Oliwia Wozniak, Customer Support Team Lead at exmox, manages the support team responsible for correspondence with users of exmox platforms. Since joining the company almost a year ago, she has already played a large role in the development of the support team and streamlining processes.
Her career started off with an internship in customer support, and she gradually worked up to become the head of customer support in her previous company. Now as the Team Lead at exmox, Oliwia spends her time managing the team and coordinating customer support projects that align with campaigns and product requirements. Read more below about her journey to this leadership role, the core values of her leadership style, and what motivates her to be a good leader.
What are the general responsibilities as a Customer Support Team Lead?
My role consists mostly of operational aspects, but there are also some strategic aspects which I work on. On the operational side, I coordinate the day-to-day work of our customer support team, which is actually divided into three for our individual apps.
I also ensure we provide the most efficient support to our users. Our team works with a ticketing system, so we make sure that users are getting responses in a timely manner. We handle user reviews, develop an informative help center, and create automated emails to keep users informed about the progress of their inquiries.
What did your career path look like to become a Team Lead?
At the beginning of my career, I didn’t really think of becoming a team lead as an ultimate goal. However, as I gained a deeper understanding of customer support complexities, and how everything functions, I realized that leadership could be a path for me. When the opportunity to move into a team lead position arose, I took it!
What are some core values you use in your leadership style?
A core value of my leadership style is communication. I think clear communication is the basis to build trust. It’s important to communicate expectations, good or bad feedback, and not to make any assumptions. If I’m unsure why a project or task didn’t go as planned, I avoid making assumptions. Instead, I speak with my team members to understand the situation and the reasoning behind their decisions.
Communication also helps with any change. When my team understands the reasoning behind decisions or the direction we’re heading, it becomes easier for them to adapt, stay motivated, and keep the pace.
What motivates you to be a good leader?
Seeing the progress and the success of my team is incredibly rewarding. By acknowledging and applauding even the smallest achievements, we ensure that every contribution is valued and appreciated.
What I also learned within the past few years is that not every person in your team wants to be in a leadership position or publicly praised upon. Some people just need recognition and appreciation for their expertise. Career advancement isn’t the only path for everyone, and that’s also okay.
Is there any advice that you would give to someone wanting to work in customer support or in a team lead position?
As for customer support, I know that it may not always be the first choice for everyone, but it offers a valuable opportunity to learn about the company, the industry, and our products. We do have synergies with other departments so it is crucial that we stay informed about various processes. We are the bridge between the company and our users, ensuring that their concerns are addressed effectively, and that they receive the best possible experience.
For leadership positions, I would say organization and resistance are crucial.
One should not be afraid to ask questions; the more questions you ask, the clearer everything becomes.
Walk us through how you spend a typical day.
Every day is different. I prefer working from the office, so I start my day there. After arriving, I need a coffee or two to get going. I then open my laptop and mentally go through the day’s agenda. I check the reports and analyze how the team performed the previous day – how many tickets we received, how many were resolved, which tickets required more attention, and whether there were any technical issues that led users to contact us.
I then check the status quo for today, what we need to focus on. Depending on the project, I jump in and briefly discuss with the team who is responsible for project A or B.I also have some meetings, either with the team internally, our product manager, or HR, because we’re also expanding our support team.
And then in the afternoon, I just dig into my work and have some focus time.
What’s been your favorite project that you’ve worked on here?
Any type of project which is cross-functional between various teams. With lots of new releases coming up, it’s been fun to collaborate more.
What’s your favorite thing about coming to work?
I love to be around people and that’s why I prefer to work from the office. I know everyone says people are what makes exmox special, and I will be the probably fifth or sixth person saying that!
Each day brings something surprising – either something I did not know before or something totally new. We also learn so much from our users; their feedback is of the highest value, and it gives a lot of importance to the customer support team.
Is there anything you’d like to add?
When I joined exmox, I was positively surprised that from the second day there were decisions that I was involved in, and I was a decision maker. Management took my opinion into consideration so it was very uplifting and promising.