Joan Maddox, SchoolDude.com

Company: SchoolDude.com
Company Description: With more than 4,300 clients, SchoolDude is the nation's leading provider of on-demand management solutions designed exclusively for the unique needs of districts, independent schools, colleges and universities. SchoolDude's integrated suite of solutions for technology, business, and facility operations is revolutionizing the way educational professionals manage their organizations.
Nomination Category: Customer Service & Call Center Individual Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Lifetime Achievement Award

Nomination Title: Joan Maddox, Customer Service Evangelist

1. Tell the story about what this nominee has achieved over their career in sales (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:

Ten years ago, SchoolDude started a new business venture which, at that time,
was a new business model. Joan Maddox brought her common sense service values to
SchoolDude as the only support technician. With her belief in company mission
and that every client interaction is an opportunity to shine; the company
quickly began growing due to raving clients spreading the word about SchoolDude.

As the company expanded, Joan began searching for more members to add to the
support team. Her only requirements in the new hires were they had to have
servant’s heart and great attitude as she knew the job skills could always be
taught.

Joan began to setup specific client service commitments and standards for
SchoolDude that still hold true today:

- No cubicles: Each CSC member was to have their own office. This had two
benefits as it provided the employee their “own” space and client interactions
over the phone would not be interrupted by background noise
- No automated answering service or phone tree: Every phone call was be answered
by a live person within 3 rings.
- Unlimited support included in subscription costs: No additional support or
service agreements to buy and no monitoring of how many times a client called in
- No scripted call sheets
- No tiered service: The technicians that answered the phone owned the client
experience from start to finish.
- Distributive leadership : Each employee is responsible for managing their own
time and empowered to make necessary decisions that lead to satisfied clients

While all of these attributes which were far from the normal call center design,
Joan continued to ask how can SchoolDude improve its service and adapt to the
exponential growth it was experiencing. She identified key metrics that lead to
satisfied clients and developed a team incentive program around high performance
in those key metrics. She also designed a department structure that matched the
needs or demands of the market rather than trying to apply a text book model
because it was the most popular in other industries.

2. List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.youraddress.com]:

"I’ve worked with Joan for some 15 years. I first got to know her when she was
a service technician back in the late 90’s. Over the years, I’ve come to know a
number of her core values, all of which make her the great leader that she is
today. The values most impressed on my mind are: (1) her concern in achieving
excellence in customer satisfaction, (2) her intense excitement and enthusiasm
for her work and beliefs, and (3) a dedication and perseverance-willing to do
“whatever it takes” to get the job done.

I recall one story where a customer said the only thing SchoolDude hadn’t done
for her was send flowers. Joan sent her flowers that very day, but her
commitment to make a customer satisfied isn’t just about saying “Yes!” to
everything. Instead it’s about being passionate in doing the best thing or
taking the right action. She always communicates realistic goals and objectives
then follows through with delivery. This has been her commitment from day one
at SchoolDude. I think this is fundamentally why SchoolDude enjoys one of the
highest customer ratings in any industry. We rank among the top when asking if
customers would recommend SchoolDude to their peers, 97%.

Joan’s concern for the customer and passion is under girded by one principle,
commitment. She’s willing to answer the phones, take tech support calls, work
with customers directly, do whatever it takes even though she has long stopped
working on the front lines in a tech support role. Her commitment is what
drives her everyday to do her best and not just for our customers but also for
our people.

I can help but to also think of her integrity and concern for family. Her
integrity has allowed her to build one of the best client services team in the
industry as evidenced by our Stevie Award wins. I say “wins” plural because
we’ve won the last two years. She’s built up a team from the “one” to over 35
people, all who love their jobs and have the same passion and concern for
customers as she does. One tremendous and valuable attribute of any team leader
is someone can replicate their high standards in others. She’s achieved this
while making everyone feel good about their contributions. It’s no accident
that SchoolDude has been voted “Best Places to Work” in the triangle area for
the last four years.

On a final note, I must speak of Joan’s concern for her own family and the
family of others. Joan spends time with others. It’s not unusual to find her
stopping in the hallways to chat with someone about a personal challenge or
success. At the company picnics she spends time with people from all over the
company and develops real relationships. She balances work life with her family
life. Our CEO brags about the fact that Joan loves facility maintenance
management so much that she married a maintenance guy making her work a part of
her life although in a different way. Behind this great woman is a great family
and it’s one that she works to make a success as passionately as she does for
our customers and employees.

For these reasons and many more, I’m proud to recommend Joan as one of the best
leaders in the industry."

- Lynn Boswell, VP of Technology, SchoolDude.com

3. Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the nominee:

Joan Maddox has dedicated her entire 18-year professional career to providing
educational clients with the highest level of service and support. Over the
years, she has trained a countless number of facility professionals across the
US and in Australia. Joan was formerly the Manager of Client Services for ACT
(Applied Computer Technologies), where she built a highly respected support
organization and managed the service teams to deliver maintenance management
solutions to hundreds of school districts.

As SchoolDude's Vice President of Client Services, Joan manages the Client
Service Center, including all technical support and product training. She also
leads our Client Service team in their efforts to maintain SchoolDude's
legendary customer service and is constantly striving to improve our client
satisfaction rating.