Pace is proud to name another Culture Warrior of the Month, Sharon Strickland! Sharon is Pace’s Customer Success Manager overseeing the activity of our Customer Service Department. Sharon was nominated by Glen McKinney, one of Pace’s Recruiting Business Partners who highlighted Sharon’s drive to Get the Job Done and Do What She Says.
Location: Bessemer Corporate Office
Length of Service : 3 Years
In his nomination, Glen shared, “Sharon is willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done. She is always willing to help even if it is outside her normal responsibilities. She truly cares about Pace and our customers. You can always count on her to do what she says.”
In her role as the Customer Success Manager, Sharon and her team are presented with requests from our customers, partners, and sometimes Pace team members. The Customer Service Team is the customer’s advocate and is responsible for many of the initial interactions a customer has with Pace. Throughout the day, Sharon and her team receive dozens of calls with asks from a multitude of sources. Often, the problems or questions presented can be complex and involve multiple aspects of Pace’s business to get a resolution. Nevertheless, Sharon takes responsibility for ensuring the issue is resolved to the person’s satisfaction. Her ability to put herself in the shoes of another and understand their perspective coupled with her understanding of the various aspects of our business allows her to successfully turn problems into solutions.
With a relentless servant spirit, Sharon never hesitates to get to work on a solution and does not stop until it is achieved. With every issue she is presented, Sharon Gets the Job Done and ensures the person on the other side of the request is happy with the outcome. The work Sharon does each day shows how truly committed she is to Pace and to our customers. In all that she does, she goes above and beyond to serve them. She demonstrates how vital it is to Do What you Say.
Sharon and the Customer Service Team’s commitment to Doing What You Say and Doing the Right Thing has a positive impact on our company as a whole. Living these values builds trust in our abilities and improves the confidence that stakeholders have in us.
Since joining Pace in 2017, Sharon has taken the opportunity to advance in her career, exemplifying what it means to Always Improve. She is eager to continue learning and understanding our business, our customers, and our partners. Her commitment to Always Improve helped Sharon transfer her knowledge and skills from Executive Assistant to Carrier Relations Manager (with Pace’s former Carrier Relations Team) to her current role as Customer Success Manager. Not only does Sharon focus on this value personally, but she invests in the development of it in others. As Customer Success Manager, she has made this a priority for the Customer Service Team, as is evident by their Rocks centered around improving the team’s knowledge of Pace’s customers, systems, and processes.
Susan Moss, Director of Sales, shared, “With her incredible work ethic and attention to detail, Sharon is rapidly establishing her leadership and value in her new role. Her transition has been a bit of a crazy ride with the learning curve, but Sharon has tackled it head on. Sharon never gives up, is always willing to learn and listen and is very observant. Sharon has great relationships throughout the company. She looks at each day as a new day with opportunities for growth for the company and for our customers. Sharon serves relentlessly and, although still working on a bit of a learning curve, she is always improving, getting the job done, and doing the right thing. One of the things I love most about Sharon is her ‘boy mom’ mentality. I think it helps her know which battles to fight on a daily basis. I look forward to seeing her continued growth and leadership!”
Sharon truly exemplifies Pace’s values in all that she does. Pace is fortunate to have Sharon as a member of the team, and we are proud to name her Culture Warrior of the Month. We sat down with Sharon to ask her a few questions and learn more about what makes her a great asset at Pace!
Briefly describe your journey with Pace. Almost three years ago, I was hired as an Executive Assistant. Within a year, I was moved to Carrier Relations, a team that I was already heavily involved in supporting. Now, I am Customer Service Manager; excited to learn a new role and excited to be a part of a fantastic Customer Service team!
Briefly describe your typical day at Pace. My typical day begins with being able to work with some of the best people imaginable! In Customer Service, we diligently work through a multitude of customer communications: requests, tenders, order creations, BOL receipts, and any other parts of handling our customers that invariably ‘pop up’. No two days are the same, no two customers are exactly the same, and this is what makes CS such a fun and challenging arena.
What’s the best thing/your favorite part about working for Pace? My favorite part of working with Pace is what we do for so many people. Not only what we do for our customers, but also what we do for those customers’ customers, and ultimately the everyday people like you and I. I listened to our leaders talk about how many lives we touch on a daily, weekly, monthly basis….and that was something I feel that moved me to be with Pace – helping and bringing joy to people.
What values are important to you? The values that are important to me are completely in line with Pace’s values (another strong feeling about being employed here). One other that I feel is very important to me right now is TEAMWORK. Being able to communicate and work with all departments within Pace to create an end result to a common goal. I have such a strong feeling about teamwork that I make it part of my everyday mantra. All of Pace is in this to win this together.
Which core value is your favorite? And why? My favorite core value is Serve Relentlessly: I feel that, for myself, I typically never get flustered or anxious about any request. I like to dig in with both feet….if I cannot answer a question, I will find the folks that can teach me. And there are so many folks at Pace that are happy to teach. Learning from others is something very important to me and only makes my knowledge more efficient; the kind of knowledge that is not to be held in, but to be shared with others wanting to learn and wanting to go that ‘extra mile’.
In your opinion, what makes Pace’s culture unique? It’s unique because of our ability to adapt to change. How we move our company in a forward direction by taking on new customers and customer expectations. We are not afraid to try and succeed at something new and turn it into a way to keep Pace sustainable.
What is one of your proudest moments/biggest accomplishments while working at Pace? One of my proudest accomplishments at Pace has to be from back in my Carrier Relations days. I had the opportunity to visit Pace contractors in Cleveland, OH and Mobile, AL as they worked on our customer docks. The fact that someone from our corporate office paid them a visit, listened to their accomplishments and challenges, helped them onboard drivers, and provided them with in-person feedback on customer changes was greatly appreciated by every carrier that I met with. They deal with operations daily, but told me how nice it was to have the attention of someone from our corporate office as well. Letting them know Pace cares about the ones who are delivering was met with fantastic thanks and results! I still get phone calls every week from Cleveland and Mobile!
What do you when you’re not at the office? When not at the office, I literally rest. Rest my mind and my body in heavy meditations (especially on weekends). When I am able to get out and about, it is usually to a river or lake with my kayak! As I get older, I want less and less of the busy lifestyle….more of an ‘off the grid’ type.
What inspires you? I am always inspired by mountains – my favorite place to be, view, and one day my forever home. Not only because they are beautiful and awe inspiring….but also because they mean something to me. They are strong, solid, changing ever so slightly in thousands of years by reacting to a shifting world. A place important to so many forms of life.
