Vix Employee Spotlight – Melissa Scothorne, Head of Support Service & Business Analyst

Vix Employee Spotlight - Melissa Scothorne, Head of Support Service & Business Analyst

20 August 2024, UK

This month we head to Leeds, United Kingdom to shine the Employee Spotlight on Melissa Scothorne, Head of Support Service & Business Analyst.

Melissa has been with Vix for over 8 years. She is recognized for her determination to succeed, exceptional organizational abilities, and dedication to efficiency. Melissa consistently excels at accomplishing tasks.

Read on to learn more about Melissa.

What is your current role?

Head of Support Services & Business Analyst

What is your remit?

At present I wear two hats at Vix. I still retain much of the business analysis work pertinent to operations and support the Global Head of Operations with data analysis, business cases, and other publications. I now also oversee the L1 Service Desk function in the UK and US, as well as Vix Change & Problem Management, ensuring compliance to standards and continuous improvement in our processes.

What would you say drives you?

I really thrive on accomplishment, and am driven by a strong desire to "get things done" as efficiently as possible. I'm the sort of person who makes spreadsheets for my day to day life.

What would you say inspires you?

Good engagement. Positive feedback and appreciation are very effective for me and make me want to continue whatever behavior resulted in praise. Seeing other people go above and beyond inspires me to do the same.

How long have you been in the transit industry?

I'm just about to hit my 10 year Vix anniversary, so, about that long. Prior to Vix I worked in accounting, and prior to that, the biomedical industry.
"If you and your team could do one "all expenses paid" activity together…"

Ignoring whimsical answers like taking a rocket to the moon (which we would absolutely do, well, most of us…), I'd plan a day out with a meal and a bit of special interest. Most of us on the service desk(s) are interested in some sort of gaming/nerdiness, so it would be fun to go to something like Comic-Con and I bet a few of us would even do the full costume routine. The rest would certainly enjoy the spectacle of laughing at us, and everyone needs to eat. For some of us it's "gaming," for the rest, it's "sitting around in costumes drinking." Win-win.

How did you end up in this career?

My husband works for Vix, and has enlisted my assistance with some data analytics and reporting. His line manager at the time got to know me and put me forward for an admin vacancy a couple of years later, and I've been here ever since.

What do you like most about your career?

What career goals are you working towards?

I'm currently working on Data Analytics Level 4 apprenticeship (through Vix).

In addition to this apprenticeship (and the data science one that follows it), I'd like to progress getting ITIL certification for the rest of my team. I'm fairly happy where I am at present with good work/life balance and I enjoy what I do, but long term, maybe look at other leadership opportunities in the business.

If you had a chance to dedicate six months to only one project, what would it be?

I'd love to have the time to really focus on cleaning up aged tickets and old, legacy automations, workflows, and other elements on our ITSM system. We've been nibbling away at this for the last few years but it is always on the back burner. If I had 6 months with no other distractions, this is what I would try to fix, because it would create better QOL for my teams, and all teams working on the system, with less administrative overhead required to process tickets. And would give us more accurate data outputs too, you know, for all my spreadsheets..:)

How do you wind down after work?

I have four adorable cats who have the uncanny sense of knowing "when work is over" and begin circling, awaiting their feeding. Once that is taken care of, I settle in for online gaming for the evening or curl up in bed with a good sci-fi novel.

What's the best piece of professional advice you've ever received?

"If you always do what you've always done, you'll always have what you've always had." This, and variants of it, remind me that just because we've always done something a certain way, doesn't mean that it can't be improved (or indeed, that it is even a good way at all). I focus on the final outcome I'm working toward and find the best way to get there without getting stuck in the quagmire of precedent.

Have you ever visited another Vix office? Which would you like to visit most?

I'm closest to the Leeds office, but I've been down to the Vix office in Cambridge several times over the years (the current one and two previous ones) as well as the old Bolton office. I wouldn't mind visiting some of our international locations at some point to meet some of the folks I work with face to face.

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