Nominated for a G24 Award in the ‘Unsung Hero’ category, Business Pilot’s support co-ordinator, Katie Harris, explains what she loves most about her job, and how she can make tech appear easy.

I am a people person first and foremost. So, when the position came up at Business Pilot for a support co-ordinator I jumped at the chance.

I worked for a window and door manufacturer and installer before joining Business Pilot, and I learned all the ins and outs of the whole process from quote all the way through to delivery. I also got on really well with our trade customers, to the point where they would only ever deal with me. As a result, I got a real insider’s knowledge of what it means to be a window installer!

I’ve learned the technical bits of Business Pilot while I’ve worked here, but you can’t replicate real industry experience, and that has helped me understand the support my customers have required.

In many ways a lot of what I do doesn’t feel like work, because I spend the day talking to users of the Business Pilot software, which I love.

We start the day at Business Pilot with a ‘team huddle’ where all the team members log in to a Teams chat from wherever they are in the country (or even the world!).

We all share our experiences from the previous day and discuss all the ongoing projects, such as what future software updates will bring. And then I will pick up customer queries that have come in overnight.

Every day is different for me, but they follow a similar structure. For example, as well as talking to customers and helping them with their questions, I help out on the development side – testing updates before they are released.

As we constantly develop the software to meet the evolving needs of our customers, this is becoming a bigger part of my role at Business Pilot. On the flip side, I will also carry out feasibility studies on new ideas given to us by our customers. The BP Community is important to us, and the feedback we get is valuable. Where it is possible, we incorporate as many of these ideas as we can into future updates.

What I love most about my job is simply the satisfaction of knowing that I’ve helped someone learn more about Business Pilot Software. When it comes to answering customer queries, we think it is really important that customers should reach a real person at the other end of the line.

Many software companies would settle with a chat bot to manage these queries, but apart from being too impersonal, that wouldn’t work at Business Pilot because our customers are already well trained. Our queries tend to be in-depth, such as connecting external email systems with Business Pilot’s own. I am also happy to talk to our customers’ IT departments direct to make sure systems work smoothly.

And I’ve also built some great relationships with customers. I’ve even been added to some of their WhatsApp groups!

Where I think I can really make a difference, and something I am most proud about, is some of the technical stuff, like transferring data from one system to another. I can take that responsibility off their hands so they don’t need to get involved in the detail of connecting different systems.

I’ve also been nominated for the Unsung Hero Award at this year’s G-Awards, which I am really proud about because it means that my customers are happy with the support I’ve given.

I see a strong future with Business Pilot. It is a great organisation to work for, and even though we are still a relatively small team, we’ve got a big corporate feel, and they are giving me lots of support and encouragement to develop my skills so I can grow as the company grows.

Outside of work I am learning to play the piano and how to produce music. I come from a big musical family, with many of them working in the music industry. Music helps me relax at the end of the day – as does baking!