Sasha’s Q&A

How did you get into what you do?

I came to the UK as a refugee and one of my first roles was volunteering at Cutty Sark, working on digitizing the old ship; producing CAD drawings of it, setting up an asset database and integration of the two (there are no straight lines on Cutty Sark!). I later moved into a role working as a CAD operator in an engineering consultancy in Croydon.

The business evolved, as did my role, and I took the opportunity to move into IT and become a systems administrator, before moving to a position as an IT Manager looking after telephony and the computer aided facilities management (CAFM) system. Following the completion of my MBA I moved into business management and into the role I do today.

How has your career progressed since joining us?

While my job title hasn’t changed, the responsibilities have varied from running accounts when I first joined the business to overall responsibility for both teams in the UK and in the UAE. I’ve been able to progress and expand my role, which has allowed me to take on some helpdesk and CAFM consultancy work, alongside working on our Prism portal and process development both for external clients and internally.

What skills do you need to be good at your job?

Listening! To clients, to the team and to instinct - and then joining the dots and doing the right thing. You also need to be reactive. For many of our customers the fm24 helpdesk is a lifeline, and our ability to react quickly to their issues and requests can directly impact their ability to run their business, if we’re too slow it can be detrimental to their company.

How does the helpdesk support FM clients?

The helpdesk service is the tip of the iceberg – we are the first point of contact for business-as-usual requests but also for queries and complaints. Often, the issues occur down the stream, within supply chain, or up-stream, in clients’ own processes and procedures. It is therefore important to have an open, honest and collaborative approach and ensure that root causes are addressed for the benefit of everyone involved.

What do you enjoy most about your current role?

Being a trusted advisor to the clients with whom we have built long term relationships and being recognised as a genuine partner rather than a service provider. The helpdesk is a key service, providing a link for our clients to log calls and feedback at any time of the day. Without our dedicated team working around the clock, we wouldn’t be able to provide the service we do, responding quickly to FM issues and ensuring client satisfaction.

What might someone be surprised to know about you?

I live in the UK's first large-scale eco-village in London, in a sustainable house that uses renewable energy sources for heating and energy, helping me to keep my carbon footprint low.

If you hadn’t got into this line of work what do you think you might be doing?

I’d have a shop for rare or unloved guitars and spend my time hunting for, fixing and restoring them and then selling them on to whoever passes the selection process.