“Without service delivery, there would be no orders, and without orders, there would be no Pax8.”
The value of the Pax8 partner support teams are clear to Provisioning Specialist Sarah Burchell.
In her role, Burchell addresses and resolves potentially complex errors during the ordering process for clients of the cloud marketplace platform — while delivering top-notch customer service along the way. Beyond her responsive support, Burchell also collaborates with cross-functional teams to enhance the company’s current ordering processes, streamlining operations for partners and consistently improving experiences and exceeding expectations for vendors.
Burchell’s colleague, Service Desk Admin Steven Martens, sees a similar impact in his role. Martens highlighted the visibility the partner support team has both internally and externally at Pax8.
“We are the first contact for any and all partner-related situations — good and bad,” he said. “When things go wrong, when systems change or when the unforeseen becomes a reality, we are the first to know.”
“When things go wrong, when systems change or when the unforeseen becomes a reality, we are the first to know.”
According to Technical Support Engineer Tim Hagan, this fast-paced environment requires the team to stay agile and ready for anything. Utilizing training programs and certifications to stay at the forefront of tech opportunities, the team continues to foster skill development. This has proven especially helpful when building virtual environments to run tests for partners — and to resolve unexpected issues, as well.
“These tests provide us with hands-on feedback that sharpens our skills and allows us to better support partners,” Hagan said.
This focus on training and advancement begins day one at Pax8 through the company’s Co-Pilot training program, which pairs new hires with mentors who will support them throughout the onboarding process.
According to Martens, even after the official training timeline ends, the mentorship relationship continues to offer strong support when questions arise.
“This program trains new hires on job-specific skills but also builds community so they don’t feel stuck or alone, even when faced with hard questions or situations,” he said.
The benefits go beyond the individual, as well — the clarity and structure also allows the partner support team to grow sustainably and maintain high performance.
“With clear and established processes, we can ensure understanding across our team,” Burchell said. “As a result, our team is able to grow and succeed.”
Built In heard from Burchell, Martens and Hagan about what led them to join Pax8, how they’ve grown as part of the team and what opportunities they see for partner support professionals moving ahead.
Supporting Partners, and Each Other
“Working within partner support is more than just providing assistance to our partners,” Burchell said. “We all rely on each other for support and guidance.” Whether working alongside tech support or the service desk team, she finds helping hands in every part of the cross-functional partner support team.
“Partner support is the main pillar of Pax8 and why partners choose to join us,” she said. “And for new hires, joining our team means becoming a part of a supportive, enjoyable work community.”
Burchell shared more about the value of joining the team:
How she joined Pax8: “Prior to moving to Colorado, I worked as a bartender for eight years in Texas. Fortunately, a friend who works at Pax8 connected me with the company when I was seeking to change professions — luckily for me that happened to be service delivery.”
How Pax8 supports her growth: “Joining the service delivery team has given me the opportunity to begin my tech career and offered opportunities I could not have imagined before I joined, like going to Australia for support training. The dynamic nature of my job keeps me engaged and invested on a daily basis. With Pax8 constantly evolving and growing, there is always something new to learn. Service delivery helps promote professional development, while also providing opportunities for individual growth even in routine tasks. We solved 77,000 cases in 2022, excluding our migrations and change of channels.”
“Joining the service delivery team has offered opportunities I could not have imagined before I joined.”
Community, Resilience and Grace
According to Martens, the collaborative, supportive environment at Pax8 is built into the very core of the company’s culture. “Pax8 was built on a foundation of community, resilience and grace,” he said. “When we face challenges, we are ready to not only assist, but assist with understanding and a vision of excellence for our partners and employees.”
Martens shared more about how Pax8’s culture has transformed his career:
How he joined Pax8: “I began my career in tech right out of college after attaining my undergraduate degree in information systems. I was excited and eager to explore the next big step in my life, but I didn’t realize that the job would shape my understanding of the workplace, tech, collaboration and leadership — all right here at Pax8. Pax8 showed me that work can be more than waiting for a paycheck. I am invested in my work here because I feel like what I do makes a difference both internally and externally.”
“Pax8 has shaped my understanding of the workplace, tech, collaboration and leadership.”
How Pax8 supports his growth: “Leadership here at Pax8 has a passion for individual improvement and wants you to succeed and break boundaries. From a personal perspective, my manager makes it a priority to talk about self development in our weekly meetings. With these chats, we have been able to determine paths, promotions and ways I can achieve personal goals in my career. Along with this, partner support has built a community of collaboration. In my time at Pax8, I have never felt alone or stuck, and it’s clear that my colleagues care for the success of others just as much as they care for their own success.”
A Rippling Effect
As a senior engineer within the support team, Hagan takes on some of the most challenging cases in supporting Pax8 partners. Whether working to resolve an issue in an environment built for a partner or resolving out-of-scope client requests, Hagan is committed to not only listening to concerns and resolving them but also addressing the systems and processes that can be improved moving forward.
Hagan shared some of the lessons he has learned over the course of his long career in support:
Why he joined Pax8: I started my career in tech at Motorola in the early 1990s by providing cycle time charts of customers’ orders, and I noticed a cycle time of 50 days door-to-door, which inspired me to move into support. At Motorola, we shrunk the 50-day cycle to two. This same passion keeps me invested in my work at Pax8. The troubleshooting and services we provide have a rippling effect on the partner, their client and their client's customers. When you realize the impact of what your day-to-day functions truly have on people, you will become more invested each day at Pax8.
“When you realize the impact of what your day-to-day functions truly have on people, you will become more invested each day at Pax8.”
How the team collaborates: The comradery with my fellow Pax8 support members is like nothing I have ever experienced in my career. It gives you comfort, confidence and sharpens your skill sets. Most importantly, it gives you the ability to share that comradery with partners, which always translates into a positive outcome in our support cases.
