With a career that began in graphic design and evolved through education and creative production, Jeff Ross brings a unique blend of hands-on experience and teaching expertise to his role at Aproove. From his early days as a design educator, to becoming a power user of Aproove Work Management software at AAA Life Insurance, Jeff’s journey is driven by curiosity, creativity, and a passion for helping others succeed. Now, as Aproove's Customer Success Manager, he's at the heart of user support, training and documentation—making sure our customers get the most from their Aproove experience. We chat to Jeff about his background, current role, and where Aproove is headed in 2025!
What was your career path before joining the Aproove team?
My career began in graphic design. Six years in, I began teaching evening classes at a local college. I had a blast doing what I loved by day and instructing aspiring design students by night. My career in creative roles spanned over 20 years, mostly focused on production. I continued teaching, which led to roles in education administration, including Design System Coordinator, Design Director, and Dean of Academics. My passion had shifted from design to education/training.
After 12 years in education, I returned to my production roots, accepting a position at AAA Life Insurance. They had just adopted Aproove WM to redefine how they managed their direct mail campaigns. I took well to the product, and quickly became a power user. The more I learned about Aproove’s inner workings, the more I sought to know. I soon became a system administrator, helping to implement team-specific workflows and utilize Aproove to its fullest.
As my affinity for the Aproove product grew, so did my desire to work there. The stars aligned, and here I am!
Can you describe your role at Aproove?
As a Customer Success Manager, I support our users through hands-on ticket management, detailed product documentation, and comprehensive admin training. This role keeps me deeply embedded in the product, driven by curiosity, and always in tune with the latest features and enhancements.
I fully own all Level 1 and Level 2 support tickets from start to resolution. For tickets that escalate to Level 3 or Level 4, I remain closely involved—actively monitoring their progress to ensure they’re advancing, even if the final resolution lies outside my direct ownership.
In my day-to-day, I make sure tickets are moving forward and customers receive timely, transparent updates. I also lead product training for all new Aproove employees, ensuring they start with a strong foundation.
Working at the support desk gives me visibility into documentation gaps, which I continuously address—adding clarity, context, and incorporating new features as they’re released.
What do you like most about Aproove Work Management software? What is your favourite feature?!
The sophistication of Aproove WM can efficiently solve very complex use cases. It is a rewarding challenge to help our customers arrive at the best configurations to meet their business needs.
Although difficult to settle on just one, Tags is my favorite feature. Tags can be static or dynamic, drive workflow automation, affect Note and Proof visibility, visually communicate status, and more! I am amazed at how many use cases tags can solve.
What is a typical day like for you? What are you currently working on?
My first priority is the support desk. This entails providing answers and updates to customers, moving tickets to the appropriate level, and internally collaborating to solve ticket issues. The remaining time in my day is typically spent on creating and updating documentation for admins and end users alike.
Currently, I am working on updating the curriculum for the admin training program that begins next month. Many new features and improvements have been made to the admin since the program last ran a few months ago.
Anything exciting that we can look forward to development-wise for Aproove in 2025?!
The groundwork is being laid for an Aproove Academy, an online learning platform featuring SME-led video learning courses on feature configuration and usage. While there is no release date scheduled, a great deal of work will be done in 2025.
