Image with the text 'A Day in the Life: Danielle Pearson, Workspace Operations Lead'
Ever wondered what it's like to work at one of Greater Manchester's leading tech employers or what specific job roles get up to each day?
Danielle Pearson is a (Google) Workspace Operations Lead at Manchester based CTS, the largest dedicated Google Cloud practice in Europe.
We spoke to them to find out more about this role, their experience at CTS and what an average day looks like.
Name: Danielle Pearson
Company: CTS (Cloud Technology Solutions)
Job Title: (Google) Workspace Operations Lead
How did you get into your current role?
It’s a long story... I come from an operational background, not tech. I started my career managing pubs which really sparked my enthusiasm for great processes, training and customer service, which in turn, lead to sales growth.
I then went on to work for a home services franchise, where I was a business coach and heavily involved in writing the operations manual and shaping the procedures and training for franchisees and their teams. Then I was at Halfords as a Commercial Sales Manager looking after the sales-operations for really big tyres.
The opportunity at CTS was really exciting for me. I have grown up in a tech world - one of my earliest memories is building computers with my dad on a Sunday morning - and I knew that everything I had learnt over the years would be transferable operationally, I just needed to get to grips with Google Workspace. Luckily CTS knew that too - and here I am!
What do you enjoy most about working at CTS?
Everything! Although the people are what make it really special, I have never worked in such a positive and forward focused environment as CTS. Everybody works hard every day to drive the business in the same direction, everybody has your back, and nothing is too much when it comes to help and support.
Our people team work so hard to make sure that there are lots of events, socials, and fun throughout the year, in person and remotely, and they are always focussed on new policies and benefits to make it a great place to work. In April we all went to Alicante for our company “Kick Off” which was an amazing way to get to know everybody, hear more about the company strategy for the next year and generally have a good time. I feel really proud to work for a company that works so hard to grow together.
What does a typical day look like?
I don’t know where to start... No day is the same for sure!
I will always start my day by checking in with customer requests and account manager requests and ensure they are actioned to keep things moving along quickly for the customers. I generally check in on what renewals we have on the horizon and ensure that any action has been taken by me and the team to ensure we are on track with them and the customer has everything they need.
I spend time throughout the day answering questions and supporting my team and colleagues across the business with licence options, contracts, and putting quotes together. I also join customer calls to help them with their licences options and ensure that we are providing everything that they need.
I block out some focus time each week to look at what we have coming up, how we can do things better and get a good gauge on where we need more focus. There’s so much more that comes into it, but this is the bulk of the day-to-day.
What excites you most about the work?
Providing a great service and retaining our fantastic client base is really important. Growing the business at a substantial rate requires a lot of hard work, agility and future thinking, and I love working in a fast paced environment. In every job I’ve done before I felt that my ideas and suggestions were too forward thinking for the company I was working with, whereas I feel much more in tune with the growth and pace at CTS. My ideas have all been listened to, and I’ve had the autonomy to implement them quickly to keep the department moving forward, constantly improving and removing barriers.
Have you learned anything new since you started?
I learn something new every day!
Of course I have learnt a lot about Google Workspace, how to transact with Google, Salesforce and lots of role specific things.
But we also have a fantastic “Workspace Community” group that is always sharing best practices and new releases from Google, which is non-stop and so useful. I’ve learnt how a truly flexible workplace can be super productive, in fact much more productive and collaborative than anything I’ve done face to face.
And on a personal level, I’ve even had the opportunity to join the Environmental board, which is a huge passion of mine, so I’m learning about Carbon Reduction Plans and lots about how to be more sustainable!
Thank you Danielle!
To find out more about CTS, click here.
If you're a Manchester Digital member and would like somebody at your company to be featured in our A Day In The Life series, contact thom@manchesterdigital.com.
