This article originally published on BuiltIn on October 17, 2023.
When Enrollment Specialist Robin Wynne joined BillGO, she was thrilled to find what she called a "family atmosphere." 
"I've been on the planet a long time, and the culture at BillGO is different," Wynne said. "Everyone is approachable, transparent and welcoming, starting with our CEO. We all know where the company is standing, what different departments are working on and that there is freedom to how we work."
For Wynne, that freedom has empowered her to dive more deeply into her sales skills while also shadowing other roles and exploring opportunities across the company.
Wynne's manager, Supplier Enablement Department Manager Alexis Hood, has intentionally tailored her approach to help build this family atmosphere.
"Through my transitions and growth within the company, I have benefited from personal support and the opportunity to work under different styles of leadership," Hood said. "Those experiences have led me to focus on working as a servant leader and steward leader, which helps me foster a family atmosphere that gives everybody the opportunity to grow through personal assistance."
"Working as a servant leader and steward leader helps me foster a family atmosphere that gives everybody the opportunity to grow."
And for Enrollment Specialist Jace Hvambsal, the family atmosphere is a little more literal,
as Hvambsal first encountered BillGO through his wife, a software engineer. Her experience working with the company made the benefits of joining the team clear to Hvambsal: BillGO's sales team would be a place to thrive while learning new skills and utilizing his abilities to support his team.
Hood, Wynne and Hvambsal have each found opportunities to succeed and grow since joining BillGO's internal sales team - a pattern consistent with the company's driven, collaborative culture. Whether returning to the workforce, seeking a new adventure in tech or jumpstarting the next phase of their career, team members are equipped with the tools and space to succeed and grow the company's network of business partners.
Starting with Success
From the first days of onboarding, BillGO employees are given the opportunity to dive deep into the company's culture. Time is set aside for them to meet with C-suite executives and department heads across the company so they can learn how the business operates and how the team collaborates.
"Those meetings opened my eyes to what makes BillGO unique and the opportunity we have to really make a difference," Hood said.
When Hood first joined the company in 2019, she was one of BillGO’s first 50 employees and was reentering the workforce after taking time to focus on parenting. She joined BillGO as an enrollment specialist, and was excited for the possibilities the role offered for growth and advancement. Those possibilities came to life over the course of the next four years, as Hood moved into a team lead role and then her current position as department manager.
“Our onboarding meetings with leadership helped me understand what makes BillGO tick from the beginning and what makes the company successful,” she said.
Hvambsal agreed that the initial onboarding process grounded his work from the first days at the company.
“Onboarding groups are kept fairly small, so each person gets one-on-one time to ask questions and deeply understand how the business works. By the time you start learning your specialized role, you already have a skeleton of how and why the business works,” he said.
For Hvambsal, that larger picture helped simplify the sales process from the beginning, as his knowledge of the business contextualized the compliance needs around language and approach.
“Being comfortable with the big picture helps with feeling comfortable in meetings with customers and having the freedom to specialize your scripting,” he said. “When you understand and appreciate the work on a deep level, you don’t go in sounding like a robot trying to give a sales pitch.”
"When you understand and appreciate the work on a deep level, you don't go in sounding like a robot trying to give a sales pitch."
Embracing Strengths
Onboarding remains part of how Wynn contributes to the internal sales team while leaning into her own strengths. “I was an early childhood educator, so I love supporting training,” she said. She has also had the opportunity to learn, having taken on stretch projects that support the marketing team and other cross-functional pilot programs.
“Even without changing my job, I have had opportunities to grow within the department by supporting projects or making other folks successful,” she said.
Hvambsal has seen opportunities to grow in similar ways.
“Through my time here, I have become our unofficial IT guy, helping people when their monitors don’t work and all sorts of problems like that,” he said. Now, Hvambsal is the first line of support for mitigating tech issues on the team before sending them up the chain for further support. Becoming the “go-to guy” has not only allowed him to share his strengths but also further develop his skills in terms of understanding the company’s technology, both hardware and software.
“I was recognized for something I didn’t even realize I was doing, and our leaders saw a way to utilize my skills even better,” he said.
"I was recognized for something I didn't even realize I was doing, and our leaders saw a way to utilize my skills even better."
Supporting Growth
Recognizing strengths and supporting development is at the heart of BillGO’s culture of mentorship and advancement.
As Hood grew her career, she found close relationships with mentors and leaders to be crucial as she stretched into new areas.
“There was a lot of direct support, one-on-one meetings and opportunities to raise my hand,” she said. “At BillGO, there’s never a time we’re not busy, but everyone is always ready to stop what they’re doing to help. And now, if someone walks into my office, I provide the same support.”
Both Wynn and Hvambsal point to team leaders including Hood as empowering their own development — with supportive relationships that tie back to the company’s value of “winning as one” and what Wynn calls a “creative and ideas-driven culture.”“Leadership takes the approach that no one knows everything,” Hood added. “And that fits into our core value that good ideas can come from anywhere. As we grow and change, embracing what each person can contribute to the larger mission will help us succeed as individuals and as a company.”
Read more about why BillGO is continually recognized as a great place to work!
