Now more than two months in, here’s what the internship has been like. I hope that it’ll help paint a picture of what a 3-month internship could mean for you.

What is Airtame

Airtame is the name of the company itself, as well as the name of the device they produce. The device is used for wireless presentations and digital signage within businesses and educational environments (Airtame’s customer base).

The role of customer success

In order for users to make the most of their screens with Airtame, the Customer Success team offers support via live chat, email, and phone calls.

Other than support, the team focuses a lot on finding new creative ways to improve every stage of the customer journey. The goal is to make sure that people know about Airtame’s different streaming and signage features, and that they’re comfortable using them.

What you get to work on

The first day was a lot about getting to know my teammates and talking a lot with my main supervisor.

You’re also presented with both Airtame devices, models 1 and 2. A very important step to feeling confident is to familiarize yourself with the different configurations and features of Airtame. Asking lots of questions is encouraged!

By the end of the first week, I’d become familiar with the following tools:

• Intercom is used by CS for live chat, answering emails/ongoing support cases, managing any pop-ups and storing help center articles. It’s the main tool used to talk to customers and curious leads. By the end of the first week, I’d got the hang of how to use Intercom (e.g. “macros” or “saved replies”, “tagging” colleagues, writing notes, attaching documentation, etc.).
• Shopify is used by the CS and logistics teams to keep track of orders placed on Airtame’s website. You may need to check the status of a shipment and change info such as the receiver’s address in case anything was input incorrectly.
• Aircall is a desktop and mobile app used for talking to customers and leads over a call. Customers and leads can call Airtame’s support line to talk about anything from “what can Airtame do” to “there’s an Ethernet issue”.
• Pipedrive is mainly used by Airtame’s account managers but is also a platform that CS teammates can check. It has info about customers but also resellers, which account manager is in touch with whom, how many devices they’re using, etc. This is great for finding out more about a customer who may have bought from a reseller rather than from our website.

The above tools “talk” to each other, so that relevant information from one tool is sent to another.

On any given day a colleague would maybe ask me to jump in on a phone call, helping to cover chat, etc. Otherwise, the program was mostly up to me.  It’s definitely nice that you get to manage your time so that each day is varied.

Project-oriented

In addition to assisting with support, I was involved in a customer appreciation project. I researched what should be in a tentative customer appreciation package (e.g. coffee mugs, Airtame posters, etc.). This also involved contacting suppliers regarding bulk pricing and figured out what shipping would cost us.

Another project was reviewing Airtame’s help center articles to make sure they were understandable, no links were broken, etc. Additional tasks that came up during the internship included helping with office inventory organization before Airtame moved locations, coming up with creative ways to get more customer testimonials, and of course, getting the chance to write this article!

Teams within Airtame have started to collaborate on more project-based work that involves people from different backgrounds in order to come up with a wider variety of solutions to projects such as “how do we get more customers educated and using an Airtame Cloud”.

Gaining tech expertise

I’ve definitely learned a lot about how wireless screen sharing works. In this period of two months, I’ve probably gained more technical knowledge of AV systems than I had in my first 22 years!

I can now give you the rundown of Airtame’s hardware, software (app) and cloud management platform. I now understand and can explain how devices are able to wirelessly “discover” and communicate with each other, the significance of different WiFi frequencies, the benefits of Ethernet, and the role that physical installation and network setups play. This was all new to me when I first started out, and I know it’ll definitely help in any future tech-related job.

Talking to customers like people

I’ve also received regular feedback on how to phrase messages in a way that shows empathy. Everyone on the CS team avoids sounding “robotic” at all costs. It takes effort, especially if a customer feels that the product doesn’t have something they expected (e.g. 4K support). But at the end of the day, customers are happy to know that there is a polite and “real” person who’s happy to help.

Final thoughts

A key takeaway in this process is that communication within a company isn’t always perfect. The more a company like Airtame grows, the more effort has to be spent on alignment. That means more meetings and more time before an idea materializes into an established company activity.

Fortunately, a big part of the Airtame solution is encouraging customers to have better, more effective meetings, so this extra focus on them as Airtame, as a company, grows means that we get to practice what we preach.

In the end, I can wholeheartedly recommend this internship, as it offers a chance to leave the theoretical world of the classroom and apply yourself in a hands-on way. The internship can also count in terms of academic credits (as was my case), so there’s an extra bonus there. The atmosphere at Airtame, accompanied by a variety of challenging and creative tasks, have made time fly by!

Being exposed to so many different facets of the customer journey at Airtame, I feel that the steep learning curve has kept me busy, curious and prepped for the wider work environment.

Want to work for Airtame? Check out our careers page. We’re hiring!

The post Two months in the life of a Customer Success intern appeared first on Airtame.

We love our interns. We can’t prosper without brilliant young minds, and they should feel the same way about spending their time with us. It’s definitely a win-win situation when all goes well. Finding and retaining the right candidates is crucial to our success, because a successful internship program lead to happy hires, both in the outer world of work and, sometimes, right here at Airtame HQ.

It sounds simple, but while hiring interns is one thing, attracting, maintaining and developing the right ones is another. Our investment in the right people is always based on the understanding that we will help them grow professionally, and we simply can’t stress enough how important it is to create a lasting experience.

At Airtame, we’ve tried to optimize the recruitment process — both for our sake and the candidate’s. That’s why we came up with a successful 4-step internship plan that is now a standard procedure for all new Marketing interns.

Step 1: The Intern Recruitment Setup & Process

The first step of the internship is to find and “recruit” young talents to join our team for a 3-month duration. Here’s how we go about the process:

• Platforms: We “scout” our interns through various avenues including career fairs held at colleges and universities, LinkedIn, referrals, and job postings on Graduateland, The Hub, Glassdoor and our very own Airtame.com
• Responsibility: The person in charge of reviewing applications and hiring will be the direct supervisor of the interns so that both the intern and the manager establish a connection from the very beginning.

After receiving the intern’s resume, the supervisor will:

• Review the resume and reply with a marketing challenge test meant to showcase the English language proficiency and marketing approach.
• After reviewing the test results, the supervisor will schedule a phone call/Skype interview to get a better sense of who the potential new hire is. We recommend Skype — it works nicely for breaking the ice. During the interview we make sure candidates get a good understanding of the work we do and what’s required of them. We also discuss why they want to be a part of the internship program and culture at Airtame.
• Depending on the performance at the first stage, the person in charge will schedule an in-person interview with the highest ranking manager from the Marketing department. This interview stage is meant to establish the cultural fit and confirm the selection criteria based on which the intern was chosen.
• A decision will be made within 2 weeks at the most, and the applicant will be informed and given feedback on it no matter the outcome.

Step 2: The Internship Onboarding Preparation

Hired. Now what?

We get our interns ready by following an extensive onboarding program for the first week. We think this is critical to the success of the internship. Overall, the goal of the onboarding program is to provide the intern with all the necessary skills and tools to be successful on and off the field. The onboarding steps we follow at Airtame are:

• Announce the new hire in front of everyone at one of our biweekly meetings.
• Give the intern a tour of the office and set up with desk, screen etc.
• Initiate them with a burning, yet healthy ginger shot from the coffee shop across the street (it’s a tradition that goes way back to the birth of the company).
• Introduce the intern to the tools we use: Basecamp, Intercom, MixMax, Slack, etc.
• Decide together with the intern on a working schedule.
• Schedule 1:1s with all relevant employees in order to get a better understanding of who does what.
• Have the intern test drive Airtame.

Step 3: Players in Action — Tasks

Interns often get stuck doing mundane tasks or assignments that are nowhere near their skillset or desired line of work. While we try not to set them up for easy no-brainers, interns should still be open to getting their hands dirty. It’s a balancing act that we’re very aware of.

The first month in the life of a Marketing intern at Airtame consists of:

• Onboarding and introduction.
• Attending the monthly and weekly meetings, meeting minutes, monthly reports, 1:1s.
• Performing tasks and complying with the jointly agreed KPIs.
• Reporting weekly as well as monthly.

Measuring accomplishments doesn’t just help the company, although that’s certainly part of it. Of course, we get a better sense of our workforce and the tasks at hand, but interns are welcome to use these stats for future purposes too.

Beyond the work, we make every intern feel integrate to the team, whether this means being invited to our social events, or our yearly workathons (last year we visited sunny Corfu). This brings an added sense of togetherness and a flat hierarchical structure, which enables both personal growth and cross-department collaboration.

Step 4: Bringing Home the Win!

Before the interns finish their internships, it’s important for us to recognize their growth and contributions to our company. If by the end of the internship, both company and intern agree, a longer collaboration can be set in motion.

At the end of the internship, we conduct an exit interview. From an HR perspective, this is absolutely crucial. During this interview, the supervisor follows up on the intern’s goals and KPI compliance. Since interning at Airtame can often be conducted as part of study credit, we also make sure to follow up with any university or teacher to evaluate their performance.

The offboarding interview gives us an insight into possible improvements, changes that need implementation and ensuring the overall quality and well-being of our interns. Besides feeling challenged and empowered, our interns should feel satisfied with their time spent with us, and should have had some fun! Even if they don’t stay onboard, they’ve been part of a valuable learning experience that hopefully inspires them going forward.

Finally, we recognize the interns by offering a small token of appreciation as well as a written recommendation.

From the very first day of my internship, it was evident that I would contribute to a meaningful project. My assigned tasks are insightful and play a significant role in enriching the product. It’s an incredible opportunity to shape my practical knowledge because it’s such a vibrant place. This will be invaluable in my future career.

Viktor Zuska, Intern at Airtame

There’s a certain bonding experience going on while interning, which is why many interns get a foot in the door with us. They gain valuable practical knowledge and a chance to apply their academic skills. The work experience gained could very well help reinforce an interest already present for a young professional embarking on the first steps of the career path.

In turn, we get the opportunity to secure top talent early on and a fresh perspective on our work. Having interns onboard energizes our entire workforce in addition to giving us a competitive advantage. Who knows? They might just come up with solutions we wouldn’t have thought of. Internships can and should be invaluable for both parties — and we strive to make it so.

Looking for an internship at Airtame? Apply here. And don’t forget to check out our tips on how to land your dream job.

This piece was originally featured on CPHFTW’s Medium blog.

The post 4 steps to a successful internship program appeared first on Airtame.