How Phenom is Redefining Customer Care for a Customer-Obsessed Era

In today’s fast-paced world, customers expect more than just answers — they also want meaningful solutions delivered before they even realize there’s a problem. At Phenom, our approach to customer success combines AI-powered self-service technology with people-first solutions, ensuring that every interaction delivers value and drives success.

Customer Obsession Day 2024 served as the perfect stage to explore how when combining intuitive and easy-to-use technology, with people-first customer care,  a candidate experience can be created that drives long lasting talent transformation. To tell this story Phenom brought together industry leaders, experts, and customers to redefine what it means to deliver exceptional customer care and experiences.

The first chapter, “Evolution of Customer Care,” highlighted Phenom’s journey from a product-focused company to a champion of customer success. This shift reflects a commitment to building partnerships that deliver measurable value and lasting impact. Our mission — “Helping a billion people find the right work” — drives the approach to customer care, ensuring every tool, interaction, and solution aligns with what customers truly need.

Watch the complete episode here or continue reading for the highlights from Chapter 1.

From Product-Centric to Customer-Centric: Phenom’s Evolution

Phenom’s evolution from a product-focused company to a customer-centric one is more than just a shift in strategy—it’s a redefinition of how success is measured. This transformation isn’t just about creating innovative technology; it’s about enabling customers to achieve their goals with confidence and ease.

The Journey to Customer Obsession

Phenom’s journey began with a single app designed to help recruiters find the right candidates faster. Over time, that app evolved into the Phenom Intelligent Talent Experience platform, offering over 50 integrated, AI-powered products to address every stage of the talent lifecycle.

But as we grew, so did our understanding of what truly matters — customers’ success. While innovation remains a cornerstone, Phenom shifted its focus to delivering people-first solutions, prioritizing outcomes over features.

Hari Bayireddi, our President, COO & Co-Founder, shared, “True transformation happens when we stop thinking about products and start thinking about people.”

What Does Customer-Centricity Look Like?

Customer-centricity at Phenom means moving beyond reactive problem-solving to proactive, value-based engagement. It’s about anticipating needs, addressing challenges before they arise, and aligning with customer goals.

Here’s how Phenom brings this philosophy to life:

• Proactive Monitoring: Tools like APM detect and address potential issues before they impact performance.

• Tailored Expertise: Customers are matched with specialists who understand their unique challenges and priorities.

This approach resonates with modern customers, who expect:

• Speed: Quick resolutions to challenges.

• Quality: Reliable solutions that meet promises.

• Proactivity: Support that identifies and solves issues before they’re noticed.

"We are not just here to offer cutting-edge technology; we are here to deliver experiences that are effortless, meaningful, and designed to help you succeed." – Hari Bayireddi, President. COO & Co-Founder, Phenom

A Tailored Ecosystem for Personalized Customer Support

Delivering exceptional customer care requires more than just tools — it demands an ecosystem of dedicated teams that understand the unique needs of every customer. This approach ensures that customers receive proactive and personalized support at every stage of their journey

Specialized Teams for Key Customer Personas

We recognize that no two customers are alike, and that is why we built a support ecosystem flexible enough to meet diverse needs. 

• Global Delivery Team: They’re your first point of contact, ensuring you hit the ground running. From onboarding to go-live, this team helps you set up the platform smoothly and confidently.

• Global Customer Care Team: Once you’re live, this team steps in to keep everything running like clockwork. Their focus? Ensuring platform stability and helping you unlock its full potential.

• Customer Value Management Team: This team works alongside you to align Phenom’s capabilities with your long-term goals, ensuring you’re achieving measurable results every step of the way.

• Account Management Team: Think of them as your strategic partners. They help map out the road ahead, offering guidance on how to maximize the platform as your needs evolve.

Involving multiple teams to provide comprehensive support gives a proactive engagement at every stage of the customer support journey, making the customer heard and understood at all times.

Focus on HRIT Professionals

Let’s talk about one of the most critical personas Phenom supports: HRIT professionals. These are the people behind the scenes, working on the platform so that it operates smoothly within your organization. Historically, their interactions with support teams were reactive — fixing problems after they arose.

This relationship has been completely reimagined. Instead of waiting for issues, the team works to prevent them from happening in the first place. Whether it’s addressing potential bottlenecks or providing insights to maximize ROI, the focus is on adding value at every step.

As Hari Bayireddi, President, COO, and Co-Founder explains, "We want to ensure you feel supported at every stage of your journey with Phenom."

For HRIT professionals, it is about being equipped with the tools, guidance, and expertise to stay ahead. Phenom’s support is designed to help them optimize the platform and deliver greater impact to their organizations. It’s customer care with a human touch — personalized, empowering, and always a step ahead.

The proactive support Phenom delivers to HRIT professionals is part of a larger ecosystem — embodied in its Global Customer Care strategy.

Inside Global Customer Care (GCC): The Backbone of Support

As Phenom continues to prioritize customer success, the GCC team plays a critical role in delivering proactive and personalized support. Their efforts extend beyond solving problems — they ensure that customers feel supported every step of the way.

Comprehensive Support for 700+ Customers

The GCC team is more than a help desk—it’s a full-service support organization providing 24/7 global coverage. With over 700 customers worldwide, GCC’s expertise is segmented into:

• Product Specialists: Experts aligned with Phenom’s engineering and delivery teams, focused on resolving technical issues with speed and precision.

• Customer-Focused Teams: Professionals dedicated to monitoring the health of customer integrations, managing tickets, and ensuring the customer’s voice is represented within Phenom.

As Mark MacDonald, VP of Global Customer Care, explains, "We are more than a help desk; we are a full-service support organization."

The Tools Driving Excellence

When it comes to maximizing your HR technology investment, having the right combination of self-service tools and expert support makes all the difference. Phenom's comprehensive support approach combines powerful technology with dedicated expertise, ensuring you have everything needed to succeed.

Here’s how these tools make a difference:

• HRIT Hub:  Your Complete Platform Command Center - This next-generation hub transforms how HRIT teams manage their Phenom experience. Through a single, comprehensive interface, you can control all account configurations, user access, security settings, and integrations.
  
  HRIT Hub significantly expands self-service capabilities with built-in identity management tools, robust security features like SSO and two-factor authentication, and streamlined integration management through APM Monitoring.
  
  HRIT Hub empowers your team to handle configurations independently and reduces reliance on support for basic needs, ultimately saving time and resources while maintaining complete control of your Phenom instance.

• Application Performance Monitoring (APM) - Available with Advanced and Premium Support packages, APM serves as your platform's watchtower. This self-service tool provides real-time monitoring of ATS integrations, job syncs, and API flows that delivers real time alerts, allowing for quick internal communication, and collaboration with Phenom's experts.
  
  Advanced and Premium support customers receive additional TSAM assistance with monitoring and alert guidance.

• AppTrail - serves as your comprehensive audit and compliance tool, providing detailed insight into every action taken within your Phenom platform. It creates a clear audit trail that helps you track exactly what changes were made, by whom, and when - giving you the visibility and documentation needed for security compliance and system governance.
  
  When combined with HRIT Hub, AppTrail provides peace of mind that all platform activities are monitored, logged, and readily available for audit purposes.

• Additional Self-Service Tools - Every customer gains access to essential resources including the support portal, Phenom User Community, platform monitoring, and Phenom Explorer (LMS) to ensure you have the knowledge and support needed to succeed.

But tools alone don’t define customer care. The GCC team takes these innovations a step further by blending automation with human expertise. Routine tasks — like monitoring and ticket prioritization — are handled through automation, while team members focus on value-driven, personalized interactions.

As Mark MacDonald notes, the goal is simple: "to deliver a customer experience that is proactive, transparent, and aligned with your strategic goals."

GCC isn’t just about solving problems; it’s about building trust, providing actionable insights, and ensuring customers feel empowered every step of the way. From the tools they use to the expertise they provide, GCC is designed to make your experience with Phenom not just successful—but exceptional, guaranteeing a long term success.

Proactive Support for Long-Term Success

Our commitment to customer obsession doesn’t end with initial onboarding. The focus shifts to long-term success, where strategic governance and seamless day-to-day management ensure customers can unlock the full potential of the platform

Governance and Planning Post-Go-Live

Governance is essential for post-go-live success. Phenom helps businesses establish clear ownership models by defining who is responsible for technical vs. business tasks, assigning champions within customer teams, and ensuring budgets align with support needs. 

For example, a well-structured governance model can streamline release testing and integration monitoring, reducing friction between teams. The first 90 days post-go-live are critical for adoption and long-term success. Phenom’s approach focuses on:

• First 30 Days: Hypercare to stabilize the platform and drive adoption.

• First 90 Days: Strategic alignment to embed the platform into workflows and maximize ROI.

While governance lays the groundwork for success, Phenom’s use of automation and augmentation provides customers experience seamless, high-impact interactions.

Managing Business-As-Usual (BAU) Support

Managing business-as-usual (BAU) tasks becomes essential for long-term success after the platform go-live. Phenom helps customers handle:

• Change Management: Implementing updates without disrupting workflows.

• Integration Monitoring: Identifying and resolving potential issues across connected systems.

• Release Testing: Ensuring new updates work seamlessly with existing configurations.

Phenom also provides tools that enhance transparency and empower customers to handle routine challenges independently:

• HRIT Hub: A self-service tool for troubleshooting and resolving common issues.

• App Trail: Offers a clear audit trail of platform actions, improving control and visibility.

"Global Customer Care is about customer obsession, not just experience." - Mark MacDonald, VP of Global Customer Care.

Our proactive approach, supported by innovative tools and dedicated teams, makes our customers feel empowered to adapt and succeed well beyond go-live. Now, in the evolving world of customer experience, automation and augmentation are no longer buzzwords — they are essential strategies driving efficiency and personalization.

Automation vs. Augmentation: The Future of Customer Experience

At Phenom, the focus is on leveraging automation and augmentation in harmony to deliver next-level customer care.

• Automation: Handles repetitive, transactional tasks that follow well-defined processes. Think of automation as the engine behind tasks like regression testing, proactive monitoring, and providing instant updates on ticket statuses.
  
  It frees up valuable time by ensuring routine operations are handled with precision and speed.

• Augmentation: Brings humans into the loop to combine the efficiency of technology with the creativity and empathy of human expertise. Phenom uses augmentation to empower its teams to provide strategic, high-value insights and personalized guidance where it matters most.

How Automation Works at Phenom

Phenom has embedded automation into its customer care ecosystem to guarantee consistency, reliability, and rapid response times:

• Proactive Issue Resolution: Tools like APM (Application Performance Monitoring) provide real-time alerts, allowing Phenom to detect potential issues before they escalate.

• Regression Testing with QA Hub: Automated testing gives updates and integrations run smoothly, reducing disruptions and downtime.

• Transparent Processes: Self-service tools like HRIT Hub empower customers to resolve common issues independently, while App Trail provides an audit trail for full transparency.

While automation handles the routine, augmentation amplifies the impact of human expertise. Augmentation focuses on areas where empathy, creativity, and strategic thinking are critical:

• Personalized Advice: The GCC team leverages automation to identify patterns and insights, allowing team members to provide tailored recommendations that align with customer goals.

• Complex Problem Solving: For challenges requiring nuanced decision-making, in-house experts step in with their deep understanding of both the technology and the customer’s unique needs.

• Collaborative Governance: Augmentation enables teams to work alongside customers to set up governance models, troubleshoot complex integrations, and adapt to changing needs.

Related: The Power of AI & Automation in Revolutionizing Hiring for Small & Mid-Sized Organizations

For instance, during a platform go-live, automation through APM flags any potential bottlenecks instantly, while GCC team uses augmentation to step in and guide the customer’s team through strategic adoption processes.

Phenom envisions a future where the synergy between automation and augmentation becomes even more seamless. Here’s what’s on the horizon:

• Predictive Analytics: Using AI to anticipate customer needs before they’re even aware of them, creating a truly proactive experience.

• Human-AI Collaboration: Expanding augmentation to enable Phenom’s teams to co-create solutions with customers, blending technology-driven insights with personalized human input.

By combining the speed and efficiency of automation with the empathy and creativity of human expertise, Phenom is redefining customer experience. Every interaction, whether automated or human-driven, is meaningful, impactful, and designed to help customers succeed.

Achieving Success Through Customer Obsession

Our approach to customer care is not just a response to evolving expectations — it’s a proactive redefinition of what exceptional support looks like in the HR tech industry. By blending AI-powered tools with a human-first philosophy, Phenom empowers its customers to go beyond solving immediate problems to achieving long-term strategic goals.

From the tailored support of specialized teams to governance models for post-go-live success, Phenom creates an environment where every interaction delivers value. Tools like HRIT Hub and App Trail simplify routine operations, while automation and augmentation unlock new possibilities for efficiency and expertise.

At its core, Phenom’s customer obsession isn’t just about providing support — it’s about building trust, creating partnerships, and driving measurable results for businesses. Whether you’re navigating the complexities of post-go-live adoption or looking to scale with confidence, Phenom is your partner in success.

The journey to becoming a customer-obsessed organization is ongoing, and the commitment to innovation and collaboration ensures its customers remain at the forefront of this transformation.

Ready to see how Phenom can redefine your customer experience? Connect with our team to learn more today or reach out to your Account Manager to learn more.