beneficial to support departments. Following are key steps to take when improving customer service through change. Happy listening! In this episode, Zoe Koven - Senior Director of Innovation & Customer Advocacy at Zendesk, offers her advice and guidance on change management in customer service. In order to improve any department, change must take place. Managing that change successfully and coming to a result that’s better for the customer is always beneficial to support departments. Following are key steps to take when improving customer service through change. Happy listening! change management, change, management, service change management, customer support change management, customer service change management, support change management no full 36 2dff6cc7-6313-4da6-a804-dec874cd531a Wed, 7 Jul 2021 05:44:40 +0000 hello@kaizo.com (Kaizo) https://podcast.kaizo.com/episodes/ep-35-darren-chait-uOSIdhiq Ep. 35 How Hugo Skyrocketed Their CSAT with Video Support & Proactive Service Kaizo 00:33:31 In this episode, Darren Chait - Co-Founder and COO of Hugo, shares how video support and proactive tech skyrocketed their CSAT. Learn how the team implemented Zoom calls and pre-recorded instructional videos to create meaningful customer interactions. Also, discover the tech that enables Hugo to provide automatic proactive support to users. This episode is truly a masterclass in creating customer delight in a cost-efficient way. In this episode, Darren Chait - Co-Founder and COO of Hugo, shares how video support and proactive tech skyrocketed their CSAT. Learn how the team implemented Zoom calls and pre-recorded instructional videos to create meaningful customer interactions. Also, discover the tech that enables Hugo to provide automatic proactive support to users. This episode is truly a masterclass in creating customer delight in a cost-efficient way. pro-active support, proactive customer service, video support, proactive customer support, pro-active customer support, pro-active customer service, video customer service, proactive support no full 35 3e4764dc-91b2-44ef-aeff-80ba9c6ac2be Wed, 30 Jun 2021 04:00:00 +0000 hello@kaizo.com (Kaizo) https://podcast.kaizo.com/episodes/ep34-virag-pohl-zhtmA2b0 Ep.34 Customer Service Best Practices from the Insurance Industry Kaizo 00:35:33 In this conversation, Virag Pohl - Customer Care Agent at simplesurance, shares some customer service best practices she learned while working in the insurance industry. Motivating customers through lengthy processes and explaining complicated terms and conditions are normal practices for simplesurance. As such, agents like Virag can teach us a lot about effectively communicating with customers and guiding agents through evolving processes. Enjoy! In this conversation, Virag Pohl - Customer Care Agent at simplesurance, shares some customer service best practices she learned while working in the insurance industry. Motivating customers through lengthy processes and explaining complicated terms and conditions are normal practices for simplesurance. As such, agents like Virag can teach us a lot about effectively communicating with customers and guiding agents through evolving processes. Enjoy! customer service best practices insurance, customer support best practices, insurance best practices customer service, insurance best practices customer support, customer support best practices insurance, customer service best practices, insurance best practices support, insurance best practices service, insurance best practices no full 34 997c3af3-a4cd-460a-9c09-375753c4bb4b Thu, 24 Jun 2021 07:00:00 +0000 hello@kaizo.com (Kaizo) https://podcast.kaizo.com/episodes/ep33-matt-jaala-H5EdIZcy Ep.33 How to Make an Acquisition in Support Successful- Advice for Acquirers and Acquirees Kaizo 00:52:53 In this episode, Matt Dale- VP of Support at Illuminate Education, Inc. and Jaala Seifipour- Head Of Support at 'nuffsaid, provide advice and best practices to support departments acquiring a new team (acquirers) and those being acquired (acquirees). During his time at Illuminate Education, Matt Dale managed the acquisition of 7 support departments. Jaala experienced being acquired as a support leader during her time at GitPrime. Happy listening! In this episode, Matt Dale- VP of Support at Illuminate Education, Inc. and Jaala Seifipour- Head Of Support at 'nuffsaid, provide advice and best practices to support departments acquiring a new team (acquirers) and those being acquired (acquirees). During his time at Illuminate Education, Matt Dale managed the acquisition of 7 support departments. Jaala experienced being acquired as a support leader during her time at GitPrime. Happy listening! no full 33 c3a4e4c5-d4fc-4bed-8ccc-ee2ded0c5471 Wed, 16 Jun 2021 06:28:58 +0000 hello@kaizo.com (Kaizo) https://podcast.kaizo.com/episodes/ep-32-lilith-rentman-VBjggSsw Ep. 32 The Power of Support Ticket Classification - Lessons from Experience & How to Get Started Kaizo 00:35:13 In this episode, Lilith Antunovic - Customer Experience Manager at Rentman, shares her lessons learned from introducing a support ticket classification or ticket tagging system. Here you can find some pointers on how to get started, best practices to improve a ticket classification or tagging system and some of the benefits of doing so. In this episode, Lilith Antunovic - Customer Experience Manager at Rentman, shares her lessons learned from introducing a support ticket classification or ticket tagging system. Here you can find some pointers on how to get started, best practices to improve a ticket classification or tagging system and some of the benefits of doing so. no full 32 8192532f-62b4-4daa-8269-098f22c1836a Thu, 10 Jun 2021 06:31:07 +0000 hello@kaizo.com (Kaizo) https://podcast.kaizo.com/episodes/ep-31-stephanie-chelsea-petra-OK4I_XgY Ep. 31 Simple but Effective Tips for Customer Service Managers - A Panel of 3 Experts Kaizo 00:50:50 In this episode, Petra Hageman- former Head of Customer Service at tripaneer, Chelsea Baker- Senior Manager of Customer Support and Onboarding at Trakstar and Stephanie Wohl- Head of Support at Channable share their best practices from more than 4 decades of combined experience. The conversation is filled with actionable advice on hiring, culture, management structure, communication and much more. Enjoy! In this episode, Petra Hageman- former Head of Customer Service at tripaneer, Chelsea Baker- Senior Manager of Customer Support and Onboarding at Trakstar and Stephanie Wohl- Head of Support at Channable share their best practices from more than 4 decades of combined experience. The conversation is filled with actionable advice on hiring, culture, management structure, communication and much more. Enjoy! no full 31 1cc54191-d157-4cc0-a963-5b054fead04d Wed, 2 Jun 2021 02:00:00 +0000 hello@kaizo.com (Kaizo) https://podcast.kaizo.com/episodes/ep-30-perran-facey-vS_3DA2_ Ep. 30 Managing with Metrics & KPIs - Advice from MURAL's Math Grad Director of Support Kaizo 00:53:57 In this episode, Perran Facey - Director of Customer Support at MURAL, provides his top tips on support management with a particular focus on the use and communication of KPIs. Perran is a Mathematics graduate from Queen Mary University London and a seasoned support manager with over a decade of experience working in the support industry. As such, he's the perfect candidate to identify the common pitfalls associate with managing through data and elaborates on how to avoid them. Happy Listening! In this episode, Perran Facey - Director of Customer Support at MURAL, provides his top tips on support management with a particular focus on the use and communication of KPIs. Perran is a Mathematics graduate from Queen Mary University London and a seasoned support manager with over a decade of experience working in the support industry. As such, he's the perfect candidate to identify the common pitfalls associate with managing through data and elaborates on how to avoid them. Happy Listening! no full 30 f6119705-b70f-41af-9c9a-7827361b6617 Wed, 26 May 2021 08:34:45 +0000 hello@kaizo.com (Kaizo) https://podcast.kaizo.com/episodes/ep-29-fetch-package-sc_FA2Pe Ep. 29 How to Create a Successful Customer Service Culture - Tips from Fetch Package Kaizo 00:56:55 In this episode, Brianne Adams, Melissa Hughes and Bob Miley- customer support representatives from Fetch Package (Fetch), explore how to create a supportive and productive customer service culture. Find specific and actionable tips on how to build an environment that promotes improvement, and increases the productivity and longevity of customer support staff. Happy listening! In this episode, Brianne Adams, Melissa Hughes and Bob Miley- customer support representatives from Fetch Package (Fetch), explore how to create a supportive and productive customer service culture. Find specific and actionable tips on how to build an environment that promotes improvement, and increases the productivity and longevity of customer support staff. Happy listening! management, customer service culture, customer support culture no full 29 9a328ee4-e902-47ac-847f-2229b7eaef72 Wed, 19 May 2021 06:01:40 +0000 hello@kaizo.com (Kaizo) https://podcast.kaizo.com/episodes/ep-28-customer-service-strategy-xDK2szLn Ep. 28 Customer Service Strategy: Where Companies Go Right and Wrong - A Discussion Between Experts Kaizo 00:42:45 In this episode, Peter Voor de Wind- a Customer Success Consultant at Zendesk, former Global Customer Service Manager at Swapfiets and Benedikt Dormann- Head of Customer Experience at Jimdo, former Director of Global Customer Service at N26, discuss how and why companies get customer service strategy right and wrong. The conversation touches on the value of customer service to businesses today, how to communicate and measure that value of customer service internally, and why the value of great service is often missed. This episode is invaluable to any support leader wanting to better leverage their department to benefit their parent company as a whole. Enjoy! In this episode, Peter Voor de Wind- a Customer Success Consultant at Zendesk, former Global Customer Service Manager at Swapfiets and Benedikt Dormann- Head of Customer Experience at Jimdo, former Director of Global Customer Service at N26, discuss how and why companies get customer service strategy right and wrong. The conversation touches on the value of customer service to businesses today, how to communicate and measure that value of customer service internally, and why the value of great service is often missed. This episode is invaluable to any support leader wanting to better leverage their department to benefit their parent company as a whole. Enjoy! no full 28 1e15ff04-a75d-45f9-a970-bbacf645cf6f Wed, 12 May 2021 09:49:40 +0000 hello@kaizo.com (Kaizo) https://podcast.kaizo.com/episodes/ep-26-rui-chaves-0jBVm0vG Ep. 27 How to Outsource Customer Service the Right Way - Rui Chaves' Insights from Facebook, Uber & Dahslane Kaizo 00:59:18 In this episode, Rui Chaves- Director of Customer Experience at Deel formally of Facebook, Uber and Dashlane, provides an in-depth look at customer service outsourcing. Having started his career in an outsourcing firm and established multiple outsourcing programs at Facebook, Rui is the perfect person to separate the myths about outsourcing from the facts. Rui also shares his insights on why to outsource and how to get the most out of an outsourcing relationship. Happy listening! In this episode, Rui Chaves- Director of Customer Experience at Deel formally of Facebook, Uber and Dashlane, provides an in-depth look at customer service outsourcing. Having started his career in an outsourcing firm and established multiple outsourcing programs at Facebook, Rui is the perfect person to separate the myths about outsourcing from the facts. Rui also shares his insights on why to outsource and how to get the most out of an outsourcing relationship. Happy listening! no full 27 63dfef47-2b72-4e80-9e33-993f5ee7662c Wed, 5 May 2021 02:00:00 +0000 hello@kaizo.com (Kaizo) https://podcast.kaizo.com/episodes/ep-24-katalin-fritz-lTscTd9T Ep. 26 A Masterclass in Customer-Centric Service with Marley Spoon’s CCO, Katalin Fritz Kaizo 00:53:25 In this episode, Katalin Fritz- Chief Customer Officer at Marley Spoon, shares her lessons learned from a storied career in customer support. Establishing shares service centres from scratch, leading some of Amazon’s world-leading customer service teams and now growing with a customer-centric approach to service at Marley Spoon. This episode provides rich strategic advice as well as actionable insights regarding how to actually become a customer-centric organisation. Happy listening! In this episode, Katalin Fritz- Chief Customer Officer at Marley Spoon, shares her lessons learned from a storied career in customer support. Establishing shares service centres from scratch, leading some of Amazon’s world-leading customer service teams and now growing with a customer-centric approach to service at Marley Spoon. This episode provides rich strategic advice as well as actionable insights regarding how to actually become a customer-centric organisation. Happy listening! no full 25 f956dd61-13f0-4ffc-9bcc-24761b40f0c6 Wed, 28 Apr 2021 08:56:33 +0000 hello@kaizo.com (Kaizo) https://podcast.kaizo.com/episodes/ep-25-jaya-sardjoe-LAGgoGZe Ep. 25 Agent of the Month April - Jaya Sardjoe's Advice for New Customer Support Agents Kaizo 00:52:49 In this episode, Jaya Sardjoe- a customer support associate at Zevij-Necomij B.V., shares her experiences and lessons from her first two years working in customer support. At Zevij-Necomij, a dutch wholesale company, she’s been guided and advised on how to succeed as an agent. She now shares these actionable and effective tips with us. Enjoy! In this episode, Jaya Sardjoe- a customer support associate at Zevij-Necomij B.V., shares her experiences and lessons from her first two years working in customer support. At Zevij-Necomij, a dutch wholesale company, she’s been guided and advised on how to succeed as an agent. She now shares these actionable and effective tips with us. Enjoy! new agent, new customer support agent, new service agent, new support agent, new customer service agent no full 26 96e39c76-453c-45d3-8d30-ede43368ae8a Tue, 13 Apr 2021 14:01:36 +0000 hello@kaizo.com (Kaizo) https://podcast.kaizo.com/episodes/ep-24-susana-de-sousa-Hfmt9KPP Ep. 24 - 3 ways Loom maximizes their customer support ROI Kaizo 00:50:45 In this episode, Susana de Sousa- Senior Manager of Customer Support at Loom, elaborates on the lessons she learned while working in customer experience at Airbnb. She shares the philosophies that allowed her and the team at Loom to conquer the insane challenges presented by meteoric pandemic growth. All the while giving an honest and humble look at the trials associated with providing great support today. Enjoy! In this episode, Susana de Sousa- Senior Manager of Customer Support at Loom, elaborates on the lessons she learned while working in customer experience at Airbnb. She shares the philosophies that allowed her and the team at Loom to conquer the insane challenges presented by meteoric pandemic growth. All the while giving an honest and humble look at the trials associated with providing great support today. Enjoy! no full 24 0db04d8e-6a3e-42e0-a436-4a4dec22bdb2 Tue, 6 Apr 2021 16:23:03 +0000 hello@kaizo.com (Kaizo) https://podcast.kaizo.com/episodes/ep-23-mara-vicente-6e92hd4I Ep. 23 How to manage a multinational customer support team with Pipedrive Kaizo 00:49:26 In this episode, Mara Vicente - Vice President of Customer Support at Pipedrive, shares insights from her wealth of experience working in customer support. Touching on everything from international management and team culture to company strategy and the power of old-fashioned hard work. This is the perfect episode to continue developing your managerial skills as a modern customer support leader. In this episode, Mara Vicente - Vice President of Customer Support at Pipedrive, shares insights from her wealth of experience working in customer support. Touching on everything from international management and team culture to company strategy and the power of old-fashioned hard work. This is the perfect episode to continue developing your managerial skills as a modern customer support leader. customer support, pipedrive, customer service software, customer care, customer service, cx, customer experience, management skills, customer centric no full 23 0886f95e-ea6c-435b-b663-5ade646d136d Wed, 31 Mar 2021 02:00:00 +0000 hello@kaizo.com (Kaizo) https://podcast.kaizo.com/episodes/ep-22-nadezhda-hope-zubova-8__Z9B4Q Ep. 22 Agent of the Month March - Nadezhda (Hope) Zubova on How to Support Agents Kaizo 00:43:38 Our first Agent of the Month episode of Support Heroes by Kaizo featured Nadezhda (Hope) Zubova from Miro. During the episode, Hope explores what motivates her as an agent. Showing how supporting agents personally and operationally improves their well-being and therefore deparemental performance. Happy listening! Our first Agent of the Month episode of Support Heroes by Kaizo featured Nadezhda (Hope) Zubova from Miro. During the episode, Hope explores what motivates her as an agent. Showing how supporting agents personally and operationally improves their well-being and therefore deparemental performance. Happy listening! support agents, customer support agents, service agents, service agent, agents, agent, support agent, customer service agents, customer support agent, customer service agent no full 22 96ab4235-2fa2-411d-a733-3b65bf17b192 Wed, 24 Mar 2021 03:00:00 +0000 hello@kaizo.com (Kaizo) https://podcast.kaizo.com/episodes/ep-21-nick-chong-mb9ORmx8 Ep. 21 Support to C-Suite - Why Zoom's Head of Support, Nick Chong, Thinks CS is the #1 Place to Start a Career Kaizo 00:45:46 In this episode, Nick Chong- Head of Global Support & Services at Zoom, explains why he believes support is the best place to develop the skills required to be a successful senior manager, VP or executive officer. Nick provides a detailed description of how he and his department invite agents to develop themselves and their careers at Zoom. Finally, he encourages all Support Heroes to take great pride in our industry and work. An inspirational must-listen for all of us! In this episode, Nick Chong- Head of Global Support & Services at Zoom, explains why he believes support is the best place to develop the skills required to be a successful senior manager, VP or executive officer. Nick provides a detailed description of how he and his department invite agents to develop themselves and their careers at Zoom. Finally, he encourages all Support Heroes to take great pride in our industry and work. An inspirational must-listen for all of us! customer support career progression, ceo support, ceo customer service, support career progression, career, zoom, vp customer service, support career, customer support career, vp, ceo, customer service career, career progression, vp support, service career, ceo customer support no full 21 6151b4e5-fe20-4cd0-ac9b-e9da8277ea7e Wed, 17 Mar 2021 03:00:00 +0000 hello@kaizo.com (Kaizo) https://podcast.kaizo.com/episodes/ep-20-dorien-de-vreede-4Vs4gbKj Ep. 20 Playbook for Scaling Support - Dorien de Vreede's Lessons from bloomon and Catawiki Kaizo 00:53:53 In this episode, Dorien de Vreede- Head of Customer Support at bloomon, outlines the playbook she developed scaling a support team from 0 to 70+ agents in just a year at Catawiki, which she now applies to great success at the blossoming florist scale-up: bloomon. Dorien offers actionable, thoughtful advice that’s useful to support staff at all levels, tailor-made to allow support departments to scale with grace and speed. Happy listening! In this episode, Dorien de Vreede- Head of Customer Support at bloomon, outlines the playbook she developed scaling a support team from 0 to 70+ agents in just a year at Catawiki, which she now applies to great success at the blossoming florist scale-up: bloomon. Dorien offers actionable, thoughtful advice that’s useful to support staff at all levels, tailor-made to allow support departments to scale with grace and speed. Happy listening! scale support, bloomon, scaling support, advice, catawiki, advice scaling support, advice scale support, scale customer support, support advice, support operations, operations, scaling, scaling customer support no full 20 40e207f3-763c-4a0b-8cf2-3752339a3be9 Wed, 10 Mar 2021 03:00:00 +0000 hello@kaizo.com (Kaizo) https://podcast.kaizo.com/episodes/ep-19-pam-dodrill-jL1hDFBU Ep. 19 Top Tier Strategies for Support & Success - VP at Zapier Pam Dodrill Shares Her Knowledge Kaizo 00:46:17 In this episode, Pam Dodrill- Vice President of Customer Support and Success at Zapier, shares top tier strategies developed from decades of support management, now applied in one of the world’s leading SaaS companies. Pam elaborates on many facets of support strategy, contrasting common practices to those she and Zapier believe to be optimal. In this episode, Pam Dodrill- Vice President of Customer Support and Success at Zapier, shares top tier strategies developed from decades of support management, now applied in one of the world’s leading SaaS companies. Pam elaborates on many facets of support strategy, contrasting common practices to those she and Zapier believe to be optimal. customer support, up-selling, customer success, upsell, upselling, up-sell no full 19 c989f56e-2b1f-4522-af27-6cbc9bcb5133 Wed, 3 Mar 2021 03:00:00 +0000 hello@kaizo.com (Kaizo) https://podcast.kaizo.com/episodes/ep18-charlotte-ward-brittany-ferguson-9yCnODOP Ep.18 Top Tips for Remote Teamwork - Charlotte Ward & Brittany Ferguson Exchange Knowledge and Experiences Kaizo 00:55:46 In this episode, Brittany Ferguson- Senior Manager of Customer Support at Brio Systems, Inc and a manager new to remote teamwork, exchanges lessons learned with our first returning guest, Charlotte Ward- Head of Support at Snowplow and long-time remote manager. Tune in for details on remote management, teamwork, training, culture building, communication, documentation and much more on this topical episode of Support Heroes by Kaizo. Our solo episode with Charlotte is a great prequel or followup to this discussion. Visit snowplowanalytics.com & getbrio.com for more info. Happy listening! In this episode, Brittany Ferguson- Senior Manager of Customer Support at Brio Systems, Inc and a manager new to remote teamwork, exchanges lessons learned with our first returning guest, Charlotte Ward- Head of Support at Snowplow and long-time remote manager. Tune in for details on remote management, teamwork, training, culture building, communication, documentation and much more on this topical episode of Support Heroes by Kaizo. Our solo episode with Charlotte is a great prequel or followup to this discussion. Visit snowplowanalytics.com & getbrio.com for more info. Happy listening! distributed team work, teamwork, distributed teamwork, distributed work, management, remote management, remote team, distributed team, remote, remote team work, distributed management, remote teamwork, remote work no full 18 ee72429d-877f-4092-a850-dc109c270757 Wed, 24 Feb 2021 03:00:00 +0000 hello@kaizo.com (Kaizo) https://podcast.kaizo.com/episodes/aprill-allen-damian-reed-KW6PLbGd Ep.17 Knowledge is Power - Aprill Allen & Damian Reed on Knowledge Bases in Support Kaizo 00:56:33 In this episode, Aprill Allen- a Knowledge Management Consultant & General Partner of Tractor Ventures, and Damian Reed- Customer Success & Support Manager at Teamgage share their experience building and applying knowledge management in support. Both having experience in enterprise organisations as well as startups, the Aussie duo compare and contrast knowledge management in small and large organisations, and share lessons learned from both perspectives. Tune in for actionable advice to benefit employee engagement, customer satisfaction, ticket volume and much more. Enjoy! In this episode, Aprill Allen- a Knowledge Management Consultant & General Partner of Tractor Ventures, and Damian Reed- Customer Success & Support Manager at Teamgage share their experience building and applying knowledge management in support. Both having experience in enterprise organisations as well as startups, the Aussie duo compare and contrast knowledge management in small and large organisations, and share lessons learned from both perspectives. Tune in for actionable advice to benefit employee engagement, customer satisfaction, ticket volume and much more. Enjoy! knowledge, knowledge articles, knowledge base, knowledge management no full 17 638a5175-2a8f-453b-86d5-81173413a039 Wed, 17 Feb 2021 03:00:00 +0000 hello@kaizo.com (Kaizo) https://podcast.kaizo.com/episodes/chelsea-baker-pCHGOphg Ep.16 How to be a Confident Support Leader - Chelsea Baker's Coming of Age Kaizo 00:49:13 In this episode, Chelsea Baker recounts the lessons she learned about support leadership over years of experience at Applied Training Systems, Inc and Recruiterbox. She opens up about the evolution of her confidence as a manager and elaborates on how her management style was formed by her experiences both before and after the pandemic. Tune in to hear Chelsea's advise for aspiring support leaders everywhere. Happy listening! In this episode, Chelsea Baker recounts the lessons she learned about support leadership over years of experience at Applied Training Systems, Inc and Recruiterbox. She opens up about the evolution of her confidence as a manager and elaborates on how her management style was formed by her experiences both before and after the pandemic. Tune in to hear Chelsea's advise for aspiring support leaders everywhere. Happy listening! leader, management, manager, leadership no full 16 d55ea847-dc33-4b72-a2a6-c0bc85c21ae6 Wed, 10 Feb 2021 03:00:00 +0000 hello@kaizo.com (Kaizo) https://podcast.kaizo.com/episodes/charlotte-ward-6JonXrtR Ep.15 The Unexpected Leader - How Charlotte Ward Became a Support Leader at Snowplow Kaizo 01:03:38 In this episode, Charlotte Ward chronicles her transformation from being a shy technical support agent to becoming a vocal leader of a distributed team as Head of Support at Snowplow. At the tail-end of the show, Charlotte shares some top tips on remote management/teamwork developed from years managing and working in distributed teams. Visit snowplowanalytics.com for more info. We hope you enjoy this giggly and informative episode! In this episode, Charlotte Ward chronicles her transformation from being a shy technical support agent to becoming a vocal leader of a distributed team as Head of Support at Snowplow. At the tail-end of the show, Charlotte shares some top tips on remote management/teamwork developed from years managing and working in distributed teams. Visit snowplowanalytics.com for more info. We hope you enjoy this giggly and informative episode! no full 15 d9c28f58-40bd-4214-bf63-40834efe31e7 Wed, 3 Feb 2021 03:00:00 +0000 hello@kaizo.com (Kaizo) https://podcast.kaizo.com/episodes/kaitlin-pettersen-weuvAjeT Ep. 14 Satisfying Customers in a Digital World - How Kaitlin Pettersen and Intercom are driving conversational support Kaizo 00:52:41 In this episode, Kaitlin Pettersen- Senior Director of Customer Support at Intercom, elaborates on how the pandemic shifted customer interactions to the digital space, and how this has impacted support. She presents Intercom's thesis of conversational support being the way forward and offers some insights on how this can be successfully implemented. In this episode, Kaitlin Pettersen- Senior Director of Customer Support at Intercom, elaborates on how the pandemic shifted customer interactions to the digital space, and how this has impacted support. She presents Intercom's thesis of conversational support being the way forward and offers some insights on how this can be successfully implemented. conversational, intercom, service, customer, conversations, support no full 14 f4fef036-072a-49d4-ac96-a3d2d1ddd2c8 Wed, 27 Jan 2021 03:00:00 +0000 hello@kaizo.com (Kaizo) https://podcast.kaizo.com/episodes/matt-dale-l4f41WJA Ep.13 12 Products, 3 Hellish Months & 1 Mega Merger - The Evolution of People & Processes with Matt Dale Kaizo 01:06:21 Matt Dale is VP of Customer Support at Illuminate Education- an educational software company operating in the US. During the episode, Matt outlines the evolution of the processes that allow his department to service 12 separate products simultaneously. As a result of the steep agent learning curve and extreme seasonality of their business, Matt has focused on keeping his department active and finding new ways to apply agents' skills during down season. Finally, Matt touches on how his number 2's grew from agents to directors and how their career path can be replicated. Happy listening! Matt Dale is VP of Customer Support at Illuminate Education- an educational software company operating in the US. During the episode, Matt outlines the evolution of the processes that allow his department to service 12 separate products simultaneously. As a result of the steep agent learning curve and extreme seasonality of their business, Matt has focused on keeping his department active and finding new ways to apply agents' skills during down season. Finally, Matt touches on how his number 2's grew from agents to directors and how their career path can be replicated. Happy listening! no full 13 7f8e73f4-e4d6-415a-ba59-bc2caceefe51 Wed, 20 Jan 2021 03:00:00 +0000 hello@kaizo.com (Kaizo) https://podcast.kaizo.com/episodes/ep12-raul-garreta-tez5nXMe Ep.12 Smarter Support Tools - How Raúl Garreta Applies AI at MonkeyLearn to Make Support Better Kaizo 00:51:24 Raúl Garreta is the Co-Founder & CEO at MonkeyLearn- a startup that applies Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to analyse text and empower support departments. Within the episode, we explore how support is being transformed by AI tools; how these tools are not a threat human agents but a tool to make their lives better; and how the insights that AI & Machine Learning can uncover from ticket data could blow static measures like NPS out of the water and place support as the centre-piece of customer research. We hope you enjoy this techy-twist to support! Raúl Garreta is the Co-Founder & CEO at MonkeyLearn- a startup that applies Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to analyse text and empower support departments. Within the episode, we explore how support is being transformed by AI tools; how these tools are not a threat human agents but a tool to make their lives better; and how the insights that AI & Machine Learning can uncover from ticket data could blow static measures like NPS out of the water and place support as the centre-piece of customer research. We hope you enjoy this techy-twist to support! no full 12 f4cbea64-44f3-480a-b805-7c19687e8da3 Wed, 13 Jan 2021 03:00:00 +0000 hello@kaizo.com (Kaizo) https://podcast.kaizo.com/episodes/ep11-magdalena-primo-iyMsXoIk Ep.11 Agent Care & Happiness - Magdalena Primo's Journey Home to ID90 Travel and Why She Stayed Kaizo 00:57:03 Magdalena Primo is Customer Support Supervisor at ID90 Travel- a travel platform specifically for airline employees. In this episode, we speak about the needs of agents and agent care. Magdalena chronicles her past experiences as an agent at an outsourcing firm and contrasts the lack of fulfilment she felt then to her happy home of 8 years- ID90 Travel. As well as sharing her lessons from the frontline, Maggie shares how care is at the forefront of her management style and the culture of ID90 travel, and how this pays dividends for her and her team. Magdalena Primo is Customer Support Supervisor at ID90 Travel- a travel platform specifically for airline employees. In this episode, we speak about the needs of agents and agent care. Magdalena chronicles her past experiences as an agent at an outsourcing firm and contrasts the lack of fulfilment she felt then to her happy home of 8 years- ID90 Travel. As well as sharing her lessons from the frontline, Maggie shares how care is at the forefront of her management style and the culture of ID90 travel, and how this pays dividends for her and her team. customer support, id90 travel, management, care, happiness, call centre, self care, customer service, hr, agent, service, self-care, selfcare, customer, call center, self, outsourcing, culture, support, employee, team lead no full 11 491b20c9-629b-4a0e-af51-482d5f07de99 Wed, 30 Dec 2020 04:00:00 +0000 hello@kaizo.com (Kaizo) https://podcast.kaizo.com/episodes/ep10-GZA122Iu Ep.10 2020 to 2021 - Lessons Learned and a Brighter Future Kaizo 00:16:59 The final episode of the year. The second non-interview episode and a retrospective on a tough year filled with new challenges. Based on industry feedback and conversations looking back on the year, we take a look at key challenges we faced together. We recount some lessons learned from our piers who joined us on the show and provide some medically-sound advice on how we can fare better in 2021. Hold your heads high. We made it to the end. Enjoy. The final episode of the year. The second non-interview episode and a retrospective on a tough year filled with new challenges. Based on industry feedback and conversations looking back on the year, we take a look at key challenges we faced together. We recount some lessons learned from our piers who joined us on the show and provide some medically-sound advice on how we can fare better in 2021. Hold your heads high. We made it to the end. Enjoy. no full 10 86fe8258-4713-45d4-89e6-5e29a1600f2c Wed, 23 Dec 2020 05:34:34 +0000 hello@kaizo.com (Kaizo) https://podcast.kaizo.com/episodes/ep-9-SWNHpLa5 Ep.9 Holiday Food for Thought - 9 Resources to Start the New Year Kaizo 00:13:49 This is one of two non-interview episodes to round out the year. In this episode, we present some resources that we found useful and interesting during 2020. We hope you enjoy this brief look into the Customer Support content that we consume at Kaizo, and find these resources as helpful as we do. Check out the post on Kaizo's LinkedIn page for full details, credit and links. Happy Holidays! This is one of two non-interview episodes to round out the year. In this episode, we present some resources that we found useful and interesting during 2020. We hope you enjoy this brief look into the Customer Support content that we consume at Kaizo, and find these resources as helpful as we do. Check out the post on Kaizo's LinkedIn page for full details, credit and links. Happy Holidays! customer support, reports, blogs, resources, bill quiseng, shep hyken, jeremy watkin, support no full 9 e1f2cee2-d736-49c7-ad10-77fab57c10b9 Wed, 16 Dec 2020 05:47:21 +0000 hello@kaizo.com (Kaizo) https://podcast.kaizo.com/episodes/ep8-sue-morris-xPvuJ4iP Ep.8 Customer Totality & Support Storytelling - How Sue Morris & Github Successfully Service Millions of Developers Worldwide Kaizo 00:44:37 Sue (Kirk) Morris is Vice President of Customer Success and Support at GitHub- the world's largest open-source community for software development. If you've heard of it, then you know, if you haven't, this tool helped build most of the apps & programmes you use on a daily basis. Sue champions interdepartmental customer-centricity, during this episode, she gives a unique look into how this was successfully applied in one of the most prolific software companies around today. Having her roots in Vodafone and Microsoft, Sue provides some of the highest level insights on the podcast to date. Plus, she's British, so how could this one not be a delight...Enjoy! Sue (Kirk) Morris is Vice President of Customer Success and Support at GitHub- the world's largest open-source community for software development. If you've heard of it, then you know, if you haven't, this tool helped build most of the apps & programmes you use on a daily basis. Sue champions interdepartmental customer-centricity, during this episode, she gives a unique look into how this was successfully applied in one of the most prolific software companies around today. Having her roots in Vodafone and Microsoft, Sue provides some of the highest level insights on the podcast to date. Plus, she's British, so how could this one not be a delight...Enjoy! customer support, transdepartmental, vodafone, customer success, customer service, success, interdepartmental, journey, github, customer-centric, customer, customer mindset, customer journey, customer-centricity, customer centricity, microsoft, support, customer centric no full 8 6d1df2af-5a8f-45e5-9d8e-0c8c1192ad58 Wed, 9 Dec 2020 04:00:00 +0000 hello@kaizo.com (Kaizo) https://podcast.kaizo.com/episodes/ep7-stephanie-wohl-7C1Yg0L_ Ep.7 Scaling Through the Pandemic - Stephanie Wohl's Down-to-Earth View from Channable's Rocketship Kaizo 01:00:55 Stephanie Wohl is Head of Support at Channable- an incredibly exciting and fast-growing startup out of the Netherlands. Channable has created an innovative solution providing automated feed management and PPC ads, which has been incredibly well-received in the market. During this conversation, Stephanie shares the unique challenges she and her team face supporting a deeply complex tool like Channable and doing so simultaneously for many industries, in multiple languages. Frank, funny and humble, Stephanie is a young role model for any aspiring support manager or team lead. From us to you, enjoy! Stephanie Wohl is Head of Support at Channable- an incredibly exciting and fast-growing startup out of the Netherlands. Channable has created an innovative solution providing automated feed management and PPC ads, which has been incredibly well-received in the market. During this conversation, Stephanie shares the unique challenges she and her team face supporting a deeply complex tool like Channable and doing so simultaneously for many industries, in multiple languages. Frank, funny and humble, Stephanie is a young role model for any aspiring support manager or team lead. From us to you, enjoy! customer support, scaleup, start ups, management, growth, startups, customer service, channable, support operations, startup, start up, support no full 7 cd3f0d9b-c877-47fb-93a8-f3f26a5fe4dc Wed, 2 Dec 2020 04:00:00 +0000 hello@kaizo.com (Kaizo) https://podcast.kaizo.com/episodes/ep6-queen-joseph-hsvRI2KW Ep.6 Customer Support from Scratch - Queen Joseph's Guide to Scaling Successfully Kaizo 00:54:58 Queen Joseph is a Customer Success & Support Ops Consultant working with startups in California. Queen offers her unique insights from 5+ years of experience building support operations from scratch as well as setting up fledgeling operations for their future growth. Breaking this process into easily-understood phases Queen offers a step-by-step guide to ensure successful scaling in any context. If you want to know how to improve your operations, this is the episode for you! Happy listening. Queen Joseph is a Customer Success & Support Ops Consultant working with startups in California. Queen offers her unique insights from 5+ years of experience building support operations from scratch as well as setting up fledgeling operations for their future growth. Breaking this process into easily-understood phases Queen offers a step-by-step guide to ensure successful scaling in any context. If you want to know how to improve your operations, this is the episode for you! Happy listening. customer support, start ups, business operations, growth, startups, customer success, startup, operations, scaling, start up, customer support operations, customer expirience, ops no full 6 34332373-2650-4eb3-8a77-8d34d85677f4 Wed, 25 Nov 2020 04:00:00 +0000 hello@kaizo.com (Kaizo) https://podcast.kaizo.com/episodes/oleg-krasnov-qTcom1ZN Ep. 5 The Human Touch in Hiring & Management - How Oleg Krasnov Applied a Career's Worth of Lessons at Miro Kaizo 00:55:17 Oleg Krasnov is a Customer Experience Advisor and Head of Customer Support at Miro- an online visual collaboration platform for distributed teams. Already a budding software darling, Miro saw an explosion of growth due to Covid, with ticket flows tripling or more. In this episode, Oleg shares how he managed to deal with this quantum leap in Miro's user base by relying on his extensive experience in Support recruitment and management. Oleg offers his knowledge freely, openly and honestly applying his lessons learned to real cases from his career. If you want to know how to manage in crunch time, this is the episode for you! Happy listening. Oleg Krasnov is a Customer Experience Advisor and Head of Customer Support at Miro- an online visual collaboration platform for distributed teams. Already a budding software darling, Miro saw an explosion of growth due to Covid, with ticket flows tripling or more. In this episode, Oleg shares how he managed to deal with this quantum leap in Miro's user base by relying on his extensive experience in Support recruitment and management. Oleg offers his knowledge freely, openly and honestly applying his lessons learned to real cases from his career. If you want to know how to manage in crunch time, this is the episode for you! Happy listening. customer support, manage, hiring, management, miro, interviewing, customer service, recruit, recruitment, customer, recruiter, interview, employee no full 5 c1c076db-4fb1-42e6-82f1-2f9df1dfc0f6 Thu, 19 Nov 2020 04:00:00 +0000 hello@kaizo.com (Kaizo) https://podcast.kaizo.com/episodes/ep4-jan-brenneke-eU7iOVMY Ep.4 Diagnosing Symptoms of Success - Talixo's Jan Brenneke Shares Insights on Analytics & Metrics in Customer Support Kaizo 00:50:55 Jan Brenneke is Chief Supply Officer at Talixo- an exciting startup targeting the business transport market. In this episode, Jan offers his expertise in the application of analytics in the context of Customer Service and it's intersection with management science. Jan's thoughtful awareness of the bigger picture, and the integration of social science in his application of incentive schemes and productive programmes within his department is truly impressive and unique. Welcome, to episode four! Jan Brenneke is Chief Supply Officer at Talixo- an exciting startup targeting the business transport market. In this episode, Jan offers his expertise in the application of analytics in the context of Customer Service and it's intersection with management science. Jan's thoughtful awareness of the bigger picture, and the integration of social science in his application of incentive schemes and productive programmes within his department is truly impressive and unique. Welcome, to episode four! no full 4 b5f7cd2b-0a08-4c02-899a-121a7bd2501b Thu, 12 Nov 2020 02:44:31 +0000 hello@kaizo.com (Kaizo) https://podcast.kaizo.com/episodes/ep3-crucial-tips-on-how-to-manage-a-customer-service-team-petra-hagemans-lessons-learned-from-bookingcom-tripaneer-more-REMb8ySF Ep.3 Crucial Tips on How to Manage a Customer Service Team - Petra Hageman's Lessons Learned from Booking.com, Tripaneer & more Kaizo 00:50:48 Petra Hageman was formally Head of Customer Service at Tripaneer and was also part of the workforce management team at booking.com overseeing 2000+ agents. During the episode, Petra shares her tips for managing people, improving oneself and making the best use of one's time. Petra provides actionable advice at every turn backed by more than two decades of experience in customer support and workforce management. If you want to skill-up in any aspect of customer support, this episode is a doozy. Enjoy! Petra Hageman was formally Head of Customer Service at Tripaneer and was also part of the workforce management team at booking.com overseeing 2000+ agents. During the episode, Petra shares her tips for managing people, improving oneself and making the best use of one's time. Petra provides actionable advice at every turn backed by more than two decades of experience in customer support and workforce management. If you want to skill-up in any aspect of customer support, this episode is a doozy. Enjoy! workforce management, management, tooling, agents, managers, metrics no full 3 84131b0a-94a7-4d84-8e08-ec8bd8a405d0 Wed, 11 Nov 2020 11:19:44 +0000 hello@kaizo.com (Kaizo) https://podcast.kaizo.com/episodes/ep2-heidi-elhawary-p58St6IO Ep.2 Building a Career in Support - Heidi Elhawary's Journey from a Hotel Lobby to Head of CS at Trivago Kaizo 00:40:17 Heidi Elhawary is Head of User Support at trivago- of one, if not the most, well-known hotel meta-search platform. Heidi rose quickly through the ranks in her department and in less than half a decade total in the Support industry, now finds herself in a senior position at a hugely successful B2C company. With her agent days still fresh in her mind, Heidi shares insights into how she made this possible and how you can emulate this yourself. Be you an agent or manager, Customer Support is a career you can be proud of- so hold your heads high, Support Heroes. Welcome to episode two! Heidi Elhawary is Head of User Support at trivago- of one, if not the most, well-known hotel meta-search platform. Heidi rose quickly through the ranks in her department and in less than half a decade total in the Support industry, now finds herself in a senior position at a hugely successful B2C company. With her agent days still fresh in her mind, Heidi shares insights into how she made this possible and how you can emulate this yourself. Be you an agent or manager, Customer Support is a career you can be proud of- so hold your heads high, Support Heroes. Welcome to episode two! career, agents, progression, managers no full 2 3696bbc5-3c64-40ad-8219-f1494c2cd825 Tue, 10 Nov 2020 06:51:19 +0000 hello@kaizo.com (Kaizo) https://podcast.kaizo.com/episodes/ep1-benedikt-dormann-QqqjkPYL Ep.1 The Winning Support Philosophy - How Benedikt Dormann & N26 Got Ahead by Being Supportive Kaizo 00:46:47 Benedikt Dormann is Director of Global Customer Service at N26 Group- one of the fastest-growing banks in the world. He cites his genuine curiosity in humanity and open-minded approach to leadership as being the key ingredients to his success in Customer Support. In this episode, Benedikt shares his tips and best practices from a multidecade career of successfully managing multinational Support programs across Europe. Welcome to the inaugural episode of Support Heroes by Kaizo. We hope you enjoy! Benedikt Dormann is Director of Global Customer Service at N26 Group- one of the fastest-growing banks in the world. He cites his genuine curiosity in humanity and open-minded approach to leadership as being the key ingredients to his success in Customer Support. In this episode, Benedikt shares his tips and best practices from a multidecade career of successfully managing multinational Support programs across Europe. Welcome to the inaugural episode of Support Heroes by Kaizo. We hope you enjoy! no full 1