This year I celebrated my 10 year anniversary with SmarterTools. 10 years, wow. I never imagined I'd make it this far. A lot has happened in these 10 years. I came to SmarterTools an unemployed (5 months) temp worker in October, 2009. I was put in a corner office next to our CEO, Tim. I met the channel partnership manager, the IT person, and of course the office manager. Aside from that I was pretty isolated from everyone else. I started with scanning all partnership documents, checking the accounts to match said documents, and creating files for each partner company. When I finished this they had me start doing follow-ups on trial keys. I went into the trial follow-ups knowing very little about our products. Although I was related to one of the owners, had a personal SmarterMail account for many years, and even used SmarterMail for a client at my previous job, I still didn't know much. But I needed the job while I searched for a more permanent position. So, extremely nervous, I made those calls. Because I was so nervous I would always close the office door so no one would hear me talking on the phone. If someone did have questions I sent them over to the support team, whom I had not yet seen or met. I was intended to continue doing temp work until December, so I was given various tasks to work on over those three months.
Finally December came, and of course I was starting to panic inside because I had yet to find a permanent job, despite going through two employment agencies and getting a few interviews. At the end of my time in my temp job Tim sat down with me to talk. Although my anxiety was through the roof I was somehow impressive enough to hire on in a permanent position. Thus, my adventure in customer service/sales truly began. I was put in an office with support team and was put to work making more calls. This was probably the hardest part for me at the time, because I still didn't want anyone to hear me talking on the phone.
A few months after I had started at SmarterTools our channel partnership manager had quit. And it was just about partner renewal time. Since I had done the document scanning I was somewhat familiar with the documents and so forth, so the renewals were put in my lap. I had to learn fast how to handle the renewals. Thankfully this process was simplified over the years and partners no longer have to sign new, 12-14 page, agreements once a year. So now on top of doing customer service I was handling our partners. Not only was I now in charge of doing the renewals, I also became the point of contact for those wanting to apply for partnership. After a few years of this, management decided to put the full decision of partners in my hands. So now not only did they ask me about the requirements, I was the one who had to make the decision of accepting or denying a partnership (no pressure there). Just before this I remember there was a period of time when my manager had to make color coded schedules for daily tasks. While the support team had one color most days, two colors twice a week, my scheduled had several colors every day. The scheduled included responding to tickets, making renewal calls, making trial follow-up calls, following up on price quotes, and whatever needed to be done for partners.
Over time, things have changed. The company started automating a lot of the tasks I was doing. It did worry me at first and made me wonder what I was going to do with my time or if I would even have a job after that. But no matter how much the changes have scared me I stuck to it and thrived. Not only has my job changed but the company itself has changed. The office underwent two renovations in my time here, many employment changes, and internal structure changes. Although the SmarterTools I work at today barely resembles the one I started at 10 years ago, the heart of the company is still there.
When I tell people about all the perks of being at SmarterTools (trips to Hawaii, conventions, movie days, dog days, etc.) they are impressed and jokingly ask if we are hiring. These types of perks are certainly unique and not many companies would think to provide them for their employees. But the most important perk I have seen working here is something else entirely. The support.
When I say "support" I don't mean our technical support or development teams. I mean the support the owners provide to their employees. Working here I don't feel like "just another peon". In 2010 my dad passed away unexpectedly. The company sent flowers and every one was supportive and compassionate when I returned to work. In 2014 I had to get my gallbladder taken out and about six months later (April 2015) I had to get my appendix taken out. These were not the first surgeries or injuries I had to recover from while working here. Through it all the company and owners supported me. About five years ago I decided to go back to school to get my bachelor's degree. Although the degree was in an unrelated field the owners supported me and would frequently check to see how school was going. The owners also knew that my end goal was to get a master's degree. Even though they knew this would eventually take me away from the company, they still support me.
Call it luck, karma, kismet, call it what you will, but I will call it blessed. I feel extremely blessed that this job came along and SmarterTools was willing to put their time and money into me. I didn't know even a quarter of the things I know today, and I'm continually learning still. I loathe the day I'll leave the company to pursue my career, but if SmarterTools ever opens a counseling department I'll be the first in line to work there.
Finally December came, and of course I was starting to panic inside because I had yet to find a permanent job, despite going through two employment agencies and getting a few interviews. At the end of my time in my temp job Tim sat down with me to talk. Although my anxiety was through the roof I was somehow impressive enough to hire on in a permanent position. Thus, my adventure in customer service/sales truly began. I was put in an office with support team and was put to work making more calls. This was probably the hardest part for me at the time, because I still didn't want anyone to hear me talking on the phone.
A few months after I had started at SmarterTools our channel partnership manager had quit. And it was just about partner renewal time. Since I had done the document scanning I was somewhat familiar with the documents and so forth, so the renewals were put in my lap. I had to learn fast how to handle the renewals. Thankfully this process was simplified over the years and partners no longer have to sign new, 12-14 page, agreements once a year. So now on top of doing customer service I was handling our partners. Not only was I now in charge of doing the renewals, I also became the point of contact for those wanting to apply for partnership. After a few years of this, management decided to put the full decision of partners in my hands. So now not only did they ask me about the requirements, I was the one who had to make the decision of accepting or denying a partnership (no pressure there). Just before this I remember there was a period of time when my manager had to make color coded schedules for daily tasks. While the support team had one color most days, two colors twice a week, my scheduled had several colors every day. The scheduled included responding to tickets, making renewal calls, making trial follow-up calls, following up on price quotes, and whatever needed to be done for partners.
Over time, things have changed. The company started automating a lot of the tasks I was doing. It did worry me at first and made me wonder what I was going to do with my time or if I would even have a job after that. But no matter how much the changes have scared me I stuck to it and thrived. Not only has my job changed but the company itself has changed. The office underwent two renovations in my time here, many employment changes, and internal structure changes. Although the SmarterTools I work at today barely resembles the one I started at 10 years ago, the heart of the company is still there.
When I tell people about all the perks of being at SmarterTools (trips to Hawaii, conventions, movie days, dog days, etc.) they are impressed and jokingly ask if we are hiring. These types of perks are certainly unique and not many companies would think to provide them for their employees. But the most important perk I have seen working here is something else entirely. The support.
When I say "support" I don't mean our technical support or development teams. I mean the support the owners provide to their employees. Working here I don't feel like "just another peon". In 2010 my dad passed away unexpectedly. The company sent flowers and every one was supportive and compassionate when I returned to work. In 2014 I had to get my gallbladder taken out and about six months later (April 2015) I had to get my appendix taken out. These were not the first surgeries or injuries I had to recover from while working here. Through it all the company and owners supported me. About five years ago I decided to go back to school to get my bachelor's degree. Although the degree was in an unrelated field the owners supported me and would frequently check to see how school was going. The owners also knew that my end goal was to get a master's degree. Even though they knew this would eventually take me away from the company, they still support me.
Call it luck, karma, kismet, call it what you will, but I will call it blessed. I feel extremely blessed that this job came along and SmarterTools was willing to put their time and money into me. I didn't know even a quarter of the things I know today, and I'm continually learning still. I loathe the day I'll leave the company to pursue my career, but if SmarterTools ever opens a counseling department I'll be the first in line to work there.
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