Bud's Customer Success Team

How our customer success team is evolving in response to Bud’s growth

Having achieved a great deal in a very short space of time – we gained 28 new clients in the past year – we thought it was time we talked about what goes on behind the scenes at Bud. After all, it’s the people that make such a difference to what we’re able to offer. We specifically want to introduce the individuals who are responsible for supporting our clients and work with them to maximise their training performance: our customer success team.

What does our customer success team do?

Our customer success team works hand in glove with our clients. They take the time to understand their needs and they have a detailed understanding of the wider market in which they operate. They learn the ins and outs of what customers want, or need, to achieve and the issues or barriers that might stop them. They are also responsible for client implementation, client support and, of course, each client’s success.

Who’s on the team?

Headed up by Brad Tombling, Customer Success Director, Bud’s Customer Success Team consists of seven talented individuals:

• Brad Tombling – Customer Success Director
• Megan Foster – National Account Executive
• Paul Glaeser – Account Delivery Consultant
• Katy Hopwood – Account Delivery Consultant
• Emily Langford-Young – Implementations Project Manager
• Craig Robinson – Account Delivery Consultant
• Alistair Wakefield – Account Delivery Consultant

Between them, the team have over 50 years of experience in the training industry. Having worked at major training companies including Lifetime Training and Paragon Skills, they have a firm grasp of the challenges training providers face day in, day out.

Brad Tombling – Customer Success Director

Having previously worked at both ITPs and Colleges, Brad Tombling has a wealth of experience to draw upon as Customer Success Director. Known by all as a quick-thinking, motivated and hardworking individual, there is nobody better to head up this dynamic team. In fact, Brad is so dedicated to his work that he is breeding his own cohort of apprentices and is shortly expecting his second child.

“My role is to work closely with new and existing clients, understand their existing ways of working and demonstrate how the huge benefits of Bud can help them to solve many industry challenges” Brad explains. “It’s my role to identify clients’ technical and business requirements, prior to designing a solution, consulting with technical and operational teams about capabilities and supporting the full implementation process.”

When asked about his hopes for Bud in the future, Brad said:

“I would like to see Bud cement itself as the best training management platform on the market. We are a young company that has achieved a great deal in a very short space of time. Since 2019, we have won over 50 new customers, and now have tens of thousands of learners using Bud. In fact, more of the top 20 ITPs choose Bud than any other platform. I am proud to be on Bud’s Senior Leadership Team, to help drive further success and expand upon our offering.”

Megan Foster – National Account Executive

Whilst Megan Foster is the youngest member of the team, she is the veteran when it comes to working at Bud. Having worked here for four years, Megan truly understands the challenges training providers face on a daily basis and works with clients to resolve these issues.

“As a National Account Executive I work to ensure our current clients’ expectations are met and exceeded, from implementation through to daily, ongoing support” says Megan. “Through in-depth training sessions and support, I identify their business requirements in order to ensure Bud can assist them in the best way possible. With Bud streamlining many of their business processes, our clients are then able to concentrate on growing their provision and delivering high quality training to all of their learners.”

Megan has a degree in theatre and performance, but you won’t find her making a drama out of a crisis. Known for being cool, calm and collected, Megan receives nothing but positive feedback for her implementation training:

“Megan has been superb throughout all our training sessions offering clear, thoughtful guidance and ensuring there is always plenty of time and flexibility built in to field our many questions. The tone, pace and feel of each session is excellent and very much aligned with the high standards Bud puts across in all aspects of its services. Bud continues to feel the right choice at each and every stage.”

Paul Glaeser – Account Delivery Consultant

Paul Glaeser joined Bud last year with the hope of finding a new challenge. He wanted a role that would allow him to utilise his current skills and learn new ones. Paul is known for going above and beyond for his clients. As an aspiring triathlete he’ll scale mountains or swim oceans if that’s what it takes to help his clients succeed.

Despite joining Bud in the midst of Lockdown 2.0, Paul has built a great relationship with the rest of his team. Paul says:

“The culture in our team is brilliant. We have varying backgrounds and skills and that really works for us. Everyone supports everyone to get the job done to the best level possible.”

When asked what the future holds for Bud, Paul said “I see Bud continuing to grow and bring in the largest providers in the country. I want to be a part of that journey and see myself continuing to work with the great people around me – the team, our existing customers and the new providers that join us.”

Katy Hopwood – Account Delivery Consultant

Katy Hopwood also joined Bud in the middle of the pandemic. Fortunately, she is no stranger to remote working having lost her passport in India and been stuck there for over six weeks. With a proven track record of completing challenging projects and forming partnerships with clients to fulfil objectives, Katy came to Bud and hit the ground running.

“Every day at Bud is different,” says Katy. “My favourite part of the job is definitely helping clients to improve their offering.

“The training industry is so complex and providers have so many challenges they have to overcome on a daily basis. Helping clients to implement Bud and to resolve a lot of these issues is so rewarding.”

“Being able to work with group of like-minded people is great” says Katy. “We’re dedicated to helping our clients deliver the very best vocational training. We all have experience in the sector and can combine our knowledge to support clients. Whether our customers need help with the ILR, ESFA rules or ALS, there’s always someone on hand to offer their expertise. Being a part of something like that is really rewarding”.

Emily Langford Young – Implementations Project Manager

Emily Langford-Young is the newest member of the customer success team. Having worked as a project manager at three other companies, however, she is no stranger to her role as project implementation manager.

“I joined Bud as it presented an exciting challenge in an industry that would really allow me to make a difference” said Emily. “Bud is unique in the sense that it was built by combining deep sector knowledge with the greatest minds in software development. We are always looking to improve training and learner outcomes through software and we’re currently working on a number of exciting new product areas. Being able to oversee this and watch our visions come to life is really rewarding”.

When asked where Emily hopes to see Bud in the future, she said “more and more training providers are switching to Bud. In fact, we’ve got a larger market share of enterprise level ITPs than any other platform.

“I would love to see Bud continue to grow this market share and, of course, continue to develop our product to help our customers deliver the very best vocational training”.

Craig Robinson – Account Delivery Consultant

As one of the newest recruits to this ever-expanding team, Craig Robinson has been with Bud for just six months. He has, however, already made an impact with the clients racking up multiple compliments from his implementation training:

“Craig has been superb from start to finish, not just regarding his knowledge of the Bud system and how he delivers the content of the sessions, but also with his engaging attitude and willingness to go above and beyond to help us.”

With over 12 years in the industry, Craig, like Paul, was keen to utilise the skills he had learned in a different way. “Bud has given me the opportunity to expand my skill set,” said Craig. “One of the things I love about working at Bud is that I am always learning. Every week is different and every week I learn something new. Our team has different strengths and experiences that we can support each other with and it’s a pleasure to be a part of something like that.”

Alistair Wakefield – Account Delivery Consultant

With over 15-years experience in the training industry, Alistair Wakefield has a demonstrated history of working in the professional apprenticeship training & education sector.

Having run a marathon in an impressive 3 hours and 2 minutes, you can be sure that Alistair will go the extra mile for his clients. In fact, helping, supporting and consulting with clients is Alistair’s favourite part of the job.

“Helping clients to successfully implement Bud into their workforce and realise the benefits they can get from a forward-thinking platform such as Bud is extremely rewarding. Our team has a wealth of knowledge and we use this, alongside the Bud platform, to support our clients and build successful partnerships.”

When asked where he sees Bud heading in the future, Alistair says “Bud will be a one stop shop for all of our clients training needs. Regardless of funding route, or commercial offering, Bud will be able to support learners learning needs across all sectors.”

Conclusion

With more clients to look after than points scored by Craig Robinson’s beloved Birmingham City team last season, the Customer Success Team are certainly keeping busy at the moment. With a wealth of experience and a unique team bond, however, you can be sure that they will rise to any challenge.