Collaboration as Culture

By: Norman Heath

After joining Finys in 2018, I can say the company’s been good to me and good for me.

I’d been doing IT work for Comerica Bank in its Client Support Department when the bank undertook a downsizing. When my position was eliminated, I wanted to find a place to bring technology and customer service together. There was a client-support position available at Finys. So, I said, “Yeah, let’s take a shot at that.”

Given the size of Comerica Bank, I find Finys to be more homey; that is, everybody here knows everybody. Given that, if there’s something you need help with, you have a good sense of your relationships and can get help to navigate any type of situation you run into. That actually took a little getting used to.

For example, in my first month here I was talking to Kurt, the CEO of the company. I thought, “Okay. This is unusual.” But it’s not. We had a conversation about how the company operates, and he’s one of the people I can go to for help and opinions. He’s not this guy up in the sky somewhere that you never see like in the huge companies I was used to.

I started as a Business Analyst. I’m now a Client Partner. That means I work with our clients to ensure we develop what they’re looking for in their platforms. I get to work with our developers on the technological side, and I work with the clients on the other hand to bridge the gap. Because I’ve been in this role for some time, I have one person under me whom I oversee to make sure she’s also developing and growing in the role to be successful as well.

Since I’ve worked in dog-eat-dog environments, I have to say the Finys environment is remarkably free from ego. I love the culture here because it’s very much team-based. We all work together to succeed. If I’m trained well and I train the next person well, we’re not competing with each other. We’re complementing each other. It’s all about what we’ve done to help improve the customer’s experience.

My first indication of what it’s like here came during my first phone interview. Rather than asking something like, “Where do you see yourself in five years,” they said, “We’re looking for a person who wants to be around and grow in our company for at least five years or more, someone who wants to help us build and grow.” After I accepted the job offer, I could see what they’re trying to build. The goal is to bring in people to make everybody rise together. And when we have our team meetings, Kurt emphasizes that we’re all in this together. We’re looking out for what’s best for the company and our customers, and we’re all rising together. In general, the questions were more about personality and curiosity: “What would you do in this situation? How would you do that?” They’re interested in the person you are.

Given all that, it certainly helps to have a sense of internal drive. We’re allowed to generate our own opportunities here, taking into consideration that we can always ask for help. That’s part of the culture, too. We strive to develop leaders and even to develop roles, responsibilities, or positions that may not have existed before.

In one instance, I was given a project to build a newer version of a customer’s existing platform using our infrastructure. Since I needed to figure out the requirements and understand the environment in which the platform was being used, I asked Kurt if I could make a site visit. He said, “Okay. We’ll get you down there.” And he did. But I had the opportunity to generate the approach and the ideas on my own.

I’m fortunate that, in my career, I’ve been able to do an amazing gamut of things. I’ve done customer service at Target, I’ve worked at Best Buy. I’ve done everything from retail to corporate banking. Now I have the opportunity to work in a place that encourages and appreciates my abilities and my contributions. And this is not me shilling for the company: Where I’m at right now at Finys is the most enjoyable and fulfilling work I’ve ever done.

Even through the pandemic, we worked out flexible scheduling and continued to help each other and our customers without missing a beat. And the company looked out for us and for our families. I’m very thankful and happy to work for this company and for the relationships I’ve formed. I can see myself being here until I’m done.