Interview - Joël Shum-Kwoong, Customer Success Agent

In January 2023, we welcomed Joel Shum-Kwoong to Sharvy. But first, he introduces himself to you with a few questions!

Hello Joël, can you introduce yourself and tell us where you come from?

Hello, my name is Joël Shum-Kwoong. I’m 32 years old and am a melting pot of Breton and Chinese origins! Unfortunately, I don’t speak either of these two languages. I grew up in Saint-Cloud, a suburb near Paris, where I studied.

After the first confinement in 2020, I moved to the Montpellier area in search of a better living environment, far from the metro and the Parisian stress, with more sun and closer to the sea.

Schooling, professional experience, what is your background?

Let’s start with my studies! I have a BAC STG (Sciences and Technologies of Management) and a Master’s degree in Digital Production. Thanks to this course, I could carry out some Community Management missions for well-known brands in the video game world, such as Millenium or Jeuxvideo.com. However, although this is an exciting and formative job and universe, it was not the career path that corresponded for me.

Therefore, I chose to change my activity by exploring the entertainment field until I ended up in the Escape Game world, where I worked for several years.

It was an experience guided by passion, humanity, and fun within one of the best brands in France called One Hour. The latter specializes in horror themes but also explores other original themes. As a Game Master, I probably traumatized several hundred people and triggered a few panic attacks and laughter! However, I have excellent memories of it and now have an overwhelming advantage in the “I already have” game.

Afterward, and as said before, I moved to the Montpellier area. My first wish was to get back to more traditional working hours. This was previously less easy, as the sessions were held in the evenings and at weekends. That’s why I chose to turn to customer support.

My experience began at Computacenter, a good company in the region, for the Banque de France for a little over a year as a helpdesk technician in a small team. I was given my first lead missions, and the people I worked with taught me a lot. Wanting to move towards more responsibility and finding a smaller company, I discovered Sharvy on Welcome to the Jungle. I loved the energy of the company presentation and the teams! So I applied, and here I am today at their side!

What is your job at Sharvy, and what do you like about it?

At Sharvy, I am a Customer Success Agent alongside Camille. So, I not only accompany clients on project launches, but I also support them when they have questions or encounter obstacles.

In my job, I particularly like being “useful” and being able to teach and feel that the team and the clients trust me. In addition, I regularly embark on new learning, so I am familiar with feeling lost at the beginning of a project.

So I understand very well the feeling of clients who discover the application! That’s why I’m always very attentive and enthusiastic to answer their questions concretely. Moreover, as the Sharvy team is still small, I have a very varied range of tasks and direct exchanges with all the Sharvy departments, with whom I learn a lot.

What made you want to join the Sharvy adventure?

There are several factors. Sharvy is, above all, a dynamic and human team. For several years, this is what I have been looking for. Namely, a setting that combines the ambition to grow with a caring atmosphere.

The service Sharvy offers is also in line with a significant issue of our time on optimizing resources. One of the objectives of our application is also to make companies understand that, with our application, they have all the cards in hand to improve well-being at work and the Quality of Life and Working Conditions (QWLC). This can be done by optimizing the company car park, the workspaces, and/or the cafeteria management.

Therefore, the very core of the Sharvy solution allows me to find meaning in my work and the sense I get from the customer support function.

We’ve heard you’re a video game enthusiast, can you tell us more?

Good point! I grew up with video games, initiated by my older brothers since the megadrive (one of the first game consoles). It’s a world that has never left me.

Daily, I’m quite a geek, and I can’t count the thousands of hours I’ve spent in front of video games (Counter strike 1.6, Lineage 2, League of Legends, Overwatch). However, it’s worth noting that these many hours of geekery didn’t (unfortunately) prevent me from taking a good beating on Mario Kart with some of my colleagues (like Gauthier, & Manon) during lunch break, though.

However, I also like to vary my activities! That’s why I’ve been playing role-playing games since I was 14 years old. In addition, I write scenarios and am passionate about board games (I have a game library at home with games ranging from the classic Monopoly to Twilight Imperium, which lasts, on average, twelve hours).

In parallel, I like sports much, even if I don’t play as much as I’d like. I did a lot of judo as a kid, ping-pong, climbing, and swimming, and I love hiking in our beautiful region!

What is your favorite moment with the Sharvy Team since you arrived?

Since my arrival (in January 2023), I have already had the opportunity to spend several good moments with the whole team. However, I can think of a memorable first evening, accompanied by a blind test where I could see that several members of the team were (well) too strong!

For my part, this is different from the activity where I usually do incredible feats… But, during the team building that followed (at the laser game), I could show my laser shooting skills, winning quite a few points.

Finally, apart from the activities, Sharvy’s welcome for its new agents is exceptional. You quickly feel at ease with the team, the atmosphere is warm, and my trainer is very educational.

Finally, a favorite quote or motto to share with us?

I have in mind this one : “To fall is allowed, to rise is ordered“.

This quotation, which I grant you is authoritarian, is the guiding principle I like to follow. It’s a mixture of the will to improve, which often comes from repeated failures, and the indulgence you have to give yourself not to lose confidence in yourself.

My disciplinary side certainly comes from the many judo sessions during which I gave everything for the competitions, in which you were allowed to lose, but only if you gave everything! This is something I apply in my daily life.