Team Deltek’s Katie Aceto: Providing a Positive Customer Experience For Deltek Project Nation

In this month’s #TeamDeltek spotlight, we chatted with Katie Aceto, a Principal Customer Success Manager in Deltek’s award-winning customer care organization. For the last nine years, Katie has been part of the team responsible for working with our customer community - making sure these project-based businesses have the support and information they need to power their success. 

During our conversation, Katie shared with us how the team has been able to overcome challenges associated with COVID-19, what it means to celebrate Customer Service Week and what keeps her busy when she’s not focused on providing a positive experience for Deltek Project Nation!

Katie, can you tell us a little about how you got into customer service and what you are responsible for at Deltek?

Throughout my career I’ve been responsible for communicating with customers, so joining the Customer Care organization here at Deltek was an easy decision.

I’m currently a Principal Customer Success Manager, working specifically with GovWin IQ clients. My main role is supporting GovWin IQ by engaging with customers – and providing expertise on their solutions by highlighting key features and functionality – which allows  them to execute their business development intelligence objectives.

Getting to know our customers and being able to provide them what they need must be very fulfilling. Can you share an example of what it’s like to support Deltek Project Nation?

There are so many examples, but here is one that particularly stands out. In 2018, I received a new territory and worked hard to get to know the needs of each customer. There was one particular customer that just didn’t have the time to properly implement and communicate the value of GovWin IQ to their internal stakeholders. So I committed to work with them in whatever way they preferred to help them get value. It took two years of effort between me and the point of contact, but we planned and executed specific value-added meetings to their stakeholders to fully ramp-up the information they received. The real joy came when their main point of contact sent a note after several meetings that they couldn’t have “scripted this process to unfold any better.”

With this customer and many others, I like to find creative solutions, so everyone walks away happy. There’s no secret other than to really listen to what someone is saying to help better understand where they’re coming from. Which is why playing a role in a customer’s positive experience is the most rewarding part of the job.

I’m sure our customers really appreciate all the time and effort you put into making sure they are taken care of. Has the recent shift to company-wide remote work impacted how you support Deltek’s customers? If so, what has the biggest challenge been for you and the team?

The Customer Care team was already mostly remote, including myself, so there was a relatively low impact on the way we support our clients. The most significant change has been in the different ways our customers need support and information, so adjusting to their work environment changes was the biggest impact we saw. 

Our team is committed to being a reliable partner, and even during these uncertain times we are dedicated to providing Deltek customers what they need.

With all the change that has come with COVID-19, it’s great to know that the support we provide hasn’t wavered. We also happen to be celebrating Customer Service Week – as a way to thank our team for their dedication in putting customers first. What does this week, and being part of Deltek’s Customer Care team, mean to you?

At Deltek, we celebrate our customers all year long and really focus on achieving what’s best for each individual company. I think Customer Service Week is really about continuing to celebrate this focus and recognize the teams that work hard to have a positive impact on our customers. 

I’ve typically worked in highly individualized roles, where my success is a direct result of my output, so you really have to put in the work to get to your outcome. Over the years I’ve grown to realize not only is it important to prepare for your own success, but how important it is to be part of a team. We learn so much by sharing with each other and building off each other’s success. What really means the most to me is the teamwork and the friendships that I have developed throughout my nine years of working at Deltek.

We appreciate all the hard work you and the team put into supporting Deltek Project Nation! When you are not busy working remotely, what other activities have you been focused on during quarantine?

I’ve spent as much time as I can outdoors; whether it’s just taking longer walks with my rescue dog, Colt, or refining my novice gardening skills. I’ve focused on finally getting my yard to a place that I can sit and enjoy. I love finding new plants that are dual purpose, like citronella and lemongrass, which are natural mosquito repellents and smell nice.

I’ve also spent this new found downtime to tackle a lot of home projects that usually get put on the back burner due to social activities. I’ve found my inner “Marie Kondo” when it comes to spring cleaning, which lasted well into summer cleaning.

I’m hoping next year will be full of more travels than home projects, as I like to visit new places each year. I have traveled to 26 of the 50 US states, most recently visiting Nashville, where I enjoyed a show at the Ryman Auditorium and all the live nightlife shows along Broadway.

Hopefully you'll be able to add a few more states to your list next year! But before we look too far into the future, let’s reflect a little on the past. Who has been the biggest influence on your career and why?

I had a manager early on who really taught me to recognize what I excel at and what I could improve on. That type of self-reflective outlook has really helped me as the years have gone by to realize we can’t be perfect in every aspect of our lives, but we can take what we excel at and use those skills to make improvements in other areas.  

Over time, I’ve also learned how important it is to embrace change. Things will not always go the way you’ve planned – but it’s the way you bounce back that matters. Our reactions to situations set the tone for any situation and taking your perfect plan and being able to manage the mishaps is an important life lesson.

What great pieces of advice. Ok to wrap things up – this last question we ask all of our #TeamDeltek spotlights: Of Deltek’s nine values, which one resonates most with you and why?

I would have to say both customers and collaboration are the values that resonate most with me. Focusing on customers is at the top of my list as I enjoy the daily communication with them. But also collaboration, because how customers interact with our solutions is a direct result of many people coming together to bring forward not only a great product, but a great experience. We are the voice of the customer here at Deltek and we couldn’t support them without the internal teams that support us.