Home agent

Introduction

First of all, I want to immediately explain why this article.
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The first and main goal is to tell everyone who is interested in their unique work 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 job, but just like I did when I first encountered it, I really don’t 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 is about those for whom I write this. First of all, these are people who are interested and are looking for additional areas of activity in IT for themselves or want to make a career in one of the major telecommunication providers. A little later, I will explain why I consider “Yota” 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 my former business partner and former friend, with whom we created one of the major online stores selling activation keys, and began to look for work.

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

At one of the sites for work came across a vacancy from Yota about recruiting employees with experience in technical support, with the opportunity 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 about this position on the Internet at all. Therefore, it remained only to contact the employee indicated in the vacancy by mail, and I received a reply rather quickly. Then there were a few calls, I clarified what I would have to do, how much they pay, and got a link to the first technical test.

A few simple questions like “What is ping?” And “How to set up a proxy server?”, Apparently designed to weed out the technically illiterate and at the same time not mastered even Google, were completed in the shortest possible time. I sent by mail what went through and waited for the test results.

Part 2. Visit the office and the first acquaintance with the "Yota" from the inside. Interview after selection

Shortly after the New Year holidays I received an invitation to visit the office. He arrived at the Atlantic City complex, not far from the bay, briskly and without unnecessary bureaucracy received a plastic personal pass, which already had my full name, and moved toward the 24th floor, where, in fact, was invited.

There were a few newbies on the floor. Everyone was waiting for Catherine, who, apparently, like me, no one had seen before, so in every new person they tried to see her out of the elevator.

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

At the office, the company felt love for high technologies and everything new at the entrance, and it was immediately apparent in the hall where the presentation was held. The whole system from a huge projector under the ceiling and a special screen, a lot of TVs standing in the corners and even boxes with discs for game consoles sticking out in some places folded up a distinct feeling that it was not customary to save on office comfort.

Catherine quickly, very lucidly and interestingly began to talk about the company and the vacancy. Immediately turned the appeal to "you", and the audience quickly ceased to be clamped. 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 some of our qualities were to be understood. It was quite easy for me to take control of the group myself and complete the game without any losses and problems.

After that there was another, no less interesting part. This is a written test - the part that 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 is very artistic and with a soul won back Katya.
That's all the fun on the first day is over. Except for the discount in “Carls Junior” on the “Yota” badge at lunch.

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

Part 3. Learning Theory and Testing

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

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

Since during these days of training they talked about everything related to our future work, I don’t consider all this to be superfluous in the article. I will summarize 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 complex system of analysis of the situation. The operator sees quite a lot of parameters about each caller.
• There is a large database of accumulated problems. Both on the most typical, and on current accidents or news.
• There is a constant connection with more experienced colleagues and management.
• The contact center of the company 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 and within the framework of technical support.
• You can work in the schedule that you make for yourself.
• Discipline is monitored constantly, the quality of work is monitored by the relevant department. However, everyone understands that you are a beginner, and are willing to help and train if you so desire.
• 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 issued a modem with paid internet.

After each stage of training was a test. Time to answer the question is not limited, so you can study the database during the test, if you suddenly forgot something. A very successful, in my opinion, solution, designed to teach you to navigate in an unfamiliar data array. Remember so much at once is unreal. Therefore, no one is engaged in idiocy, forcing learning.

Part 4. Line. First impressions of listening

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

Calls, in my opinion, did not represent anything special. People call in fact with trivial problems. The most interesting for me was a call 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 not say what the impression will be of those who have never worked in technical support. I already had 11 years of experience in administering Windows-based networks on workstations and servers.
The next stage was the transition from theory to practice.

The trainees sit down at the phone and start responding to clients on their own, but, to the delight of clients, under the supervision of experienced colleagues, so even if the trainee does not lead the conversation there, he will be helped to rectify the situation, and the client’s problem is always solved.

Technically, everything is implemented the same way as when listening, only here you take 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 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 the SIP phone (Yealink) is connected via a channel provided by the home provider. A headset is issued to the phone. From your computer you connect to a remote desktop implemented on Citrix and XenDesktop.
Databases are implemented on Oracle, MS Sharepoint and own internal development CRM. Mail - on Exchange.

Part 6. Results of the month. Prospects and advantages of work in "Yota"

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 a weekend, give out earlier.
• Salary is white.
• There are CHI and LCA.
• Huge prospects for career and professional growth in any field of the company. When considering candidates for opening positions, first look at those who want to do this work in the company.
• All promises about the opportunity to work in full and earn by the large number of hours - kept.
• For a month I worked almost 440 hours.
• Answered more than 4,000 calls.
• He proved himself to be testing the new site of the company and got the first non-phone related functionality.
• The office has free cookies.
• There are a number of benefits for employees, the most interesting of which is the reimbursement of the cost of fitness or learning any foreign language.