Product Support Manager

Scope of Management Responsibility:

The Support Manager is responsible for overseeing the daily operations of the support team, ensuring that customer issues are resolved efficiently and effectively. This role requires strong leadership, excellent communication skills, and a deep understanding of the company's products and services. The Support Manager will develop and implement support strategies, policies, and procedures to enhance the overall customer experience and drive continuous improvement within the support function.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead and motivate a team of support associates to ensure effective, timely, and high-quality resolution of customer issues.
• Drive engagement, accountability, and a customer-first mindset across the team.
• Conduct regular 1:1s, performance reviews, and coaching sessions to support associate development and growth.
• Support recruitment and onboarding of new team members to build a high-performing support team.
• Execute and align with the overall strategy, mission, and vision of the Support function.
• Develop, implement, and optimise support policies, procedures, and standards to improve team efficiency and consistency.
• Monitor daily operations to ensure service levels and quality benchmarks are consistently met.
• Analyse and report on key support metrics to assess performance and identify areas for improvement.
• Implement process enhancements and technology solutions to streamline support delivery.
• Own and drive continuous improvement initiatives across your area of responsibility.
• Serve as a key point of escalation for complex or high-priority customer issues, ensuring swift, satisfactory resolutions.
• Build and maintain effective working relationships with other support managers and cross-functional stakeholders (Product, Engineering, Sales, etc.).
• Collaborate to resolve systemic issues affecting customer experience and contribute to cross-team initiatives that improve overall service delivery.
• Ensure your team maintains current knowledge of products, services, and policies.
• Identify skills gaps and coordinate training opportunities to ensure ongoing capability development and readiness.

Knowledge and Experience

Nature of accountability for results:

The Support Manager must possess a strong understanding of the company’s strategic goals and how the support function contributes to achieving them. They will be responsible for aligning support activities with broader business objectives, ensuring that customer satisfaction and retention are prioritised.

The Support Manager is accountable for the performance and outcomes of the support team. They must ensure that key performance indicators (KPIs) are met, and that customer issues are resolved in a timely and satisfactory manner. This role requires a proactive approach to identifying and addressing areas for improvement, as well as a commitment to maintaining high standards of customer service.

Level of analysis and judgement applied:

The Support Manager must apply a high level of analysis and judgement to assess support metrics, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions. They should be able to evaluate complex situations, consider multiple perspectives, and develop effective solutions to improve support processes and outcomes.

Leadership

Nature of guidance received:

The Support Manager will report to the Senior Product Support Manager within Customer Enablement or a similar senior role. While they will have a significant degree of autonomy, they will receive guidance and direction on strategic priorities and high-level objectives from senior management.

Nature of guidance provided to others:

The Support Manager will provide direct supervision and guidance to the support team, including team leads and support agents. They will be responsible for setting performance expectations, providing coaching and feedback, and fostering an engaging and collaborative team environment. Additionally, they may offer insights and recommendations to other departments based on customer feedback and support metrics.

Skills and Abilities

Relationship Focus

Nature and level of contact within/outside the organization:

The Support Manager must excel in building and maintaining relationships both within and outside the organization. They should have strong interpersonal skills and the ability to communicate effectively with customers, support staff, and other stakeholders.

The Support Manager will work closely with other departments such as Product, Sales, and Marketing to address customer issues and improve overall customer sentiment. They will also interact with senior management to report on support performance and escalate critical issues.

Outside the organization, the Support Manager will engage with customers to understand their needs, address their concerns, and gather feedback. They may also liaise with external partners or vendors to resolve issues related to third-party services or products.