As this term might be new to some of us, what does a Lead Knowledge and VOC Specialist do?
My main focus is to improve the member experience through training and implementing processes within the Customer Experience (CX) department. I take all of the insights and data we collate from contact and conversations with our members and tackle common user problems or operational efficiencies. It’s a role that involves a lot of collaboration across the company.
I also create the strategy to train and implement knowledge within the CX team, for both new and existing agents. I’m lucky to lead a small, international team of experts. To achieve our goals we work with most departments – from tech to partner management – for both the Onefit and Urban Sports Club brand.
On a typical day you’ll find me creating a video brief for a new feature in the app, building a project plan on a new onboarding structure with my team or working with partner management to reduce member check-in problems.
Your degree focused on foreign languages and literature. How did you transition into a field like customer experience?
After graduating from university I moved to Berlin to work as a B2B English coach and then as a translator for an American company. However, after a while I wanted to try a different communicative role and freshen up my slightly rusty language skills, and becoming a French and German customer care agent ticked both those boxes.
I felt motivated by my improved language skills and continuous professional development. When I first joined the company, talking to Urban Sports Club members with unfamiliar regional accents on the phone was a real challenge. But now I can run a performance review, hold an interview or host a process optimisation meeting in German with no issues. My role is really varied and I’m always learning something new. At the moment I am learning about international communication as a manager and also picking up beginners Dutch as I am working with OneFit, so my background in languages has definitely come in handy!
You’re based in the Berlin office, so what are your favorite activities in the area? Any secret spots you can recommend?
Since getting my hands on a membership I’ve tried almost every type of sport we offer. Wellness is my way of enjoying the Berlin winter, so in the colder months you’ll find me at cryotherapy in Mitte, floating in Potsdam, or if I’m really treating myself I’ll visit the saunas at Vabali. Now that it’s spring, I’m often on Admiralbrücke at sundown having an evening beer with my dog Sancho. During summer I love hiring a canoe from Kanu Liebe in Treptow and navigating through the giant legs of the Molecule Men on the Spree River. It’s really fun!
What lessons in leadership and collaboration have you learnt from your role?
Listening and asking open questions is the key to success in both leadership and collaboration. You’ve got to be careful not to make assumptions or miss out on learning opportunities. You can’t know everything, but asking someone who does will give you the bigger picture and create a skill and knowledge exchange. This also applies to leadership. When I first became a leader, a mentor told me you should look for team members that offer skills you may lack. That way you’ll keep being challenged by different perspectives, and you can help them grow and build each other up.
Which Urban Sports Club value is most important to you and why?
It has to be “challenge yourself and others.” Being part of a team that works on new challenges and grows together makes this job enjoyable. Being able to challenge each other constructively means we can drive change and achieve more. Since working here I’ve also discovered a love for sport. If you’d have told me five years ago I’d volunteer to run a 6km muddy obstacle course and actually enjoy an intense spinning class or climb at the bouldering gym, I wouldn’t have believed you!
