Grow your Customer Success Career at HiMama

Frankie Edwards joined HiMama in 2021 and is actually celebrating their 1 year work anniversary today! Frankie has been an invaluable member of our Customer Success team and has been working hard to ensure our Payments customers are set up for success at HiMama!

"Frankie has embodied literally everything I love about HiMama culture since day 1 of joining the team. They are passionate, goal-oriented, growth minded, and they bring such creative perspectives on how we can best serve our customers…all while staying cool as a cucumber."

- Leila Kassam, Director, Customer Success

We interviewed Frankie to get a better understanding of what it’s like to be a Customer Success Manager at HiMama.

Can you tell me a bit about yourself?

I was originally pursuing health care and after teaching health & wellbeing for a year, I made the shift to the tech industry as it aligned with my interests and was similar to my own mindfulness startup. I found that soft skills from my previous profession were easily transferable into my job at HiMama, as patience, empathy and coaching people is still my primary purpose.

What does ‘a week in the life’ look like for you?

As a Payments Customer Success Manager, my role is highly dependent on what time of the year it is and can be really busy sometimes. Much of my work is centered around the nurturing and strengthening of relationships with our customers, which can include tasks like conducting training calls, sending emails, and supporting customers with any payments related concerns. The remainder of my time is spent doing administrative and internal work for continuous improvement, such as research for app upgrades, and helping strategize and lead the Billing & Payments function.

How would you describe HiMama’s culture?

HiMama works really hard to establish a diverse culture. Compared to other places I know in the tech industry, HiMama actively supports its employees to be “Out and Proud” at work. The Diversity Policy which is implemented through the DIBS committee has helped create a culture of warmth, empathy and balance. The involvement of the management team also empowers us to grow and feel included. The best thing for me personally is that at HiMama folks are respectful of identity and use my pronouns correctly, which just adds to the welcoming environment.?

How does HiMama create social impact?

Being a B-Corp is one obvious sign that HiMama is having a positive social impact. As a Customer Success Manager, I feel satisfied with my work and I believe that I am bettering our customers’ quality of life. It is motivating to know that our users are educators, who are also very busy and important individuals, and I keep this in mind at all times when I'm working. I've talked to ECEs a lot, so I sincerely hope that our effort is improving their day-to-day experiences to manage their own business.

How is the Customer Success team at HiMama different from its competitors?

Customer Success is the best way a company can show its customers that it still cares for them even after the sales are made. We at HiMama are always reachable and have very little downtime. Our response time for Support Team calls is just 28 seconds which is much lower than our competitors, and it is what ensures we can help more of our customers daily.?

Also, if we see that we missed you, then be ready for a callback, because we callback to help our customers. And if I am reached out to by email then you will get a reply in 48 hours guaranteed.

How has professional development at HiMama helped you grow??

At the start I think I had the basic skills for Customer Success. I knew the job involved a lot more responsibilities and slowly my knowledge improved. I believe I have doubled my expertise in customer rapport, which helps with retention and am confident in my bookkeeping and accounting abilities.?

Every Friday the Customer Success team has a training session where we learn various things from how to become more efficient to using software to boost our productivity. With these training sessions, I feel supported by my team and management -- there is always room for growth here and as a lifelong learner, I love that.

What advice would you give to prospective HiMama candidates?

Be prepared to learn a lot at HiMama. We are scaling quickly and that can demand you to do multiple roles at one time. This might seem difficult but we want you to be a winner and champion through any failure, because at HiMama we foster a growth environment and want you to be the best version of yourself. That being said, there are always a lot of opportunities for you to develop at HiMama, so don't hold back and get involved. As Ruth Bader Ginsburg once said, “Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time.” Believe that this step is the correct one for you, right now.

What are 3 words you would use to describe HiMama?

Accepting. Growth-driven. Genuine.