Activ News Item May 2007

Meet the Activ Support Desk Team

Updated May 08

At Activ, we constantly receive plaudits from our customers who compliment us on the highly effective and professional service that our Support Team provides.  Many of you will have spoken to Matt, Paul, Chris, and Trish at some point.  Now here is your chance to find out a bit more about each Support Team member and the service they provide.  And, as we have included photos, you can now put a face to the voice!

Also, you might like to know where the Support Team is based.  You may be surprised because, whilst the Activ Head Office is in Bedford, our Support Team is based in Keswick, in the heart of the Lake District fells!
“As you might expect, we have a beautiful view from our office windows consisting of lakes, mountains, big skies, valleys and forests.” says Matt, the Support Team Leader.  “Mind you, there are days when the weather is not too good, with the result that we don’t have a view at all! However, Keswick is a great place to work. Between us we use the National Park to go hiking, climbing, mountain biking, fell running…..oh and canoeing as well!” he adds.

Matt, is an electronics graduate and has a background in technical support with a major global telecommunications company both in the UK and overseas.  “Providing customer service excellence is really important to us.  Central to our approach is an awareness that what we may take for granted may be entirely new and unfamiliar to the customer.  Often our callers are not IT specialists, so we are always careful to make sure we explain everything carefully and calmly. We have worked with many of our clients for a number of years now, and feel a real personal involvement in the successful running of their Test Centres. With many years of experience of Test Centre management in the Activ team, we also find that we can act as a focal point for advice on the day to day Test Centre activities, organisation and annual Audits.” 
Interests: Mountain biking and any mountain sports, technology, music.

Paul, also an electronics graduate, has been with our Support team since 2005.  A father of two young girls, his previous work was as the sound engineer at the ‘Theatre by the Lake’ in Keswick, the Lake District’s premier theatre, where many stars of film and television have appeared. Paul joined our group to develop his interest in IT systems engineering and management.
“It is important that we communicate effectively with our customers, not just over the phone but via e-mail as well” says Paul. “Many customers e-mail us rather than telephone, and the IT Support industry is notorious for late and incomprehensible replies!” he says.  “So we make a special effort to ensure that our e-mail replies are not only prompt, but are clearly written.”  Paul also takes the lead on Support issues for e-type courseware and tests.  “For those who are not aware, e-type is the new BCS qualification for touch-typing,” explains Paul “and Activ is the sole automated test provider.  E-type is growing really quickly”.  Interests: With 2 young children & 2 dogs to walk, Paul has ‘not a lot of spare time’, but enjoys music, mountain biking, and plays the guitar.

Chris is the most recent addition to our team. He is a Cumbrian, educated at Keswick School, followed by a diploma course in IT systems. At the moment Chris is specialising in online User familiarisation training, and he is enjoying helping new clients, invigilators, and administrators learn to use the ActivTest system.

Chris says, "The ActivTest system is by far the most advanced and capable automated testing system available, and it can be configured to match the structure and needs of any organisation, no matter how large and complex. We have a number of clients operating globally from their own Test Centre structure, so making huge savings of administrative time and effort. Yet, for the individual Candidates and Invigilators, the day to day operation of ActivTest couldn't be simpler. It is very rewarding to help new clients begin to use ActivTest, particularly when they have been doing manual testing, and they find out how much of their routine admin ActivTest can now do for them."

Interests: Sport in general including; Cricket, Rugby, Football, and the local Mountains.

Trish is the Office Manager, dealing with a variety of administrative functions and is often the first point of call for customers phoning in.  “What customers like about our service is that, because we are a small team, they know they are usually going to speak to the same people each time they call,” she says.  “And it is a bonus for them that they do not have to listen to a long recorded message giving them lots of options before they get through, only to be told that they are at the back of a long queue!”  Trish had a first career as a Teacher, before moving into local government administration then joining Activ.  Trish is also responsible for maintaining our online customer support resources – an important part of the Activ Support Service - such as User Guides and FAQs.  These can be found in the Login area of our website – contact us on 0870 3000 540 or via the web Contact Us form if you don’t yet have a login to this area.

Interests: Golf, Mountain Walking, Gardening, & Monty the Border Collie.