Humans of iQmetrix: Erin Drake, Sales Enablement and Operations
Our next Humans of iQmetrix mini-profile delves into the world of Erin Drake, who is Client Enablement Coordinator in our Sales Enablement and Operations team.
Erin is a born-and-bred Saskatchewan “farm girl” (self-proclaimed), a sports mom (also self-proclaimed!) and a voracious reader. She’s also a very long-tenured iQer, with a whopping 24 years under her belt at the company!
Erin’s team lead, Meridith Barnes, describes her as “kind, engaged, dedicated, and authentic.” Let’s take a closer look at this delightful Regina resident’s story.
iQmetrix: Tell us a bit about your role at iQmetrix.
Erin: I’m accountable for the wider client communications, such as the customer NPS survey and our client newsletter, The Insider — along with other communications that go out to larger segments of our client base. I often joke that I should be on the Marketing team, as there’s such a lot of overlap in our communications work.
Of course, it’s not just about writing something, putting it in our email template, and sending it. It’s gathering all the information, so I’m going to Product, and to the Account Managers, and crafting the messaging, and making sure it’s all correct, and so on.
How long have you been at iQmetrix, and how has your role changed?
I started at iQmetrix in 2000, and for many years I was a Client Manager. I loved directly supporting the clients. But for me, it eventually got to where I needed something more than just being a client manager, and so I took over the training and launch teams in our professional services team. For a while, that was dissolved into what was then our Client Experience team, and then I moved more into the background of supporting clients. That was great for me, as I feel like I don’t need to be the face of that anymore.
We have so many great Account Managers and it can lead to some burnout, dealing with the people every day. I like making sure that everything runs smoothly behind the scenes, so our Account Managers have what they need to support the clients.
Because I’ve been here such a long time, and worked with so many of the same people throughout, it really does feel like family. My son’s godmother and godfather are people I met here. It’s been amazing from that point of view. Also, all the travelling and amazing experiences I’ve had over the years have been incredible.
What was the story that got you to iQmetrix?
I had very, very good temporary union job before I started at iQmetrix, working at a grain union. But it was ending, so I was looking for a new job, and I saw a receptionist job advertised in my local newspaper in Regina. I was living in the city and I wanted a job close by, where I wouldn’t have to drive to work. The iQmetrix front desk job was across the street from my apartment!
After that union job, I took a pay cut to work at iQmetrix, which was still emerging out of Jump.ca. But I walked in, and it was so fun, and so small! I got to support the Jump.ca team, but the office was a lot of newly hired developers working on iQmetrix solutions, and the executive team. Everyone was so young, and there was an exciting start-up feel. I thought I would fit in well there.
So, I started on the front desk, I then moved into billing and finance, and then after a few years, I was poached to work with the clients. That was about 20 years ago.
To be honest, even though I’ve worked at the same company all this time, from reception to finance, to dealing with clients and traveling all the time, to now working behind the scenes — it doesn’t feel like the same company. We’ve grown and changed so much, and my roles have changed so much, that it feels more like three or four. Especially with how the culture has developed and morphed over the years.
What’s something personal that we might not know about you?
I have two kids, my son Luke who is 14 and my daughter Paige who is 11. They are super involved in activities, and I have met so many good friends through hockey and baseball and soccer. Last weekend we had nine activities in two days — we are so busy. It’s so fun! The kids are so sweet, they’re such good kids. I’m basically the Uber driver, but I love it. I’m very happy.
I also read non-stop. I always have an audiobook and a regular book on the go, and I read around two books a week, about 100 books a year. I have a sweet little dog, a shih-tzu bichon named Ruby, and my audiobook listening time is when we go for walks, and when I clean. I’m an early riser, so I always like to get at least a half-hour of reading time in before work as well.
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