Employee perspectives - Yvonne Fischer

I'm an engineer to collaboratively solve difficult problems.

Here Yvonne Fischer, EMEA Business Development Manager for encoder products at Renishaw, explains how overcoming obstacles makes for a better engineer, business partner and team member.

I've embraced challenges since the start of my career, having graduated in the middle of an economic crisis and at a time where very few businesses were hiring. Following that, becoming the only female technical sales engineer in Renishaw Germany came with its own set of difficulties, like learning to overcome typical stereotypes in the office — and more importantly, the stereotypes believed by customers. However, over time I've learnt that facing and overcoming these issues, whether it's in career development, with customers, or when developing new tools and strategies, strengthens you and motivates you even more. Seeing the results of problem solving and the value it creates for the industry, customers and the team, is always worth it.

Solving challenges

As engineers, our primary goal is to solve customer problems— for example, in the encoders division we help overcome difficulties with motion control in devices such as surgical robots that operate on multiple axes. Understanding the technical issue, as well as building up close and trustful relationships with customers, is key in providing the best solutions for long-term business.

Initially, I found it difficult building relationships with customers because they often didn't share all details, or tested my technical knowledge, rather than providing all necessary information needed to find the core challenge of their motion control task. As I gained more experience, I saw this as an opportunity to better understand my customers and the market need. The market changes quickly, so I knew I had to stay on top of industry knowledge to secure their trust as a market expert, and, more importantly, so I could speak the customer's language. For example, over the last few years, linear encoders for machine tools has been a game changer for Renishaw's optical encoder business in the European market and has created lots of additional business opportunities within the machine tool industry. There has also been an upwards trend in robotics for improved productivity, quality, and flexibility. Both markets require technical solutions for motion control applications, which needs to be known, understood and solved by encoding technology.

Then there are the personal challenges. For example, in a previous role I had a customer I worked with for many years that always challenged me. He would call at the end of the week, just before the weekend starts, to ask me lots of technical questions. After seven years I received the usual call from him on a Friday afternoon and I was ready to offer my advice, but he explained that he was retiring and he thanked me for my support whenever he called and truly appreciated my service during our working relationship. This was a significant moment for me where I realised that listening to customers, providing necessary help and support and working harder to develop a customer relationship was worth it.

While I did often feel I had to work harder to be accepted by customers compared to my male colleagues, I realised that by taking more time to build trust and relationship meant that I usually received far more detailed and important product and market information, which helped me strengthen my knowledge ― now people come to me for guidance. I think this is hugely important for engineering businesses where there is so much competition. A customer's choice is not only down to the price and product but the support and service they receive.

Promoting collaboration

When businesses work in silos, it's difficult to share current solutions to industry challenges and help those new to the industry to create trusting relationships with their customers. Teams should instead be brought together to share their strengths and weaknesses and unify the business to bring the best solutions to businesses.

By bringing siloed teams together working to the same strategy for the same goal, businesses can increase teamwork and create strong products that stand out against competitors, especially at times where demand seems to shift. The last ten years has shown an increasing interest from the robotics sector, in the midst of a ‘robolution'. This market is still in its early stages, but the industry has seen more demand for robotic-specific solutions, whether it's for industrial, medical or service industries. Sharing customer experience among the sales team, strengthens their overall market and application knowledge, which will help them to provide excellent technical support to their customers.

Problem solving isn't simply a skill to use in everyday tasks, but a talent to refine for professional growth. Being able to face challenges head on will help teams address market issues, overcoming customer issues faster and providing more value than competitors. Effective problem-solving will also help employees foster more meaningful customer relationships long-term.