Video Transcript:

>> Yeah I worked at a mall in retail when I was very, very young and it was just, I found it to be the most boring job in the world. Hi, my name is Kim Clay and I'm the IT Manager for Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams.

>> I've never had that, ugh, that you know that job like, ugh, got to go to work kind of thing. Hi, I'm Dan Gauthreaux and I'm the Vice President of human resources. But I've been fortunate. And I think every job I've had, you know whether it was delivering papers or to today, I've been lucky to really have some jobs that I truly enjoyed and learned from. I think you can learn from every job you do and try to make the best of it and.

>> Yeah I didn't know what the future held here. I just knew that it was a lot closer for me to come to work here and I was excited about a new office position. I really didn't expect it to lead into what it's become though.

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Definitely feel more confident. Definitely more assertive. I mean I kind of have to be in the position that I'm in to take charge of when we have the issues that have to be resolved quickly. So I think those are definitely two things that have changed about me. When I first started working here, I definitely wouldn't say that confidence was something that I would have exuded or had very much assertiveness.

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I started here working in consumer inquiry where I would answer the phone and tell people about our furniture, where they could find it, or if they had specific questions about ads that we had published, I would answer those questions. Next I moved to customer care and I dealt directly with our customers at the retail level, answering questions about orders that they'd placed with us and that sort of thing. I had a large variety of our customers that I was directly responsible for along with another customer care representative. I enjoyed working in customer care. I liked working with the customers and answering their questions and trying to resolve issues.

>> No she was just really someone that you could really rely on and trust and she's a great communicator. Really able to kind of keep a lot of balls in the air so to speak. You know that if, you know, Kim was given an assignment or a project or needed to follow up with this customer or needed to expedite something she would make it happen.

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You know I think actually while she was both in consumer inquiry and customer care, I think she just had this natural ability, you know, as it relates to technology and computers and--

>> It just seemed that there was, when people had problems with their computer that they typically came to me and I, me for help.

>> I think there were a couple folks that recognized you know really what a great person she is, great employee. Thorough, you know the whole thing, but I think Mitchell recognized it. And while she was in consumer inquiries, she reported to a woman Paula Krosnick and I think Paula really was like, you know what, this person's special and you know this, we really have someone that's terrific, bright, talented and you know, I think it's our job to kind of foster that development.

>> We decided to create the help desk which we had never had before, and some folks thought since everybody was coming to me anyway with computer questions that it would maybe be a good fit for me. And I felt like it was a big challenge to move from customer care to technology. I'd never really done anything with computers before so I was really excited to try it.

>> Did you get a raise?

>> Oh yeah. Yes [laughs] I did get a raise.

>> How's your team doing?

>> They're doing very well.

>> Yeah?

>> I think I've grown a lot here. I really didn't expect things to take the course that they've taken here going from consumer inquiry to customer care to help desk to IT specialist to IT manager. It's been a big journey and I've definitely learned on the job along the way.

>> What's the biggest challenge of being an IT manager?

>> Downtimes. Well every piece of furniture starts with a production ticket that's generated from our computer system, our ERP system, and it's tracked all along the way through computers and up until the point that it ships and is invoiced. So it's all very technology driven. That's probably the most challenging and most rewarding part of the job. Plus it's a constantly changing field and we have to stay on top of it to keep the business competitive and we have to know the new technology that's out there and try to incorporate it into our business as quickly as we can. So I'm definitely more of a person who learns hands-on. I feel like the pace for me just isn't there when I'm trying to read something and figure out how to do it. I need to get my hands on it and understand it. And it means nobody can just tell me how to do it, and I can't just think about it and know how to do it, I have to do it to be able to be good at it.

>> [Inaudible]

>> That'll give us plenty of time and they said it might be like two more weeks [inaudible].

>> Before they [inaudible]?

>> Yeah.

>> Okay. So what else?

>> I don't know. I really don't think it's an experience that you can get at a lot of places with the opportunities that I've been given here.

>> I think there is a tolerance for you know letting folks expand and you know develop on their own. I also think we're the kind of company too that, you know, whoever Kim reports to, they're not going to let her step off that ledge and not be successful. So you know while I think employees are encouraged to push themselves, but I think we've created a culture where we're not going to let each other fail. And you know whether it's from a HR perspective or a co-worker's perspective, you know I think there's a real sense of, you know, your success is my success kind of mentality. And I think that's real positive.

>> I feel like I've had so many opportunities here. It's really changed my life a lot. I mean I've gone from renting to owning a home. I've moved. I've, oh my gosh, there's so many ways that I've changed I don't know that I could list them all. It's been a real growth for me personally.

>> If you had asked us, you know when we first hired her or maybe when she worked for me in customer care, would she be the IT manager of this large organization? You know I don't know, but she really, she proved herself and she's fabulous.

>> Did you ever think this would be your life?

>> No, I did not. I did not expect when I started working here that this would be where things have ended up.

Kim began her career with Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams in Consumer Inquiry. Why did her coworkers believe in her abilities to work on the newly created IT Help Desk?

a.She was attending night school to earn a bachelor degree in Information Systems.

b.She had a background in computers from previous jobs.

c.She was the one they went to when they had technology issues.

d.She was always on her smartphone.

What is Kim's current position with Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams?

a.Customer Care Manager

b.IT Manager

c.IT Help Desk employee

d.IT Specialist

How does Kim say she learns best?

a.by listening to instructions

b.hands-on

c.visually

d.by reading

Dan, Vice President of Human Resources, calls Kim a great

a.multitasker.

b.leader.

c.change agent.

d.negotiator.