More Than One Way to Accomplish a Goal – Spotlight on Nicole M.

Nicole M. is a Senior Billing Specialist at VC3, but she does a lot more than send out invoices. Over the course of her 15-year career she’s been involved with everything from inventory, bookkeeping and billing to general financial management. She’s never turned down a challenge to take on something new.

Nicole’s professional journey started at CW Technology in Duluth, Minnesota, shortly after she graduated from college with a degree in accounting. She hadn’t been at the job too long when the company implemented a new line of business software, and she played an instrumental role in getting the accounting side configured so that client agreements and billing would flow together.

When CW Technology was acquired by VC3 in 2021, Nicole was presented with a new set of challenges. Not only was she challenged, but Nicole said this was a nerve-racking time.

“I was pretty much the only billing person at CW Technology, and we took care of everything having to do with finance with just a couple of people,” said Nicole, who was anxious about the integration.  

Her anxiety didn’t last long. Nicole was reassured to find that the people at VC3 were not only welcoming, but supportive and not insistent on one way of doing things.

“At VC3 there’s a lot more support and a lot more ideas shared across regions. That’s been really useful, and it’s taught me a lot,” she said.

Everyone is Encouraged to Share Ideas

What Nicole has learned is that there are different ways to accomplish the same goal and that everyone is encouraged to share their input. VC3 has adopted some of the processes that Nicole and her colleagues who came from CW Technology have brought to the table, while other processes have been replaced with those from other regions.

Sandra Bergerson is the Regional Controller for VC3 and worked with Nicole at CW Technology for many years.

“In the early stages of integrating with VC3, Nicole had to clearly communicate with finance on the entire billing process because each region is very different as it relates to agreements,” said Sandra. “Most recently, Nicole raised her hand to take on the integration of billing for the Western region. She’s worked closely with the region’s General Manager to ensure the most seamless transition.”

When VC3 prepared to migrate to a new business management software, finance leadership recognized early that Nicole needed to be involved from the start. She played a key role in testing the application and during testing quickly brought to light items that needed to be addressed. She’s also involved with training new billing specialists.

Nicole understands that sharing her knowledge is a way to set others up for success because that’s what has happened to her.

“The team that surrounds me has been fantastic in helping me learn my role and understand the full circle of everything we do – where everything starts and where it finishes, where I fit in and how I impact the entire circle of activity,” Nicole explained.

Satisfaction Comes from Seeing Everything Come Together

As Nicole looks forward to the next few years, she anticipates continuing involvement in the integration of finance processes as VC3 acquires more companies and the organization matures. She’s eager to hear new ideas and to work with her team to adopt the best from everyone as they streamline financial operations and make everything as consistent as possible.

Nicole never hesitates when she’s faced with something new to learn or a challenge to tackle. In fact, when she’s worked through a challenge and can look back and see how everything came together – that’s her favorite part of her job.