As we continue taking you through the diverse opportunities within the iGaming industry, it is good to note that if you are still looking to build your career, and want to get a really good overview of a company, its product portfolio, and the industry, the perfect way to do it is to start in a Customer Service role.
If this is something that could be of interest for you, keep reading 😊 Johanna, our Head of Support, talks about her career and the path you could take to get there as well as what it means to be a Customer Support Hero.
Can you tell us a bit more about your role?
As a Head of Support (Head of Customer Service), I oversee and manage our Customer Service department here at Hero Gaming. My main objective is to ensure we offer top of the class service across all our brands, at the right time and with all relevant support channels.
The best part of this job is that there really isn’t such thing as a typical day, as on most days what I have planned will have to change on the go. Typically, I would start a day by checking with my team if any urgent issues are reported by players that need my attention, and by checking reports from previous days and how we are doing against our KPIs or if any brand or product is driving more traffic than usual. Apart from that, my day can include:
- Trouble shooting customer issues
- Planning and executing projects related to Customer Service and customers in general
- Managing, coaching, and mentoring the team
- Reporting and communicating customer feedback and metrics to the rest of the organisation
- Taking part in meetings where we plan our future projects, ensuring that customers’ perspective and expectations are heard and taken into consideration.
- Making sure all customer service agents are informed on any relevant updates from the organisation or anything that can affect our customers.
What are traits that are key to thrive in this position?
To be successful in leading the Customer Service team in any industry, but especially in iGaming, you need to possess strong leadership and communication skills as CS teams are often the biggest and most diverse teams within the company. You need to understand different backgrounds and cultures in order to manage and drive results successfully.  Customer service agents often have the toughest job in the company when handling queries and complaints, so it’s extremely important to be able to motivate and help your team to reach their goals. Growing in support often involves thinking about the customers and how to make their lives easier, but being a support leader also involves supporting those who support customers, i.e. the agents.
On top of this, you need to be curious to learn new things and understand your customers better. Customer needs and expectations are constantly changing, and you need to stay on top of this at all times. Solid troubleshooting skills as well as good understanding of different areas of the industry is also a must.
Last but not least, you need lots of empathy and a positive attitude, combined with some tough skin to be successful in this role.
What are the main challenges you will be faced with in this role? Any tips you can share on how to mitigate these challenges?
One of the main challenges in this role is definitely people management. As the team is usually very diverse and also large in numbers, you really need to adjust your management and communication style according to different cultures and individuals. You cannot have a one-size-fits-all approach.
As a general rule, staff turnover can be quite high in CS teams, where other departments pull out your best talent to fulfill vacancies within the company, so it can be hard to establish stability and you find yourself constantly recruiting new people. Luckily, here at Hero Gaming, many of our CS agents have found a new career path in other departments within the organisation, we also have many agents who really enjoy their CS career and have remained in their roles for quite some time now.
In some organisations, Support teams can be considered mainly a cost centre and you might find it hard to justify and get back up for your initiatives and projects. So it might require a lot of convincing and negotiation skills  for your initiatives to see the light. I am very lucky that here at Hero Gaming, the Customer Service department has always been considered a very important part of the organisation and it mostly gets the attention it truly deserves!
Are there any perks that usually revolve around this role?
The best part of working in CS is that you literally work at the heart of the organisation where all the action is. Â You get to hear customer feedback first hand which enables you to suggest changes and improvements based on this feedback. Seeing these changes being implemented can be truly gratifying and motivating!
On top of that, you get to be the first to know about all the new projects and changes as nearly everything that’s happening will impact your customers in some way.  You also get to know and work with most people within the company as customer service is an essential part of our business.
And no day is the same in Customer Service, you never know what a  day will bring you, and this is what makes your job enjoyable and exciting each and every single day!
What advice would you give to someone who wants to start in this career?
Having a degree in Management and/or taking a course in leadership would be absolutely beneficial if you want to pursue a career in Support management. But that’s not all, as in this role you are expected to be practical and get your hands dirty at times, therefore having first-hand experience in working in any operational role within the industry is a big asset. A typical career path for this role would be to start as a team leader or in another more senior role within the Customer Service or Payments team and then possibly complement your practical knowledge with a degree or course in management.  You should always be curious and ready to invest in your career by learning from your peers and customers as well.
If you love being around people all the time, enjoy listening and understanding what people need, enjoy supporting others and making their lives a little easier, this could be the role for you.
Johanna PyykonenHead of Support
