April 07, 2021

While leading the multilingual CS team

by Rasa Novagrockaitė

Customer Success Team Leader

I get to work with young, curious professionals and I envy my experience every day. Yet, what would I do when people are hungry for knowledge and I feel like not catching up with them sometimes? I choose to chase it in the best way possible – listen to agents’ practices, learn what they strive for and make sure I give every tool they might need to ensure their growth. In this way, I stay focused but always-on-the-go, which is the best duet in my professional life.

What do I constantly learn while leading a Customer Success team that is diverse, multilingual and eager to conquer the cyber world?

  • Different people – different backgrounds. Within our team, we have members who introduced themselves to foreign languages only after high school. Few members started learning about the culture of France at the university table. Others mastered German language while watching TV as they were babies, because their moms, who were German language teachers, were watching the news. Our agents’ knowledge is at a similar level but comes from very different sources. It brings a high level of professionalism, which we can incorporate into our everyday work. It’s always moving and we can enjoy never staying at the same spot for longer. Have to mention the unexpected stories that lead them to work alongside me as well!
  • As the team works with countries worldwide, it is sometimes challenging to keep up with cultural differences in each specific country. For this reason, our eyes and ears are local Country Managers. Their role is essential to a lot of parts within the company and CS is not an exception. Country Managers are usually holding a passport of the country they represent or have lived there for 10 years or more. This position helps us to understand the specifics, that we may never have a glimpse on. For example, many foreign women came from Asian countries to Germany and are married to German citizens. They can easily communicate in German but it’s not easy for them to find a job. This is where we step in and hire them remotely, thanks to our Country Manager’s information provided.
  • Comic situations appear while working internationally more often than we anticipate. No matter how many books you read or movies you watch, you will not be able to interact at the native level when talking about slang or abbreviations. In CS, we’ve seen a repeating “88” written at the end of conversations and we never knew what it meant. An agent asked our client directly what the meaning behind those two numbers was. She gladly responded that it is a sweet way to say “goodbye” in China. It is not about knowing everything in advance. It’s about creating a bond and keeping a friendly atmosphere within conversations.

Many companies strive for diversity in these modern times. Being who you want to be while building yourself up and evolving your own skills goes into defining that. As Team Lead of the Multilingual group of people, I see these points as primary ones within my team. The world is colorful, so are my colleagues. There is never a dull moment spending my days surrounded by that.

88 and see you in the cyberworld!