“Wrangler of cats, extinguisher of fires, wearer of many hats.” If you asked Nichole what she does at High Touch, that’d be your answer. As always, with a touch of comedic sarcasm.
As ConnectWise Administrator, Nichole handles the operations and management of High Touch’s client record system—a job that requires juggling requests from clients, technicians, engineers, sales, marketing, the Executive team—just about anyone in the High Touch Technologies family.
Through her personality and hard work, Nichole helps bring the human touch to technology. In her role, Nichole has the opportunity to work with pretty much everyone at High Touch in some form or fashion. She’s in a unique position where she must also address some client issues. Still, instead of providing direct customer service, she helps improve the client experience through the backend by supporting High Touch internally.
Bringing the Human Touch Means Customer Service
“This is going to sound super corny, but I feel like I’ve been ‘bringing the human touch to ‘whatever’ as long as I’ve been working. Bringing the human touch to technology is customer service at the end of the day. You need to see all employees and/or clients as family or close friends and treat them as such.”
Nichole didn’t set out with a plan to work in technology. At 15, one week and a day after getting her learner’s permit to get behind the wheel, Nichole started her first job at McDonald’s in El Dorado, Kan. “I wanted my own freedom and independence, and I knew I needed to work hard to make that happen.”
Anyone who’s worked in food service will know, it takes hard work and exceptional customer service, two very important things Nichole contributes to the High Touch team.
Learning to Talk Tech
“When I began working for High Touch 3.5 years ago, I didn’t know the first thing about technology,” states Nichole. “I was hired to run some basic Excel reports and perform billing updates. It took a lot of googling and YouTube videos to understand what a lot of the tech terminology meant. Over time, I’ve grown to love learning all the technology lingo.”
At first, the jargon was a little scary and unfamiliar. Now, Nichole couldn’t imagine doing anything else. “High Touch has provided me opportunity for professional growth in the technology industry, and I’m incredibly thankful for that.”
Let us paint a picture of how comfortable Nichole has come with technology. When asked what job she would like to try out for a day at High Touch, her answer was Custom Development. “I do more now with some SQL expressions and tables, which has been a lot of fun and has almost become a hobby for me at this point. To see how software is coded from the ground up would be a welcome addition of knowledge and experience.”
Putting the “Wise” in ConnectWise
As Nichole’s technology experience grew, she began working on other projects. Most notably, leading to her current position of ConnectWise Administrator, Nichole helped make ConnectWise the hub of procurement for High Touch.
“I had very little visibility around these processes beforehand,” states Nichole. “This project was 11+ months in the making, vetting, and set up — it’s by far the longest project I’ve been dedicated to date.”
Through this project, Nichole worked with many members of the High Touch team she normally wouldn’t have on a daily basis. In building these relationships, Nichole has transitioned to her current role, supporting High Touch internally and externally, company-wide.
As Nichole points out, “I love learning and that my position allows me to perform out-of-the-box thinking to accommodate what High Touch needs for our employees and clients.”
Wichita Is Home
If she could move to any other High Touch market, Nichole would choose to stay in Wichita. “My roots, family, friends are all in Kansas. I would love to visit for maybe a week or a few weeks to the other markets, but ICT will always be home.”
When she’s not busy working, Nichole enjoys spending time with her family, including her son Derrick, husband Wes, “three pit bulls that are more our kids than I care to admit,” and one hermit crab.
Get to Know Nichole
As part of our Employee Spotlight interview, we ask a series of lighthearted questions to highlight the unique, diverse personalities that make our High Touch team great. Unsurprisingly, you’ll see Nichole added a heavy dose of her patented sarcasm (in parentheses).
If you could jump into a pool of anything of your choosing, what would you fill it with?
Money. Yep, that would be the best. Paper, preferably $100 bills.
What’s one quirky thing people don’t know about you?
Everyone knows I am weird, but I have real issues with hearing someone eat and repetitive noises, for example, whisking of eggs or alarm clocks. (Oh, by the way, I do not set an alarm to wake me up. Due to the repetitive sound, it starts out my day in a funk. On that note, I still haven’t been late to work either.)
Is a hot dog a sandwich?
I am not “Team Hot Dog = Sandwich.” I understand that definition-wise it sounds like it should be, but I just cannot get my brain to agree with the definition. (Long and short, a hot dog is a hot dog, bun or not.)
What was your first job?
McDonald’s in El Dorado, Kan. I started one week to the day after turning 15 and getting my learner’s permit to drive. I knew early on that I needed my own freedom and independence (and it was clear that I needed a little money to make that happen.)
Does a cyclops wink or blink?
Blink.
What’s something you wish you could automate?
Laundry, well, at least the folding. In my house, I may wash 15 loads of laundry, but they are put in a big “clean” pile. The husband folds, and then typically puts it away.
What’s your favorite mobile app or website?
Maybe Amazon? I love that I can shop from home. (I am not a shopper.)
Would you rather go 30 days without your phone, or three months with no dessert?
Three months no dessert. Phones are an additional appendage at this point (sad but true).
What’s something you always do wrong the first time?
Life. It seems like fail, fail, then succeed, you just must keep pushing until you find success.
If you had a warning label, what would it say?
Warning: May contain sarcasm, proceed with caution, or Danger: Mouth operates faster than brain.
You’ve been given an elephant. You can’t give it away or sell it. What would you do with the elephant?
An elephant would make for a great pet (one that I cannot afford, nor do I have space for but would make for a great conversation and show-and-tell piece.)