Life at Wilson | Doug's career in client solutions

Hi, my name is Doug Banks, Client Solutions with Wilson. Today we're going to be talking about my career journey.

So what brought me to Wilson is very interesting. So at my previous company, I led recruiting operations. I also was a global vendor manager. So I was managing agencies. I was managing and selecting RPOs. So we had an opportunity where we had a need. worked with and evaluated several options. We went with Wilson. So I spent a lot of time working with leaders at Wilson. And I really was impressed. I thought Wilson understood my business needs. I thought that people were fantastic. Their delivery, the quality was great. So when that project was over, there was an opportunity to explore going from the corporate space over to consulting to vendor to RPO. And I was excited about it been around RPO and I liked the idea of servicing not just one corporate client but having the opportunity to service many and have exposure to different industries, different companies. ⁓ I've always been one that really thrives off change and problem solving and new things. So if I'm in a role that's the same thing day after day, it wouldn't work for me. I would get bored. So I wanted to be a part of something where I could contribute at value, at the same time, continue to grow my professional career.

So I think my role has changed in parallel with what's gone on over the past five to seven years. ⁓ We've had economic changes, we've had market changes, we've had a pandemic, So my role and I think our role at Wilson has evolved and changed to meet what's going on in the world around us. Some examples being able to adapt and be agile. I think that's something that Wilson's always done but we've had to step that up a notch over the last five to seven years because of the environment. I think my role has evolved specifically when I came on, I started in delivery as a senior leader. So my responsibility was to work with our clients at a senior level, understand where their needs were, align with their goals and to draft and execute a strategy to ⁓ meet those needs. I also had the opportunity to transition into a global client success role. So very similar in some of the delivery aspects, because the client needs and customer needs are always at the forefront. But this role was specifically about working with our clients to understand their needs and goals and solution that from a technology perspective which takes me to the role that I'm at now, which is client solutions. And for me, this is a perfect fit. This is something that I've been doing probably for 25 years in my career has gotten to a point where I can do this effectively. And that's from my experiences as a talent acquisition leader, an operations leader, client success leader. So it gives me the skillset to be able to sit down with leaders from different companies, different industries, have a conversation, listen to what their needs are, but also understand where they're coming from. And I think part of that is because I was a client before I was here at Wilson. So which gives me a little bit of a unique perspective because I'm used to being on that side of the table. I'm used to being in environments within talent acquisition where I'm trying to solve the problem. So I can sit from a consulting perspective and I can understand and relate to some of the challenges that our clients are going through and walk them through and help them support them through solutions.

So what I love about my current role in client solutions is it really represents things I've been doing for years, working with clients, understanding their goals and their needs and helping them solve our solution for ⁓ problems. The things that I think is going to be really critical today and tomorrow in this role is adapting and understanding the changes in industry, changes in the environment, the economy. So we have to stay on top of trends. Another key component that I just love in client solutions is just talking to clients. I love sitting back, understanding and listening to where their challenges are and helping to solve and come up with solutions that will fit their needs and help them grow and be more efficient or drive productivity increases. So I've always been kind of a natural problem solver. So this is something I get to do on a day-to-day basis.

I think if you were to ask most people at Wilson, they would say that people is the foundation of our culture. I agree with that, but I'd add one thing. I'd say it's also performance. So when I talk about Wilson, or I think about it, think of like, it's a PNP culture, which is people and performance. And performance from a perspective that our people is critical. I believe it's what sets us apart. We hire great people, but we also align that with performance. We want to perform for our clients. We want our people to perform. We want them to grow. We want them to excel. And so I think when you combine the people aspect and the performance, it just sets us up for success on a much larger scale.

I think what's really important is agility. I think in today's environment, you just have to be agile. You have to be able to move from one thing to the next. And I think you have to stay curious throughout your career, continuously learn, whether that's professionally or even personally. So that growth and that curiosity is really important. I think from a leader perspective, there's things like, you your emotional IQ is really important. So being an active listener, being compassionate, being aware of your surroundings. And again, I think what's really important as a leader is you've got to be a good mentor and you have to be a good coach. There's different ways to do that. I think for me, I've always tried to hold my teams accountable, but at the same time, be there for support and guidance. But I do believe that you have to grow off the leash a little bit. I think you have to continue to drive things like performance and grit. think grit is one of those traits that I don't think we give it enough credit. companies, individuals that are successful have to have some grit, some determination, and then failing forward. I think that's probably one thing that's been consistent throughout my career. I probably didn't learn it until about midway through really understanding what that means is being able to take a risk or if you fail, not let it cripple you to learn from it and move forward.

If I were giving advice to someone just starting out, would tell them one, be curious, stay curious. I think when you're early in your career, you have to ask questions. You have to continuously learn. Another thing that's important is build a reputation. Build your brand early. I think with the younger generation, this is not as foreign of a concept as it was maybe when I was starting out because, you know, with social media and all these things, think young professionals now understand what branding is. But establishing that early, to me, building that reputation, building your brand is like early on, show up, be prepared, follow through on things, quality matters. So those are things that are really important. If I was giving advice, I would say chase skills and experience, not necessarily titles. I think in the first couple of years, it's really important for you to absorb, learn as much as you can. And if you do that, those titles, those promotions, those advancements will just come naturally. I'll also say surround yourself with good people. I think if you were to talk to any executive or any leader, they'll tell you, you you have to put yourself in an environment representing or you're getting influence from others around you. I mean, I've always said on my teams, I try to build teams that support me and even make up some of the areas that I may not be as strong in. So surround yourself with good people. And I said before, fail forward. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. I think if you stay curious, if you stay accountable, if you welcome growth, you'll put yourself in a really strong position to advance throughout your career.

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