Working as a Service Manager at Frends
A Service Manager is responsible for delivering the promises of Frends customer service agreements on an operational level. Service Manager can be responsible for several clients, sometimes from a single sector, sometimes from different sectors. The number of client accounts depends on the services provided to the clients.
What the job involves
A Service Manager’s job involves e.g., client communication, various meetings both with clients and internally, planning of resourcing and work, and reporting. In smaller projects, the Service Manager often plays the role of project manager. Each account has a designated Key Account Manager (KAM) who is responsible for the account from a sales perspective. The Service Manager has a strong operational focus and works closely with the KAM.
A Service Manager’s job requires quick reactions to changing situations. One of our Service Managers commented: “I create calendar reminders of things to do, so I can keep on top of things. In this job, everyone needs to find the methods that best suit them, because a Service Manager is responsible not only for supervising the developers but also for their own day-to-day activities and the service levels of the clients.”
A typical day
A typical day often includes a variety of meetings: project, specification, service management, or weekly small development meetings. A large proportion of recurring meetings are conducted via instant messaging, although clients are also seen face-to-face when it´s possible. Some of our clients would like to have a stronger presence of a Service Manager in their premises, and we listen to these requests.
In addition to meetings, a lot of time is spent communicating with clients, prioritising work, and discussing the status of jobs. Time is also spent on supervising developers. Internal communication includes, for example, a weekly team meeting and the unit's resource meeting, where you agree on the distribution of developers' work between different clients.
The best thing about being a Service Manager
We asked our Service Managers what they like best about their job.
“The people – the customers and colleagues. Also, the work is varied, and each day is different. You never know in the morning what the day will bring.”
"I feel good about my job almost every day when I feel I have served my customers well. It's rewarding when I can successfully resource a client for an urgent job or when we can solve a problem together. Sometimes you might have to work on a production problem for a long time, but even those things make you feel good at the end when you get things working."
“The most important thing for me is that I enjoy coming to work every day, and each day is a little bit different."
Read more about the role from our other blog.