Meet Stephen Keating – People Not Products

Discussing that no two days are the same, we interview our colleague, Stephen Keating for People Not Products. He talks about career change into the IT sector in Glasgow and always doing his best to keep the customer happy, focusing on what they need, then working to provide that for them.

Can you tell us a bit about your career journey and what led you to Aspen Solutions?

IT was a complete career pivot for me with Covid acting as the catalyst. My previous career was in fire and flood restoration but with the pandemic and furlough it didn’t seem as stable as it did before. I went back to school to study networking, aiming to find a job in the IT sector as soon as possible. After completing my third year, I achieved my degree with distinction and the head of department arranged the trial/interview with Aspen, and I never looked back.

What does a typical day in your role look like, and what do you enjoy most about it?

It has similarities to my last role in that no two days are the same, there’s always something different on any given day. It’s very busy, a typical day sometimes feels like if you blink, you’ll miss it! Most enjoyable for me is helping people solve their problems—it could be a monitor not working or a programme not running—but it’s satisfying to know I improved someone’s day.

What’s been your most memorable moment or achievement at Aspen Solutions so far?

For me, being completely green to the industry when I started with Aspen, I’m proud of how much I have learned. There are so many different ways that customers utilize IT—on-prem, hybrid, or cloud-based—and it makes your head spin at first, but I feel like I have come a long way since then and have learned a lot more about the industry.

What skills or qualities do you think are essential for success in your role?

Handling the fast pace is essential, the calls can be relentless at times so being able to cope with that pressure is a must. I think curiosity is important too, you need to want to understand how things work in order to fix them, and always ask questions if you don’t know. I’d also say that empathy is an essential quality for any service role. Understanding how your customers are feeling goes a long way toward giving them good service.

How would you describe the culture at Aspen Solutions, and what makes it a great place to work?

At Aspen, all staff always do their best to keep the customer happy, focusing on what they need, then working to provide that for them. This gets done by a variety of different people from sales and warehouse to helpdesk. On the helpdesk, the team is great and always willing to chip in on problems and work together to resolve them.

What advice would you give to someone looking to build a career in your field?

Go for it! I was 35 when I decided to change careers and move into IT which was scary then and still is at times if you come across something you have maybe never seen before, but the more you see, the more you learn, and it becomes less daunting every day. I regret that it took me so long to make the change.

When you’re not at work, how do you like to unwind and relax?

Married with 2 kids so there’s usually something going on, but any downtime I get, as with most IT guys, is either gaming, or gaming!

Our thanks to Stephen for a great interview! If we can we help your business with cloud based solutions, cyber security, IT support or print management – please get in touch at hello@aspensolutions.co.uk

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