
What Does a Chief Customer Officer Do?
A Q&A with Gainsight COO and Customer Success Thought Leader Allison Pickens
If you've ever wondered what a Chief Customer Officer (CCO) does, you're not alone.
That's why last week I asked Allison Pickens, Chief Operating Officer at Gainsight (the leading Customer Success platform provider), that very question.
As Allison explained, "the role of Chief Customer Officer is a very important one, but also a newly created one. It didn't exist with all that much frequency five years ago."
That newness has created a lot of ambiguity, so I wanted Allison to provide some clarity on the purpose of the role.
Allison has spoken widely on Customer Success best practices as well as on the rise of the Chief Customer Officer role and why it's so important.
We asked her to break down the CCO's responsibilities, explain the CCO's dynamic with the rest of the CS team, and share some tips for anyone with ambitions of becoming a CCO.
Read on for her answers!
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What does a Chief Customer Officer (CCO) do?
Typically this role is responsible for all client-facing functions post-sale.
So that often includes overseeing customer success management, professional services, customer support, customer operations, customer experience, and potentially an account management team that's responsible for renewing and expanding existing clients (although sometimes that team reports into sales). It may also include a pre-sales technical team (solution engineers or solution consultants).
There's not a single definition of Chief Customer Officer, but that tends to be the most common scope in terms of functional areas managed.
What metrics is a CCO held responsible for?
They're often accountable for the gross retention number - the percentage of dollars that we are preserving or renewing year over year. Often this person is also responsible for the net retention number, which includes expansions of existing clients, such as upsell or cross-sell.
What are three ways that a CCO adds value?
1) The Chief Customer Officer is aligned to revenue.
Gross retention and net retention are revenue-related targets. And therefore, if you're a CEO, one of the people that you're looking to in order to make sure that your business is growing is your Chief Customer Officer.
2) The CCO aligns various functions on the executive team around client success (and translates it into stronger revenue results).
For example…
- The Chief Customer Officers meets with the sales leader to make sure that we are selling to the right customers and that the handoff from the sales team to the professional services team is seamless.
- The CCO makes sure that the marketing team is finding customer advocates within the installed base and creating case studies based on the successes those customers have had with the product or service.
- They work with the product management team to make sure that client feedback is being heard and that actions are being taken to improve the product and the customer experience.
- The CCO might also work with engineering to ensure that there is a strong process for fixing bugs when they're discovered by clients and by the customer support team.
3) The CCO helps the executive team learn about the future strategic direction of the company based on what they've learned from clients directly and from the entire Customer Success team.
Learning from clients is very important for figuring out the future direction of the company.
If you had 30 seconds to convince an up-and-coming tech startup that they should appoint a Chief Customer Officer, what would you say?
As an up-and-coming tech start-up, you've probably been focused on finding product-market fit, as well as getting an initial set of customers who attest to the value of your product.
Your next step is to figure out how to scale your business. And if you are exclusively focused on the selling aspect of scaling and not on the customer success aspect, you will end up with a leaky bucket of clients leaving you at the same time that you're selling more clients. It's very challenging to grow a business when you have a leaky bucket. And for that reason you should invest in the customer success team and a CCO.
What should a CCO be focused on and how does that impact the rest of the CS team?
1) Own The Achievement of Financial Targets (Gross Retention, Net Retention, Services Gross Margin). The CCO should be forecasting the trends in those metrics several quarters out, so that they have a longer term view of the business. You're accountable for those targets and, therefore, for knowing the direction that those targets are heading in.
2) Set The Vision & Motivating People to Achieve Goals. Why is this set of functions so important? Why should people be excited to come to work? And in those moments when things are hard, why should people pick themselves up show up to work the next day?
3) Be Aware of the Details of What's Going on in the Organization. I think leaders in general need to operate at the level of the forest, but they also need to be able to go into the weeds in areas of critical importance.
For example, Services Gross Margin is one of those areas where the CCO needs to be focused. They should be knowledgeable about the most minute details of the financial model that builds up to the Services Gross Margin forecasting.
It's important for the CCO to be present with folks around the team, for many reasons, but partly so that the CCO knows what's going on within the team and the customer base. They should be doing round tables, one-on-ones, and generally finding ways to gather data and anecdotes that can help them make decisions.
Can you help us understand the differences between a Chief Customer Officer, a VP of Customer Success, and Director of Customer Success? And what folks in those roles need to do in order to be successful?
CCO - Vision
I talked about the responsibilities that a CCO should have: owning the most important financial targets, setting the vision, and being aware of the details in key areas.
VP of Customer Success - Strategy
A VP-level person should be able to own the next level down of operational metrics. They should understand how to set a target, how to achieve it, and how those targets contribute to the CCO's financial targets.
Where the CCO is focused on vision, the VP should be focused on strategy. So what's the path to get from point A to point B.
The VP should have deeper relationships with individual team members as well as clients. The VP of Customer Success should be aligning frequently with executives at clients.
Director of Customer Success - Tactics
A director level person typically manages individual contributors directly, where the VP might manage several directors. Each Director of Customer Success is managing probably about eight individual contributor CSMs.
The director should be able to own operational targets and design tactics for achieving those targets. For example, when we're planning for a big client meeting, how do we work with that individual CSM to design a thoughtful agenda for that meeting, cover the right things, and work through that conversation with the senior clients to get to the right outcome.
Which of these roles should a company hire for first?
As a startup at very early stages, you'll probably start with hiring one or two CSMs. It might be that those CSMs are reporting directly to a cofounder of the business.
At some point you're going to need someone who really understands strategy. As you grow, I'd recommend hiring a VP-level person who can help you be thoughtful about the way in which you're designing your methodology, especially when you get into that scaling stage. That methodology allows you to scale because it's essentially a repeatable process for achieving success for clients. So I'd recommend hiring a VP first. Eventually, as you grow your team, you'll have the need for a couple of directors who report to that VP and each of them manages individual contributors.
Once you have Customer Support, Customer Success, and potentially a Professional Services team, that's when it's valuable to hire a CCO who can manage all of these functions and ensure alignment between them.
What should someone looking to advance their Customer Success career and take on one of these leadership roles do to prepare?
If you're looking to learn about Customer Success best practices, you should come to our annual Pulse Conference and check out the Gainsight blog, as well as Pulse+, which offers regularly updated Customer Success trainings.
Finally, if you're looking to rise in your career, make sure that you're working for someone who you have a lot of respect for and who is not just going to be a friendly boss, but who will advocate for you. You should work for someone who's in your camp, fully recognizes your growth potential, and wants to help you grow over time.
Best Work-From-Home Companies 2022
Every year, PowerToFly creates a list of the best work-from-home companies. Now that over half of the U.S. workforce is remote, compiling that list was a bit more challenging.
This year, we prioritized selecting companies that are remote-friendly—meaning they have both remote and in-person roles—but they have made long-term commitments to hiring and supporting employees who choose to work from home; and we think they have the perks, values, and organizational framework to allow all employees to flourish in their careers, regardless of location.
Keep reading to see our top 15 work-from-home companies for 2022, along with a description of what they do, why we like them, and who they’re looking for.
PowerToFly's Best Work-From-Home Companies 2022:
Bumble—Create a world where all relationships are healthy and equitable
What they do:
Bumble is the parent company that operates Badoo and Bumble, two of the world’s largest dating and connection apps with millions of users globally.
Why we like them:
“We’re a diverse and international bunch, with over 600 employees working across four key offices in Austin, London, Moscow and Barcelona. We also have employees working in other parts of the world too, including Germany, Australia, Mexico and India.”
They believe the best way to create a more equitable and healthy world is by starting within. Uber offers a highly competitive benefits package with benefits that are designed to support you in your health and wellbeing, financial wellbeing, happiness, community, and learning and development.
Who they’re looking for:
Product Designers, Developers, Partnership Directors, and more!
Audible—Listen more
What they do:
Audible is an online audiobook and podcast service that allows users to purchase and stream audiobooks and other forms of spoken word content.
Why we like them:
“Audible's People Principles celebrate who we are and where we've been, and guide the way we work shoulder to shoulder to enhance the lives of our millions of customers.” This company offers exciting benefits include wellness reimbursement, fertility coverage, and childcare benefits.
Some of their other benefits include:
- Health: Dental and vision plans, life insurance, and the medical plan options that suit individual needs.
- Savings: Plan for your future with employer-matched savings accounts.
- Stock: We grant our employees Amazon restricted stock units, because we want them to think and act like owners.
- Time off: We love what we do but everyone needs the opportunity to hit the refresh button. Take advantage of vacation days, sick days, and personal days to rejuvenate.
- Social: From tickets to local events and exciting company-sponsored events, regular outings and team-building events foster our spirit of collaboration.
- Amazon discount: As part of the Amazon family, Audible employees are entitled to a discount on products on Amazon.
- Fitness: Discounted sports clubs or fitness reimbursements.
Who they’re looking for:
Software Engineers, Director of People Analytics, Strategic Advisors, and more!
ServiceNow—Making the world of work, work better for people
What they do:
ServiceNow is a cloud computing platform that delivers digital workflows that create great experiences and unlock productivity.
Why we like them:
“We strive for a fair system of opportunity and treatment for all. Competitive health, wellness benefits, zero-tolerance for any kind of discrimination, and protection from social stigmas such as mental health are core to our values and beliefs.”
Who they’re looking for:
Accounting Managers, Sales Representatives, Product Managers, and more!
OfferUp—Buy. Sell. Simple.
What they do:
OfferUp the largest mobile marketplace for local buyers and sellers in the U.S., that offers iOS and Android apps that make selling an item as easy as snapping a picture from your mobile device.
Why we like them:
“We’re a diverse team with diverse passions and skills, but we’re united by a shared commitment to helping people accomplish their goals through the power of peer-to-peer commerce.
Our company culture makes us unique. At the best companies in the world, work and life aren’t just balanced, they’re blended. Team outings, virtual celebrations and lunch-n-learns, informal gatherings, and family events keep our neighborly culture strong. We’re a diverse team with diverse passions and skills, but we’re united by a shared commitment to helping people accomplish their goals through the power of peer-to-peer commerce.”
Who they’re looking for:
Chief Technology Officer, Content Writers, Business Operations Analyst, and more!
Work & Co—Digital product design and development
What they do:
Work & Co is a digital product agency that defines and launches digital experiences people love using every day.
Why we like them:
Some of their benefits include:
- Zero Timesheets or expense reports
- 18 weeks paid parental leave
- 100% health, dental, vision coverage (they also pay your entire monthly premium and cover 70% for spouses, partners, and dependents)
- Nonelective 3% match (they contribute to every person’s retirement account regardless of their own contribution)
Who they’re looking for:
Designers, Technology Directors, Marketing and Communication Leads, and more!
Relativity—Organize data, discover the truth, and act on it
What they do:
“We create intuitive software that helps law firms, government agencies, financial institutions and other major corporations quickly find the truth in data.”
Why we like them:
Relativity's software helps users organize data and quickly identify key issues during litigation, internal investigations, and compliance projects. They offer their employees great benefits like:
- Competitive healthcare, dental, vision, life insurance, and disability plans
- Hybrid work model: In-office once we re-open, fully remote, or a mixture of both
- Unlimited Time off
- 401k matching
- 12 weeks of 100% paid leave for the primary caregiver and 6 weeks of 100% paid leave for the secondary caregiver
- 2 week-long company breaks in the winter and summer
- Wellness perks such as virtual yoga classes, financial wellness sessions, access to meditation apps, etc.
Who they’re looking for:
Software Engineers, Marketing Managers, Customer Success Managers, and more!
GoTo—We live the work-from-anywhere life, too
What they do:
GoTo provides the most-comprehensive, secure, and flexible suite of products to help businesses embrace remote work, learning and customer engagement.
Why we like them:
“For bold and creative individuals, LogMeIn provides limitless growth opportunities. We hire extraordinary talent who continually seek opportunities to tackle challenges. We pride ourselves on an inclusive culture and collaborative spirit. Speaking up and listening to others is not just encouraged here, but expected.
We thrive together and champion each other’s successes, providing our employees with rich experiences to help them develop resiliency and skills; positioning them to grow into future roles either inside or outside GoTo.”
Who they’re looking for:
Technical Writers, Global Markets, Compliance Leads, and more!
Autodesk—We make software for people who make things
What they do:
Autodesk is a global leader in design and technology.
Why we like them:
“At Autodesk, we believe flexibility in where and how work gets done will better enable our people to thrive and realize their potential. While most roles may be required to be in the office, we also have roles that are home-based, and hybrid. From implementing virtual learning platforms to promote personal/professional development, to virtual marathons, DIY craft kits, scavenger hunts to virtual wine tasting and everything in between – we’re doing our best to champion for a workplace culture that spanning boundaries and borders. That’s #Autodesklife.”
Who they’re looking for:
Engineers, UX Designers, Business Analysts, and more!
Veracode—Keeping your business confidently secure
What they do:
Veracode delivers the application security solutions and services today’s software-driven world requires.
Why we like them:
“Veracoders are dedicated to creating a world where the software fueling our economic growth and solving some of society's greatest challenges is developed secure from the start.”
Here are some great reasons to join Veracode:
- PEOPLE & TEAM: Veracoders help their peers grow, achieve, and see the best in themselves.
- CHALLENGING & INTERESTING WORK: Veracoders are passionate about solving one of the most important challenges facing our digital world, securing the software changing our world.
- INDUSTRY-LEADING TECHNOLOGIES: We are the pioneer in the AppSec market and a continued leader in secure development innovations
Who they’re looking for:
Sales Leads, Talent Acquisition Partners, Product Managers, and more!
Unstoppable Domains—Building decentralized digital identities for the world
What they do:
Unstoppable Domains brings user-controlled identity to 3 billion+ internet users by issuing domain names on the blockchain.
Why we like them:
“Unstoppable Domains’ remote, international team is made up of a wide range of diverse experiences, languages, cultures, nationalities and backgrounds. We are proud to be an inclusive employer with team members in over 18 countries.”
They’ve also offer benefits:
- Equity in the company
- Annual work from home stipend
- Crypto education program
- Full medical, dental and vision coverage
Who they’re looking for:
Art Directors, Community Managers, Growth Marketers, and more!
Helm—A team of scientists, designers, engineers, and campaigners
What they do:
Helm is building a data and technology platform for organizers and issue advocates.
Why we like them:
“We are assembling a team who understands, shares values with, learns alongside, and stands with the people who are doing the work to change the nation. We are seeking team members who want to see a more equitable future in their lifetime, and who have the passion and skills to help us get there.”
They’ve also got incredible benefits like:
- Comprehensive health plans
- Unlimited PTO
- Paid parental leave
- Paid volunteer time
- 401K
- Stipend to enhance your home office
Who they’re looking for:
DevOps Engineers, Account Managers, Customer Support Analysts, and more!
Lattice—Making work meaningful
What they do:
Lattice is the people management platform that empowers people leaders to build engaged, high-performing teams that love coming to work.
Why we like them:
“We’re growing extremely quickly, hitting all of our financial targets for the last 2 years. We also have a negative net retention rate, meaning customers are staying and growing with us.”
They’ve also got incredible benefits like:
- 401(k) package
- Maternity & Paternity leave
- Medical / Dental / Vision insurance
- Flexible equity terms
- Commuter benefits
- Learning & Development reimbursement
- Flexible time off
Who they’re looking for:
UX Writers, Account Executives, Program Managers, and more!
MongoDB—Build faster. Build smarter.
What they do:
MongoDB transforms industries and empowers developers to build amazing apps that people use every day.
Why we like them:
At MongoDB, you can grow your career in the direction that you want it to, gain new skills, experiences, and relationships that will stay with you forever.
Some of their stand-out benefits include:
- Mental health counseling and resources, and complimentary Headspace (meditation app) access
- Rich health insurance coverage, including Transgender-inclusive coverage
- Fertility and adoption financial assistance
- 20 weeks of fully paid gender-neutral parental leave, parental counseling for new parents, and flexible work arrangements
- 4 weeks of emergency care leave
- Global and internal mobility opportunities
- Equity and Employee Stock Purchase Program
Who they’re looking for:
Sales and Technical Recruiters, Product Designers, Engineers, and more!
Uber—Move the way you want
What they do:
Uber is a mobility service provider that constantly reimagines how we can move better.
Why we like them:
“We welcome people from all backgrounds who seek the opportunity to help build a future where everyone and everything can move independently. We publicly support policies that drive diversity and inclusion in the countries where we operate so that people everywhere have the right to live, work, and be their authentic selves.”
They’ve also got incredible benefits like:
- Unlimited PTO policy
- Maternity and parental leave
- Monthly Uber credits
- Medical, dental and vision coverage
Who they’re looking for:
Marketing Leads, Account Representatives, Operations Specialists, and more!
Guru—Organize company information and access it anywhere
What they do:
Guru reinvents the way people connect with meaningful information at work by providing customer-facing teams access to expert-verified information where they work and when they need it most.
Why we like them:
“At Guru, our core values bind us together, influence how we work.”
They’ve got incredible benefits like:
- Competitive salary
- Employee Stock Option Plan
- Generous health and commuter benefits
- Dog Friendly Office
- 401k Program
- The chance to contribute to an upbeat, fully engaged culture
Who they’re looking for:
Marketing Leads, Sales Development Representatives, Web Designers, and more!
Don't see what you're looking for? Check out a fill list of 5,000+ open remote roles here!
Become An Impactful Salesperson - Top Tips!
💎 In order to be an impactful salesperson, the first thing to remember is that Sales is a people to people business. Watch the video to the end to learn some tips that’ll take your sales skills to a new level!
📼 What makes you an effective and impactful salesperson? Play this video to get three top tips to learn a different side of your clients, master the art of handling objections, and demonstrate value. You'll hear from Clara Sierra, Senior Director, Business Development, Global Sales at Moody's.
📼Top tips to become an impactful salesperson #1: Become an expert on your client. A lot of clients use LinkedIn and Twitter to promote their brands. Not only use their website or google them but make sure to go into their Twitter account, follow their teammates, and their executives, looking at what they post and what they comment on Twitter and LinkedIn. This will help you to know a different side of your clients you can use to get them excited about your product.
📼 Top tips to become an impactful salesperson #2: Master the art of handling objections. Clara uses the “Feel / Felt / Found” method: when a client presents her with objections, such as “your solution is too expensive”, or “I don't need it. I don't want it. It doesn't work for me”, she will typically say, “I see how can feel that way. I have other clients who have felt that way also, but here's what we've found in order to make this solution meaningful to their business.” When you approach them from this angle,, the client who's delivering the objection feels seen. Using the “Feel / Felt / Found” method really opens up the conversation and gets you to the next stage of selling!
Become An Impactful Salesperson - Tip #3: Add Value And Tell Stories
Adding value and telling stories is so important in the sales experience, not just for your client, but for you also. You don't want to be seen as only a transactional salesperson. You want to think about the client experience. What is your product or solution going to do for your client? You want to be able to wrap a story around, what some of your other clients have found and how your product has helped them in their business. The key is to continue to expand the conversation, adding value to your client's experience and telling stories.
📨 Are you interested in joining Moody’s? They have open positions! To learn more, click here.
Get to Know Clara
Throughout a distinctive career earning her executive management positions at some of the world's largest financial services institutions, Clara Sierra has always stood apart: for her extraordinary professional relationships, her remarkable passion for sales/marketing, her unique personal background, and, most of all, for her unrelenting drive to achieve the best possible results for her employees, employers, and her clients. If you are interested in a career at Moody’s, you can connect with Clara Sierra on LinkedIn. Don’t forget to mention this video!
More About Moody’s
Moody’s is a globally integrated risk assessment firm that empowers organizations to make better decisions. Their data, analytical solutions, and insights help decision-makers identify opportunities and manage the risks of doing business with others. They believe that greater transparency, more informed decisions, and fair access to information open the door to shared progress. With over 11,000 employees in more than 40 countries, Moody’s combines international presence with local expertise and over a century of experience in financial markets.
Careers in Web Development: Which One's For You?
We all have our favorite websites– the ones we frequent, bookmark, and recommend to others. You might even enjoy some website features so much that you’ve found yourself wondering why they aren’t more popular. Or maybe you’ve experienced times where you were frustrated with a website and wished you could add features or even design your own!
If you’ve ever found yourself intrigued at the prospect of designing and developing your own websites, then a career as a web developer might be just for you!
As a web developer you would be responsible for coding, designing, optimizing, and maintaining websites. Today, there are over 1.7 billion websites in the world and, in turn, the demand for web developers is on the rise. In order to figure out what kind of web development work best suits you let’s start with an introduction to the three main roles in web development that you can choose from.
The Three Types of Web Development Jobs
Front-End Web Development: The Creative Side
Think of front-end development as the décor of a house. The color scheme, furniture, manicured lawns, and overall aesthetic. In terms of a website, front-end development is laser-focused on the appearance of a website and its presentation on different devices. If you’re considering a role in front-end development, it’s important to learn programming languages such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. These three languages go hand-in-hand. HTML allows you to create user interface elements, CSS helps you with stylistic elements, and JavaScript allows you to incorporate online tools and connect your website to back-end functions.
In addition to programming skills, front-end developers need to be detail oriented, creative, willing to keep up with the latest trends in web development, cyber security conscious, and geared toward user-friendly designs. The median salary for a front-end developer can reach well into the $90,000 to $100,000 range.
Back-End Web Development: The Logical Counterpart
While a house can be beautifully decorated, it’s incomplete without a solid foundation and efficient infrastructure. Similarly, a well-designed website depends on logical and functional code to power the features of that website. Back-end web development is code-heavy and focused on the specifics of how a website works. If you enjoy the analytical challenge of creating the behind-the-scenes code that powers a website, then back-end development is for you.
Since this role is more code-heavy, it’s important that you learn numerous programming languages and understand algorithms and data structures. Some languages that are essential to back-end development are Ruby, Python, SQL, and JavaScript. Back-end developers also ensure that users can successfully retrieve and access data. This requires creating and using APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) which act as messengers that relay data related requests. Additionally, developing the code for the inner workings of a website also requires back-end developers to be conscious of the user interface features designed by front-end developers and to internally mitigate potential security risks. Due to the increased technical aspect of this position, back-end developers normally earn higher salaries than front-end developers. The average median salary for this role is around $118,000 per year.
Full-Stack Web Development: A Little Bit of Everything
A full-stack developer is essentially the Jack (or Jill)-of-all-trades in web development. Full-stack developers need to be knowledgeable about both front-end and back-end roles. This does not necessarily imply that you would need to be an expert in both roles, but you should fully understand the different applications and synergies they each imply. In order to work in this position, you will need to know the programming languages used by front-end and back-end developers. In addition to these languages, full-stack developers also specialize in databases, storage, HTTP, REST, and web architecture.
Full-stack developers are often required to act as liaisons between front-end and back-end developers. Full-stack developers need to be both problem solvers and great communicators. The end goal for a full-stack developer is to ensure that the user’s experience is seamless, both on the front-end and on the back-end. In return, you can expect to earn a median salary of $100,000 – $115,000 a year for this role.
Taking the Next Step
Web development is both in-demand and lucrative! All three roles described above contribute to specific aspects of web development and the scope of each one can be customized to the industries and positions you feel best suit you. Regardless of which role you choose, all of them need a foundation in programming.
To gain the programming skills needed in each role, you can enroll in courses or learn independently. Coding bootcamps are a great way to boost your skillset quickly and efficiently.
Click here for some of our highly rated programming bootcamp options! Make sure to check out the discounts available to PowerToFly members.
How CHG Healthcare's Aurelia Redd Challenges Her Team to Get Out of Their Comfort Zone
Born and raised in the suburbs of Salt Lake City, Aurelia Redd is a wife, mom, and major fan of building meaningful connections. “I love to get to know other people — it’s one of my favorite things in the whole world,” Aurelia explains. “I could sit there for hours and listen to somebody who's had a different life than me. I get so excited about that and learn so much.”
And as the Director of Product Delivery at CHG Healthcare, she makes it a priority to fortify connections with those on her team so she can understand how they want to grow and challenge them to step out of their comfort zone. Keep reading to hear her unique story and advice on fostering growth on her team.
Experience Will Open the Door
Nowadays, it’s easy to get caught up with degrees and certificates to gain qualifications for a role. But Aurelia’s career proves that experience in a field is invaluable for opening doors. “I'm a unique case. I was a young mom and I didn't have an opportunity to pursue a college education,” says Aurelia. “I built my career on experience and (hopefully) good wit.”
But not having a degree has not deterred her from forging her own path and steadily moving up the career ladder to multiple positions of leadership. “I'm so thankful that it hasn’t stopped me from the roles that I've wanted to pursue,” she elaborates. “The companies that I’ve worked for see me as a person and appreciate my experience.”
She considers herself a life learner and has earned a number of certifications and trade classes throughout her career. “I love to learn and I never want to stop learning,” she says. And she’s excited to make it official. “My goal is to have my bachelor's degree by the time I'm 47 years old, she says. “It's never too late.”
Jumping Into Opportunities
Healthcare and business first sparked Aurelia’s interest in high school when she joined the Health Occupational Students for America and Future Business Leaders of Americas clubs. So when it was time to join the workforce, she looked for an opportunity where she could pursue both fields. That led her to a role as a customer service representative at a major health insurance company.
Over her 20 years at the company, she worked her way into many roles in various departments, including operations, claims processing, and supervisory roles. “After a while, I wanted to move up to a manager position.” In a timely manner, a woman director from another department nudged Aurelia to apply for an open position as configuration supervisor.
“I knew nothing about configuration, like zero,” says Aurelia. “But she told me, ‘I'm not looking for somebody who knows configuration. I need a supervisor. You really should consider it.’ And that changed my whole career — her stopping me and telling me I should consider something different.”
This growth mindset led Aurelia to pursue multiple leadership roles and opportunities, eventually leading her to CHG Healthcare. CHG is a leader in healthcare staffing and the nation's largest provider of locum tenens services. They stand out because of their Putting People First value, which instantly attracted Aurelia. Frustrated with some things about her previous company, she wanted to find a place where her values aligned with her work place.
“I realized I was at the point in my career where culture, core values, and inclusion were so important to me.” Aurelia says she interviewed with amazing people at the company, which convinced her to accept an offer soon after. “I’ve never looked back.”
Culture Is Crucial
The mission at CHG Healthcare is to “make a difference in the lives of those we serve.” They’re committed to implementing benefits and strategies to “increase employee happiness and engagement.” Some of these benefits include flexible schedules, onsite health clinics and gyms, tuition assistance, paid volunteer time, family-friendly benefits, rewards, and more. What really stands out about CHG, though, is its culture.
“Everyone pulls their weight. There is a willingness to help, and because we are pretty much all high achievers — every person brings their best self to work every day,” elaborates Aurelia. The emphasis on servant leadership gives people the space to try new things and grow. Aurelia facilitates this growth mindset through her own leadership.
“As an individual, I play a role on so many different teams. So my days look different depending on which priority is coming up that week,” she explains. Aurelia has several responsibilities, including meeting with individuals on a one-on-one basis and cultivating relationships across the organization. She also collaborates with product teams on strategic initiatives, coaches and directs the delivery leadership team, and works to build functional maturity on delivery.
As the company has grown, so has the technology they’ve released. And Aurelia leads a team of people who make sure those releases are well adopted on other teams. “I started on the project implementation team to help with change management and business readiness, so that we have high adoption and long-term sustainment,” she explains. She built that team and led them through reorganizations, and has recently been able to transfer responsibilities to her delivery leadership team. . “They don't need me in the day to day operations anymore. They’re doing a great job,” says Aurelia. “I now get to be a servant leader to my leaders that are leading the individual contributors. And that allows me to work across the digital organization on other things like growth and development for our employees and leadership development opportunities. The growth and new opportunities have been so much fun!”
Apart from her daily responsibilities, Aurelia is constantly trying new things, such as creating and leading a coalition for women in tech leadership in 2020, where women got together to talk through different issues and provided each other with support. She encourages this kind of outside-of-the-box mindset by encouraging her teammates to be creative and find opportunities to serve others.
Fostering Growth
“I do believe that one person can make a difference in the world,” says Aurelia. Because of this, she strives to find practical ways to challenge others to get out of their comfort zone. She gives us three tips:
1. Invest in your relationships. “Don’t make assumptions about people. Ask questions, clarify their intent, and give the opportunity to answer and self-assess. This helps save so much time and unnecessary miscommunication, especially in our fast-paced virtual world,” says Aurelia. “Having really good relationships with people is a great way to grow through a network, because you learn through other people's learnings and mentorship."
2. Let curiosity fuel you. “Eleanor Roosevelt said one of my favorite quotes of all time, ‘Do one thing every day that scares you,’” she says. “Whether that’s reaching out or asking a hard question, it’s really important.” To remind her to do this, Aurelia has a sign on her computer that says, ‘Do one thing that makes a difference.’ “If you're doing the same thing every single day, you're going to stay where you are and things are gonna keep going where they go,” she elaborates. “You don’t have to change up your whole world, but you can do one thing that you’ve never done before.”
3. Always be open to opportunity. “You don’t know when the next opportunity will come from, what space it has, or what shape it has,” says Aurelia. “It’s so fun to be open to opportunity and explore. You can always say no, but what if you say yes? Our world is made up of all these possibilities and experiences that you would’ve never had before if you hadn’t explored.”
CHG continuously gives its employees chances to grow, just like Aurelia. If you’re interested, check out their current job openings here.
Nestlé HR Virtual Recruiting Event: Creating a Nourishing Employee Culture
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