A Ride of a Year: The Solutions Journey

Today, a growing team of 7 Solutions Engineers acts as a pillar of technical support within Hevo. They provide in-depth technical consultation and direction for customers, acting in conjunction with the Sales team, under the guidance of Solutions Architect, Jayesh Asrani.

However, this wasn’t always the case. Just over a year ago, Jayesh joined the fledgling Solutions team at Hevo — one of the first people to do so. At the time, there was a dire need for Solutions Engineers within the organization. The Sales team was expanding rapidly and the number of customers using the product was on a steep rise. Setting up a team that would provide in-depth technical guidance was imperative. Jayesh was on customer calls and answering queries, with minimal training, within three days of joining the organization.

These initial days were rigorous but enlightening. As the team started growing, it was crucial for this knowledge to be disseminated in the best way possible.

“I realized that we needed to have a training process that was a mix of theoretical and practical,” says Jayesh. “Learning rapidly through practice without getting siloed in training is the way to get the best of both worlds and ensure that a person is confident with their work.”

At this point in time, the onboarding program consists of a 5–6 week process with constant connections and a buddy system. First, there is an introduction to the product and the technology ecosystem. After this, the practical portion includes shadowing during customer calls and internal red meetings where the new team member has mock calls with members of the team. Finally, reverse shadowing takes place where the new joiner takes the lead on customer calls with a more experienced team member present to supervise.

Similar to his epiphany about onboarding, many of the processes within the Solutions team at Hevo have been set up to achieve a delicate balance of established knowledge and fast-paced experimentation. The simple philosophy of “fail fast, learn quickly” has been very relevant throughout the journey. The team moved from working in an ad-hoc manner to process-based work. They started being assigned to each customer account as co-owners instead of simply being pulled in when the concerned salesperson found it necessary. Tools that could cut through the repetitive tasks and help the team stay focused on the larger picture were developed.

Of course, no voyage can be smooth sailing throughout. Jayesh mentions hiring as one of the biggest challenges during the process of scaling up.

“A Solutions Engineer requires technical acumen as well as business acumen, and people usually lean one way or the other. We wanted every member of the team to have the balance to do well on the job.” Despite the pressing need to increase the team size to maintain a good ratio with the Sales team, Jayesh didn’t want to sacrifice the team dynamic and culture. It was imperative to find the right candidates who had-

• The ability to learn and deliver
• A sense of responsibility and ownership
• The ability to understand and apply new technical concepts
• A good business acumen

They would exemplify what it means to be a good Solutions Engineer.

Another challenge during this period was substantiating the team and its functions within a framework that had already been established. Some basic questions needed to be answered- How and at what stage should a salesperson introduce a Solutions Engineer to the clients? How would they add value to the customer journey? How would Sales and Solutions be delineated in the best way? Thinking about these questions would help the team formalize its function and how it can truly make a difference within Hevo.

“We didn’t want to become a Sales support function,” explains Jayesh. “We wanted to be complete partners with the Sales team, with clear expectations on how we contribute to this particular journey.”

Since the beginning of 2022, the position that the Solutions team occupies has been noticed by other teams within the company as well. Sitting at the bridge between tech and business, the team is perfectly positioned to give strategic inputs. The Marketing team has been able to better understand the psyche of the customer and receive technical inputs on their content, while the Product team has been able to understand the gaps within the product and the repetitive issues that come up during customer conversations.

Jayesh’s pride in the current state of the Solutions team can be seen on his face as soon as he is asked about it. “The function is quite young, but the team is mature. We still have a long way to go in terms of our evolution and improvement. But we have the right people who can make it work, so I have no doubt that it won’t be a people problem — merely a question of how we can make things work best.”