Her Story
About Erika
I've been in customer service since my 20s, and I'm now 41 years old, so I have many years of experience in this field. I've been working for Oak Street Health for 11 years - I just completed my 11th year on April 13th of this year. Oak Street Health is now part of CVS Health. They're a Medicare-based clinic with over 200 clinics in the U.S., and it's only for Medicare recipients. I talk to older people every day, get them registered, verify their insurance, and still make small talk with them to try to make their day better. I'm one of the top tiers at my workplace, which means I have bigger responsibilities, bigger goals, and a bigger quota, but I also make a little bit more money. I not only register people to come to the clinic, but I'm also responsible for their show-up rate. I get paid a base salary plus commission for every person I register, which encourages me to do my best and help them out while making more money for myself. I like the fact that it's a sales job because it's up to you how much you want to accomplish. For some reason, every time I did customer service, sales was involved, so I guess that's my path - to do sales and help out people at the same time. I'm a single mom with a daughter on the spectrum who has dealt with behavioral health issues for years. Despite everything that takes place in my daily life, I still deliver my 100% at work, remain positive, nice, and friendly to people, and don't take my problems to my workplace.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Erika
01What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've ever received is about consistency - being consistent on your goals and just staying consistent. That's the keyword for me.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
The advice I would give to young women entering my industry would be to not stop, not give up, and to keep on going. Don't let your personal life or emotions get in the best of your workplace and feel like you can't continue due to your personal issues. Know that not everything will last, this too shall pass, and once you are done with your career and your problems are not there anymore, you still have your career. You can rely on yourself and won't need anyone else to rely on. It's most about feeling secure money-wise and not having to rely on people. If anything, you'll be the one to help out your family.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge in my field right now is the quota and time constraints. Since I'm in Tier 1, we're only allowed to be on the phone for like 15 minutes now, and I was so used to taking my time and talking to people. Now it has to be within 15 minutes, so I have to talk to them, register them, give them information, and do all of that in 15 minutes. My biggest challenge is that I don't like to come out short with people. I like for them to feel comfortable, and especially these older people, they take their time and sometimes want to talk a lot. My biggest challenge right now is still trying to make it short and sweet and being done within 15 minutes.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The values most important to me are always being true to yourself and being professional, and at the same time, showing empathy towards people. I believe in being very professional and letting people know you're doing your best to help them out, so they feel safe with you.
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