This week, our team would like to shine the employee spotlight on Customer Success Specialist Katie Conaway, who is one of several September work anniversaries we are celebrating here at Steele! We sat down with Katie and interviewed her regarding her time so far with Steele, along with a little bit about her personal life.
Hi Katie! Talk to us about your professional background prior to Steele. What kind of career did you lead?
I have worked just about in every industry, from healthcare to property management, and I’ve enjoyed that! Getting to know a little bit about everything and not just one industry. I’m not a no-girl. If it’s something I can learn, and it is something I can learn from, then I like to say yes as much as I can.
This is your one-year work anniversary with Steele Benefits. How did you get involved?
About a year ago, I happened to reconnect with Katy Esser, Steele’s Vice President of People. She asked if I was interested in learning more about Steele and joining the team. I’m glad I did and I haven’t looked back.
How would you describe your role in one sentence?
That’s a tough one. I help out my coworkers and clients by filling in for any issues that come up.
You were hired right in the middle of the 2020 pandemic, right? That must have been quite the challenge.
That was interesting. Interviewing and getting hired over Teams was new to me, but we were thankfully able to train in-person, which was great. It allowed me the chance to get out of the house and communicate with other adults rather than my toddlers at home.
Great! Do you have any recent work success you can share?
In the last month, I took on two new clients and handled the open enrollment process for their employees!
How do you define success in your professional career?
Honestly, when I was younger I would’ve been much more aggressive with my definition of success. But now that I’m older, I believe I find success when I am doing my best, meeting all of my employer expectations, and reaching my personal goals. But I’ve also learned over the years that failure is how you learn. If I mess up or make a mistake, I don’t get upset. I look at it as an opportunity to learn and grow professionally.
Do you have a favorite Steele memory?
I will have to say that the top of the list was meeting our performance goal and taking our Captiva trip as a team was absolutely amazing. It was probably the best trip of my life and I didn’t even know I needed it. Plus, it gave me the opportunity to know my peers better. Given the pandemic, it was difficult to personalize with everyone without being able to bond in-person.
Do you have kids?
Yes! I have a one-year-old and a two-year-old.
How about pets at home?
I have an older, grumpy Maltese. He’s a hilarious, needy guy!
Besides Customer Success, which department within Steele do you operate most closely with?
It would have to be Technology. Whether it’s submitting tickets, helping with client uploads, census data or salary updates—I’m there. I would argue 70% of my work involves working with them.
Since our office is currently under reconstruction, what is one thing you’d like to add to the Steele office?
Honestly, I’m a pretty simple person. There’s a coffee machine, desks, really nice bathrooms—all the important stuff. Maybe if there was no budget, we could get a soft serve ice cream machine?
Got a favorite type of food?
Sushi, definitely!