Home agent

Introduction

First of all, I want to immediately explain why this article is.

The first and main goal is to tell everyone who is interested in their unique experience at Yota, as part of the Home Agent project. Those who were looking for work in the near future in the field of technical support, I think, heard about this vacancy, but just like me, when I first encountered it, I really do not know anything about it. In general, it is not surprising. My article will be the first on this topic on the Internet.

The second thing I wanted to say was about those for whom I am writing this. First of all, these are people who are interested and are looking for additional areas of activity in IT or want to make a career in one of the major telecommunication providers. A little later I will explain why I consider Yota to be an excellent company for such a start and development in the future.

Part 1. Vacancy found

It just so happened that on the eve of the new year I broke up with a former business partner and a former friend, with whom we created one of the largest online stores selling activation keys, and began to look for work.

As personal experience has shown, a workplace equipped at home is much more convenient for me personally than any office. Maybe because I did not stint on a good chair and the apartment itself, but the fact is a fact - I learned to work at home without a drop in quality and almost guaranteed to be able to do more and more efficiently at home at the same time. Therefore, the first work I began to look for was work at home.
As it turned out, the remote work market is quite large. But I wanted to do something really new for myself and preferably in a reliable company, because I urgently needed to pay money for the apartment, and I also want to eat.

On one of the job sites, I got a vacancy from Yota about recruiting employees with experience in technical support, with the ability to work from home. The vacancy was quite suitable for my parameters, and I decided to learn more about this work.

In December 2011, there was no information on this post on the Internet at all. Therefore, it only remained to contact the employee indicated in the vacancy by mail, and pretty quickly I received a response. Then there were several calls, I clarified what I would have to do, how much they paid, and received a link to the first technical test.

A few simple questions like “What is ping?” and “How to configure a proxy server?”, apparently designed to weed out technically illiterate people and at the same time not even mastered Google, were passed in the shortest possible time. He reported by mail that he passed, and began to wait for the test results.

Part 2. Visit to the office and first acquaintance with "Yota" from the inside. Post-interview interview

Soon after the New Year holidays, I received an invitation to visit the office. I arrived at the Atlantic City complex, which was standing near the bay, cheerfully and without unnecessary bureaucracy, received a plastic personal pass, which already had my full name on it, and moved towards the 24th floor, which, in fact, was invited.

There were several newcomers on the floor. Everyone was together waiting for Catherine, who, apparently, like me, no one had seen before, so in every new person they tried to see her leaving the elevator.

At a strictly scheduled time, Catherine appeared, who immediately let us into the office and opened the locker room. Everyone took off their clothes, leaving them under the protection of a door that opens only by passes and went into the audience. We had a presentation dedicated to the company.

In the office, the company felt a love of high technology and everything new at the entrance, and in the hall where the presentation took place, it was immediately visible. The whole system of a huge projector over the ceiling and a special screen, a lot of televisions standing in the corners, and even boxes with discs for game consoles sticking out in some places formed a distinct feeling that it wasn’t a good idea to save on comfort in the office.

Catherine smartly, very intelligibly and interestingly began to talk about the company and vacancies. Immediately, she turned the appeal to “you,” and the audience quickly stopped pinched. Everyone listened with interest and even asked questions.

After that, we were divided into 2 groups and offered a role-playing game, according to which we had to understand some of our qualities. It was quite easy for me to take control of the group on myself and finish the game without any losses or problems.

After that there was another, no less interesting, part. This is a written test - the part I liked the most. The final chord was a game in which we, sitting at a laptop, answered an incoming call. In my case, the client was very artistic and soulful Katya.
On this, the most interesting thing on the first day ended. Except for discounts at the Karl Junior Yota badge at dinner.

Literally a few days later I was invited to an interview with the management and, as a result, I was safely enrolled in my studies, which turned out to be also paid by the company as working hours. In general, a rare case when you get paid for what you study. Nowadays it is a rarity.

Part 3. Teaching theory and testing

First of all, I will dwell on what all the days of training were characterized by.

• They were either at home or in the office.
• In the days when the training took place in the office, we were already given badges, and we had access to all the amenities that the company provides its employees. From the kitchen and freebies with a coffee machine, tea for every taste (sort of 15) and milk to discounts on food in cafes in the building of the Atlantic shopping center.
• In the days when the training took place at home, responsible employees were always available online on Skype, who could ask questions and not worry that you would look like a fool.

Since these days of training told about everything that relates to our future work, I consider transferring in the article all this unnecessary. I will give a brief summary of everything that has been said, of what, in my opinion, will be interesting to those who are looking for a similar job:

• A large integrated system of situation analysis. The operator sees quite a few parameters about each caller.
• There is a large database of accumulated problems. As for the most typical, and for current accidents or news.
• There is constant communication with more experienced colleagues and management.
• The company's contact center is, in fact, the personnel base for many other departments of the company. It is not uncommon for yesterday's operators to work in monitoring, corporate or development departments. There is an opportunity to improve their level within the framework of technical support.
• You can work in the schedule, which you compose for yourself.
• Discipline is constantly monitored, the quality of work is monitored by the relevant department. However, everyone understands that you are a beginner, and are ready to help and train, if you wish.
• A large technical base - you can come to see with your own eyes any device, how it works on a particular OS.
• Each employee is given a modem with paid internet.

After each stage of training there was a test. The time for answering the question is not limited, therefore, you can study the database directly during the test, if you suddenly forgot something. A very successful, in my opinion, solution designed to teach orientation in an unfamiliar data array. Remembering so much at once is still unrealistic. Therefore, no one is engaged in idiocy, forcing to teach.

Part 4. Line. First impressions of listening

The first impression of listening to live calls deserves special mention.
In short, it looks like this. There is an employee of the company who at this moment simply works in a line at the contact center. You are seated with him, a second headset is connected to the phone, and you sit, listen to what the client says and the answers of the colleague, watching what he does on the computer.

Calls, in my opinion, were nothing special. People call in fact with trifling problems. The most interesting call for me was from Novosibirsk, where LTE test operation was already underway. At that time, it was the only city in Russia where this technology worked.

I can’t say what the impression will be of those who have never worked in technical support. I already had 11 years of experience administering Windows-based networks on workstations and servers.
The next step was the transition from theory to practice.

Trainees sit down on the phone and begin to answer clients on their own, but, to the delight of the clients, under the supervision of experienced colleagues, therefore even if the trainee starts talking in the wrong direction, they will help him fix the situation, and the client’s problem will be solved.

Technically, everything is implemented in the same way as when listening, only here you receive the call yourself.
After - the exam. A little more internship in the office (already independent) - and you go to work home.

Part 5. Equipment and programs that you work with as a home agent

The technical part is implemented quite skillfully according to the following scheme:

In the office there is a server to which a SIP phone (Yealink) is connected via the channel that the home provider provides. A headset is issued to the phone. From your computer, you connect to the remote desktop implemented on Citrix and XenDesktop.
Databases are implemented on Oracle, MS Sharepoint and CRM own internal development. Mail is on Exchange.

Part 6. Results of the month. Prospects and advantages of working at Iota

My first month of independent work has passed, and I can already answer those questions that I asked myself, getting a job and studying a vacancy.

• Pay on time, without delay. If the salary day falls on the day off, issue earlier.
• The salary is white.
• There are compulsory medical insurance and voluntary medical insurance.
• Huge prospects for career and professional growth in any area of ​​the company. When considering candidates for opening positions, they first look at those who want to do this work in the company.
• All promises about the opportunity to work to the full and earn at the expense of a large number of hours are kept.
• I worked almost 440 hours in a month.
• Answered more than 4000 calls.
• He proved himself in testing the new website of the company and received the first functionality not related to phone calls.
• There are free cookies in the office.
• There are a number of benefits for employees, the most interesting of which is the compensation of the cost of fitness or training in any foreign language.