What We Talk About When We Talk About Care

“They’re the most passionate and committed people I’ve ever worked with,” says Sanchez Brown, Senior Supervisor of Global Support, about his team at Audible. Brown has had an incredible ten-year journey with Audible, first joining in Jamaica as a customer support agent and then transferring to New Jersey, where he manages a team of customer support leads at our headquarters in Newark. Compassionate, community-minded, and customer-obsessed, Brown and his team help listeners around the world quickly resolve issues so they can stay informed, entertained, and inspired. It’s teams like Brown’s that help garner a 95% customer satisfaction rating for Audible’s customer support.

To best assist customers, Brown says it’s not just about understanding what the problem is, but also why it matters to the customer. “It’s all about showing compassion and offering great, practical support after really understanding peoples’ needs.” This mentality goes a long way toward delighting our customers, but it’s also why teams across Audible unite and find the right solution every time. “We obviously have a hyper focus on the customer, but it goes beyond this,” Brown says. “I see everyone here exercising a certain genuine level of care for one another — to build up our fellow employees and help them succeed.”

That kind of care is especially important for a team that spans the globe. Brown and his team draw on expertise from different geographic locations in order to successfully manage customers across time zones. It’s no easy task, but Brown says that it’s made easier by teammates who are patient, empathetic, and eager to lend an ear. “I've never worked at a company where the people are so caring about the product and the delivery of service around it.”

Even during the pandemic, when Brown and his team have had to swiftly adapt to new processes and technologies, they’ve maintained the outstanding level of customer care Audible is known for. Brown encourages his team to also turn their compassion inward and book their own calendars with personal breaks. “It’s so important to rest, and it’s great that Audible recognizes that,” he says. He takes immense pride in working for an organization that not only says it cares, but shows it through Activate Caring initiatives that support Audible’s local communities or through company benefits. This, he says, is the key ingredient to a winning business.

Another key ingredient is mentorship. Brown says, “Mentorships are just another way we show we care about our colleagues and I believe it’s crucial to growth and development — not just on a personal level, but on the team and organization level as well.” In fact, Brown went through a rotation of mentorship when he was a junior manager. “Early on in my career, I was paired with a senior manager for about 90 days and it really opened my eyes — gave me the opportunity to learn more from some really intimate feedback.” As a senior supervisor, Brown is now passing down his own experience and learnings to his team.

Despite being busy managing a global team, Brown makes time to give back to his community. He particularly values two volunteer events he participated in with Audible colleagues: the transformation of Washington Park — located next to Audible’s offices in Newark — to give it a new life for the neighborhood to enjoy, and the annual Covenant House sleep out to raise community awareness and funds for homelessness.

“The sleep out was tough but really eye-opening,” he says. “It was winter when we did it, and even with a sleeping bag and cardboard boxes, we were all freezing cold. It really makes you understand how hard people have it. Sometimes these things can be overwhelming, and you don’t know where to start so it’s great that Audible is behind you, encouraging you to get involved and make a difference.”