Michael Y.

Michael Y. has a diverse work experience spanning over two decades. Michael began their career as an Instructor at International House Language Services Group, where they taught General English to adults and young learners. Michael also facilitated social activities for students and participated in teacher training sessions.

Michael then worked as an Instructor at International Language Services, Tallinn, where they taught Business English and Communication to adults and led exam preparation courses.

At International House Language Services Group, Michael continued their teaching career, this time as an Instructor of Business English. Michael conducted needs assessments, developed customized curriculums, and administered level exams for students.

In 2004, Michael joined St Giles International as an Instructor of English as a Foreign Language. Michael taught group and one-on-one lessons on various topics such as conversational English, English for business and special purposes, and exam preparation.

From 2002 to 2008, Michael held the position of Operations Manager at Herrang Dance Camp. Michael managed the cafe and facilities for an international festival, designing processes, overseeing training and scheduling, handling inventory and financial reporting, and managing equipment repair.

In 2007, Michael joined Blurb as a Customer Support Representative, providing general and technical support for a wide range of products and services. Michael exceeded targets for response time, customer satisfaction, and volume.

Throughout their career at Blurb, Michael took on progressively more senior roles. Michael served as a Customer Support Team Lead, where they interviewed, trained, and mentored new hires. Michael also traveled to Blurb's European offices to support and train a new team of multilingual agents. During this role, they developed Blurb's first formal ticket routing and escalation process.

Michael then transitioned to the role of Training Specialist, where they trained Blurb's first-ever outsourced customer support team. Michael also designed and delivered training for a growing range of products and services. Their work was instrumental in improving customer satisfaction by 25% through the creation of content for a new knowledge management system. Additionally, they led the launch and training for a new CRM software, resulting in significant cost savings.

Next, Michael served as a Senior Training and Development Lead for Customer Support, where they designed and delivered training for local and international team members, including a comprehensive curriculum for outsourced partners. Michael also managed the entire support process for a new acquisition, ensuring minimal disruption and low customer attrition.

Their most recent role at Blurb was as a Senior Training and Development Manager, Operations. In this position, Michael brought order to a turbulent period involving a pandemic, leadership changes, support expansions, and an acquisition. Michael designed and documented new processes, trained new hires, and revamped policies, resulting in reduced return costs and increased customer and agent satisfaction.

Overall, Michael Y. has demonstrated expertise in training and development, customer support, operations management, and teaching English as a foreign language throughout their career.

Michael Y. has a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Literature from the University of California, Santa Cruz. From 2014 to 2016, they pursued a Professional Development Certificate in E-Learning Design & Development from San Francisco State University. Additionally, they obtained a Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (CELTA) from the University of Cambridge. Furthermore, they also earned a First Certificate for Teachers of Business English from the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI).