In celebration of Worldwide Girls’s Day, we’re Spotlighting a few of the sensible girls at Octopus. In the present day: Lily Stein, one in all Octopus Power’s operations managers, who talks placing the center again into vitality.
So, Lily, why did you be part of Octopus?
I studied Geography at college the place I did numerous local weather change research. I realized rather a lot about vitality and the way elementary it’s, so I made a decision that I needed to work within the vitality sector, however for an organization with a coronary heart. Octopuses have three hearts, so right here I’m!
What do you do at Octopus?
I lead one of many Operations groups and oversee our superb staff of distant staff, in addition to dealing with onboarding and coaching of latest employees. In Operations, we search for issues and attempt to repair them earlier than they have an effect on our prospects. I work on coaching up newcomers to take care of our 180,000 prospects the identical approach we did when there have been solely 10,000.
How does Octopus do customer support in another way?
Most suppliers deal with their prospects like numbers – asking for buyer references as an alternative of names, for instance. To them, prospects are simply bits of labor they should do, not folks. We take into consideration the shopper’s entire expertise, treating them how we wish to be handled ourselves. Utilizing their names is simply one of many methods we will present how severe we’re about making a distinction.
Lots of the folks I communicate to have been messed round by their outdated suppliers, handed from individual to individual with out ever getting something achieved, and having to clarify their queries over and over. A part of what I do is rebuilding that misplaced belief. We’ve highly-qualified individuals who recognise the wants of shoppers and may repair nearly any downside they’ve, first time.
Altering the general public’s notion of vitality corporations is difficult, however we’re working exhausting to make it occur. We’re attempting to make issues as simple as doable for the shopper – giving energy again to the folks!
How have prospects reacted to the Octopus service?
Prospects react very well. They find yourself treating you want a good friend. For instance, a person known as to provide a studying on behalf of his daughter as a result of she could not attain the meter. I assumed maybe there was an accessibility difficulty however it was because of her being pregnant. I then spoke with the daughter and we had a extremely pretty dialog, speaking about child names and so forth, and it was a extremely good feeling. It is way more private. And naturally it makes my job a lot extra enjoyable and significant after I can have that rapport with prospects.
What are you engaged on for the time being?
Octopus is rising. Like, actually rapidly. So my fundamental job for the time being is overseeing the coaching of latest employees – some in our Soho workplace, many in our new workplace up in Leicester. The Leicester workplace solely opened this previous November and already we’ve received 30 vitality specialists working there. It’s tremendous essential that as we develop, we maintain welcoming these newbies into the household in order that they really feel actually snug in addition to assured of their new roles.
I additionally oversee our distant workforce – we name them the ‘DigiOps’ staff – who take care of our prospects’ out-of-hours enquiries. This can be a group made up principally of ladies working from house, lots of them working mums, who assist our prospects within the evenings and on the weekend. Ensuring they’re within the loop and really feel a part of the Octopus staff is my precedence.
What’s probably the most difficult a part of your job?
Attempting to realize folks’s belief will be difficult given widespread notion of the vitality trade isn’t nice!
What’s the most effective a part of your job?
Working with sensible, engaged folks.
Any message for folks pondering of switching?
Do it! We’re doing the proper factor and there are numerous suppliers who aren’t. With us, you actually matter.
Any message for individuals who’ve already switched?
Thanks very a lot for giving us a go, and please do not hesitate to provide us a shout if you happen to suppose there’s something we could possibly be doing higher.
