A Day in the Life of a Support Analyst

Connor Goddon describes what he gets up to in his role as a support analyst, how he got into the role and what skills are required:

I left school when I was 16 and spent a while trying to work out what to do as I never had a clear direction. Luckily a temp job took me to BGL.

Six months later I had a permanent role working in admin. Over the following months I would broaden my skill set, and within a year I had joined its Life business. This was a huge step for me and an exciting time too as BGL had just launched Beagle Street, entering new territory within the life insurance sector — offering affordable and accessible cover.

I was thrilled to be a part of the journey. Over the next seven-and-a-half years I supported BGL in the growth of its life insurance business.

I felt like a pioneer among friends for what we, together had created. It was something I was extremely grateful to be a part of. BGL had disrupted the market in such a way we were able to create new partnerships with leading companies, such as Virgin Money. This was a huge step for BGL and to this day we maintain a very strong relationship with Virgin and its people.

How I became a support analyst?

After seven-and-a-half years in our contact centre operation I began to think, ‘Where do I want to go next?’. I was fortunate to work for a company which significantly invests in, and actively encourages, learning and development.

After spending a significant amount of time in customer service, I felt a connection to our life customers and I was interested in tech and wanted to learn how the business operated from a technical perspective. So, when a support analyst role came up in BGL’s life business, it seemed perfect!

What does a support analyst do?

Essentially, my role is monitoring website data for errors or trends and, where required, suggesting fixes to keep the journey running smoothly for our customers.

An integral part of my role as a support analyst, is a process known as the ‘defect process’ but we also call these ‘bugs’.

A defect is where part of the system we use does not function as expected and requires a fix — this could be customer-facing or non customer-facing. My job is to triage these in tier of priority based on impact. The tiers are categorized as one, two and three (with one being highest priority). Customer-impacting defects are prioritised ahead of anything else in the bug backlog as customers are at the heart of everything we do!

The main purpose of this process is to fix any issues within our network to give our customers the best possible experience online.

This allows me to get an understanding of the impact the issue has had on our journeys, and on our customers, and I will then set it a priority.

This would include:

• Speaking with the person who raised the defect, gather relevant information.
• Testing to see if I can recreate the issue, is this still a problem?
• Is the defect customer impacting? if so, what’s the impact? This helps to ensure customers are top of our list.
• Triage the defect and work out what to do next.

I feel a sense of accomplishment with this process as I am working to improve application and system performance which directly benefits our customers.

What skills does a support analyst need?

When I started working as a support analyst, my skill set was limited, BGL has helped me to develop most of the key skills required to carry out my daily tasks. I had basic Excel skills before starting my role, but now I am on the way to advanced.

I had no idea what SQL Server was and when I applied for the role this was a basic requirement. I purchased a Udemy course online and started getting some basic knowledge behind me, I have also been lucky enough to work with some SQL gurus who have given me key tips and pointers around SQL and now I am able to write my own basic queries and extract data using joins and aggregate functions.

Here’s a list of some of the key skills I have added to my professional arsenal:

• SQL server management Studio
• Power BI
• Versatile communication
• Workload prioritisation
• Analysis of data sets and trends
• Microsoft Excel, graphs, charts and pivot tables
• Low level programming knowledge
• Confidence in group discussions, which includes taking a turn in chairing a monthly meeting allowing the team to collaborate and discuss workload and tasks, whilst having fun at the same time.

What I did have, however, was an analytical mind and a background in serving our customers, giving me a deeper insight into their needs and wishes. I also enjoy using my own initiative and, to do this job well, you need to be someone who is comfortable working independently.

If I could sum up my role and the soft skills needed, I would say it’s a very rewarding role that requires integrity, resilience and a positive attitude.

What I enjoy most

Every day is different — things can change in a split second, especially as I work with live data and reports. I work with some fantastic, enthusiastic and driven people, which really motivates me to be the best I can be.

I also really enjoy working for BGL Life. Everyone is really involved in the development of the brand and there’s a fantastic and strongly-embedded culture which can be summarised through the BGL values. With customers at the heart of our business, we are:

• Authentic
• Ambitious
• United
• Creative

BGL also offers a generous benefits programme which includes private healthcare, virtual GPs, the option to choose your own tech and a flexible working policy.

And it’s a very exciting time for the life business. With our new five-year strategy just announced, we have opportunities for a tech lead and a senior data scientist to join and play a key role in delivering new and innovative uses of data to drive the business forward for customers, growing and developing a team.

There is lots going on, and 2021 looks to be a very prosperous year for us, and I am sure I speak for many when I say I am looking forward to leaving 2020 behind…

Want to join Connor and BGL Life? Take a look at our latest vacancies here.