2021 has been an exciting year for Chrome Telecom. We have welcomed new members of the team, expanded our product range, and were named as finalists in the 2021 Comms National Awards for Best SME UC Customer Solution
We’ve also celebrated the 5th work anniversary of our Technical Manager, Matthew Boniface!
Matt has been an integral part of the team since he joined our Southampton head office in 2016. He is responsible for overseeing our technical department as well as ensuring that the telecoms, mobile and CCTV solutions we provide our customers are operating smoothly. Matt will often attend telephony and CCTV installations with our engineers to offer support when a job requires an extra pair of hands.
Matt’s experience as a telecoms engineer and current role as our Technical Manager has given him a wealth of knowledge on business communication systems and on technical careers. We thought we’d take advantage of this by asking him a few questions about his career journey at Chrome Telecom.
Tell us a about your career so far and how you became a Technical Manager?
I started my career as a Junior Engineer in the Telecoms industry, working my way up to a Lead Engineer position and then as the Head of Installations.
I had heard of Chrome Telecom before from being in the industry and was introduced to Daniel, our Managing Director, through a mutual friend. We stayed in touch and when a job arose at Chrome to become the Technical Manager, I decided to take it and joined the Chrome family!
What does your job role consist of?
I support the technical team, made up of our engineers, provisioners and customer support roles, to achieve their KPIs. I manage and organise installations working with our engineers and new customers and ensure that our processes are as efficient as possible.
I am also responsible for our product portfolio. I research new products and if I believe that they will benefit our customers I’ll ensure that I certification for them. The next step is to train our engineers and roll out to our sales and marketing teams to share with new and existing customers.
When we bring new products into our portfolio part of my job is to test them to see if they are of high quality for our customers and if they are easily broken or durable- basically it’s my job to break things!
As part of the maintenance that we offer I regularly contact our customers to make sure that they are happy with our services. In the case that there is a problem I first investigate to understand what the issue is and then delegate to the right team so that it can be resolved.
What is your favourite part of your job?
My favourite part about my role as Technical Manager is supporting my team in achieving their targets each month. It is really rewarding to see my team consistently develop and learn new skills, and I love having the opportunity to be a part of their career journeys.
What is your favourite part of being part of Team Chrome?
My favourite part about Chrome is the office environment, we have a strong ‘work hard, play hard’ mentality and regularly give great incentives in exchange for hard work.
We encourage honesty between our employees and their managers to ensure that the team are as happy in their roles as they can be. The collaboration between teams to ensure that our customers receive the best possible service is great to see!
What advice would you give to someone interested in starting a career in engineering and technical support?
I would strongly advise gaining an understanding of the industry that you want to join and researching career paths to find the right option for you. Many companies will offer trainee positions where you would gain certifications whilst working, this is a great route to take if you want to get stuck in straight away.
I would also advise that you will need to be willing to learn and take advice from more experienced engineers, they will have experience in the role and can offer valuable advice to help you develop your skills and progress in your career.
Finally, what advice would you give to someone looking to join team Chrome?
Come in with a smile and strong work ethic, be willing to work hard in exchange for great opportunities and rewards!
If you’re interested in becoming part of Team Chrome, then be sure to check out our current vacancies or reach out to us to discuss future opportunities!
