Mark Bailes has been nominated by his colleagues to be on the DHI People series. With a decade of dedicated service at DHI, Mark has played a key role in supporting and enhancing the MIKE software experience for clients across the UK and Ireland. Outside of work, he’s also a qualified cycling guide. Learn more about Mark in this Q&A!

Hi Mark! Congratulations on recently celebrating your 10th anniversary with DHI. Please tell us a bit about your role and how your journey with the company has evolved over the past decade?

Throughout my 10 years at DHI, I have been involved in sales and support of the MIKE software to clients in the United Kingdom and Ireland. My MIKE clients include Engineering Consultants, Environmental regulators, Water companies & Aquaculture companies – so a full spectrum of the MIKE software user base.

I have always been client-facing and speaking to MIKE clients every single day keeps me grounded and reminds me the client should be the focus of everything we do. My MIKE clients ask tough questions and they demand high quality answers to in a timely manner. Providing that support is crucial to securing future MIKE revenue (Service and Maintenance Agreement renewals or new/additional Subscriptions).

My role today is to function as the first point of contact for all the UK & Ireland MIKE users (which includes many of the Global Agreement clients).

A sales and support role often comes with its share of challenges. Can you share a specific example of a time when you successfully turned a challenging client interaction into a positive experience?

Many of my client interactions start with a frustrated user. For example, their MIKE model might not be working as they expect and they come to DHI wanting our advice. Typically, I will ask a MIKE client to share their model setup and a detailed description of the behaviour they observe. My first job is to try to replicate the behaviour they describe in the current version of the software. If the issue arises because of the model setup then we can provide help and suggestions on how to do things better. If the issue arises because of a software bug then a change to the software will be required.

Support cases often act as an opportunity for me to identify a need to improve a workflow or to add a missing feature to the software. In these cases, I provide feedback to the Product Owners to consider implementation in a future MIKE release.

In the case where the client reported an issue (or we identify the workflow could be better), there is a great sense of satisfaction when I can go back to the client at later date and advise them the issue is now resolved or that a new feature has been added to the software.

What do you enjoy most about working at DHI?

The best part of the job for me is getting feedback from clients for doing a good job. This is ultimately the best metric for judging how happy our clients are.

I also must give credit to the wider team I work within. I currently sit within the WEST Customer Care team managed by Barbara White in Canada. The WEST Customer Care team members are great at sharing knowledge and helping each other out if we encounter a problem we cannot solve ourselves.

Usually, one of the team members will have seen the issue previously or will have some ideas on how to move a situation forward. I also have the backup of the wider 2nd level support team who back me up when I encounter more complex support cases.

Is there an aspect of your job that might surprise people or that you find particularly interesting and rewarding?

Every day in my job is different – I never know what I might be asked. I also don’t always have all the answers on hand but I enjoy the challenge of finding those answers. There is no typical day – I field questions on installation and licencing through to technical support on software features.

When clients are scoping out or bidding for future projects, they often ask me about the wider capabilities of the MIKE software. They are often looking at using aspects of the MIKE software they have not encountered before. These kinds of interactions are crucial for ensuring MIKE is selected for a project long before the actual project starts.

If you could choose any job in the world, what would it be and why?

Outside DHI, I’m a qualified and experienced cycle guide and am often out and about leading cycling groups. I get a great sense of satisfaction from showing a group around a new area. My role is to ensure everyone has a good day out and as such my bike rides always include cake – either something homemade or failing that we will head to a local café for much needed sustenance! If I won the lottery tomorrow I’d probably do more of this.