Michael Clymo

At New Charter, we could tell you our people are our greatest asset. Every company says that. Instead, we’ll just show you. It’s not just something we say. We truly hire top talent and build trust through shared values, and that’s what drives us forward.

We believe in investing in our people first. When we do that, it shows. From how we collaborate, how we execute, and the level of service we bring to this ever-evolving industry.

So, who are the faces behind all this momentum?

Meet Michael Clymo, our Information Technology Help Desk Technician.

I’ve been part of New Charter for the last year. I started when the IT team consisted of only 2 people, and New Charter had only about 40 employees. We’ve doubled in size since I started. I’ve definitely seen the company grow and change in more ways than one in the 1 year I’ve been here and still am excited for the changes to come as we continue to grow!

The most common thing people don’t realize about working at the IT helpdesk is how technical skills are only just part of the equation. While technical skills are important, social skills are often equally important, and sometimes more so.

While I’ve expanded my technical skills greatly while working at New Charter, my social skills have also improved drastically in the last year. I genuinely enjoy working with people to ensure their essential tools are working, as well as getting to know my coworkers and building connections that go beyond IT!

If I could forever fix one issue, it would probably be SharePoint sharing issues. SharePoint is something we rely on heavily at NCT and is our main way to share and collaborate on files. SharePoint can be quirky when it comes to sharing files, which can require navigating deep into the settings to resolve the issue. In some cases, specific SharePoint sites, such as those attached to Teams Shared Channels, also have limitations on who you can share files with.

I’m always happy to find workarounds to ensure that sharing files is as seamless as possible across the company!

Over the last year, things occasionally got very hectic as the company grew, implemented new tools, and worked to make sure those tools were properly secured. During these times, my team and I were in constant communication, whether that be through a Teams chat, or having weekly calls to share updates and receive guidance when roadblocks arose.

We’ve gotten to know each other on a personal level and really understand each other’s skills and strengths. We are always happy to jump in with our specialties to ensure tasks are completed in a timely manner, with the quality that people expect from us!

A fact that may surprise my coworkers is that, in addition to my role at New Charter, I’m currently a student pursuing my bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems. I always try to make myself available whenever I’m needed, which sometimes will include working outside of my normal working hours. But outside of work, I’m finishing up my bachelor’s degree so I can continue to advance in the IT field.

I’m excited to finish my degree so I can advance in the field and in my role here at New Charter so I can continue to serve the New Charter community!

If I could give my ‘first week at New Charter’ self a piece of advice, it would be to take the time to learn from others and not expect to immediately be good at everything. When I first started at New Charter, I was eager to solve problems and be up to speed on the company’s operations. I think I rushed things and had too high of expectations for myself.

Over the last year, though, I’ve come to understand that I’ll always be learning, and that it’s good to test theories, ask questions, and give myself the proper opportunities to learn and improve. I’m a lot more confident in the fact that I may not always know, but I can always learn and figure it out!

A win that’s happened in the last week would be a project I took on regarding applying new fonts to all New Charter devices for the brand change. While I didn’t know exactly how I was going to push these fonts to said devices, I was able to theorize different ways to do this task, and research what would be the most efficient way to accomplish it.

In the end, I was able to figure out a way to efficiently deploy the fonts to all devices and learned a few new things that would be helpful for future projects. A small win, but it provided me with skills that I will be able to use moving forward and introduced me to new tools I didn’t know existed before!