Behind the scenes working in CX at Xero Denver
As a Team Leader for the Customer Experience team in Xero’s Denver office, I interview many agents who end up working in my department. A large part of my job is to make sure that applicants understand the challenges of the job. Not just that, but that they have a drive to take them on and will add to the culture we strive to keep alive here as well. Being a company in such a tech-centered city, it’s not hard to come across many skilled candidates.
Yesterday, in an interview, I was asked a fantastic question: “What type of personality works best for this role?”
I was stumped at first. It was a good question that warranted a good answer. During a full minute of awkward silence, I formed a response. In short, the answer is that there isn’t just one personality that fits just right. I had to expand a little.
The people I work for
The office is a healthy mix of people who are loud, quiet, detail oriented, fast-paced, and everything in between. Having a variety of different personalities makes it an interesting workplace. It also lets them showcase their strengths when dealing with certain customers, as well as work on their weaknesses. But, there seems to be a few underlying characteristics that make successful agents. Interestingly enough, they parallel our company values.
Our staff are understanding (#human), they point out things that they think need to be changed (#challenge), and they take pride in their work (#ownership). They’re also curious enough to ask the why behind decisions, in the hopes of spurring change (#champion), and always look on the bright side of things (#beautiful). Because our staff share the company values that I mentioned, in addition to being trustworthy, great things take place naturally.
A different way to work
With drive and curiosity, it’s easy to dive in with our agents and sort through how to succeed at finding play in their work. To find genuine enjoyment in their day-to-day. Without an interest in challenging yourself, setting goals can be half-energized at best. That’s not a problem we have here at Xero.
We also give our staff a decided amount of flexibility. If they need a little more time to get to work in the morning, they can take advantage of Xero Snooze and come in at a leisurely pace. Traffic isn’t a stressor anymore. If a midday appointment close to home is making timing chaotic, they can talk with their Team Leader and sort out working from home for the morning. Or the day, if that makes more sense.
While understanding and flexibility goes one way, we ask for the same in return from our staff. Given there’s a want to travel, there’s always other departments needing help at events. Our team is made up of people that are perfectly positioned to lend a hand. This year alone, we’ll help out with 28+ events in and outside of Denver – from Atlanta, to New York, to Vancouver. We want to connect with Denver’s community on an even deeper level, so once again this year we’ll be taking part in Denver Startup Week. We’ll be sending agents to volunteer at the event and you’ll see a few of our Xeros featuring on panels.
As of this week, agents will have even more flexibility now that we’re officially moved into our new office in the heart of Denver.
Xero’s new location
In our brand new office in the Circa Building on Platte Street, we’ll be shifting to an agile workplace. Agents across Xero can find desks as they need them, or take advantage of the many nooks and crannies around the building. This includes a completely silent area in the mezzanine. But, due to location, we’ll also no longer be limited to the building itself.
We’ve long imagined joining the small businesses we serve in Denver’s downtown area. Soon, small business coffee, food, beer, and more will be mere steps away from our new front door. This will give us an opportunity to take meetings out of the normal work space and support our local economy at the same time. Nothing says freedom quite like a meeting over a donut down the street or an ice cream catch up.
Moving into our new space, we will be looking to fill many upcoming positions across the different teams. For more information on what positions are coming, please visit our careers page.
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Source: Xero Blog
