June 26, 2024

This paid piece is sponsored by Click Rain Inc.

“When our employees are feeling good, the work proves itself.”

This mantra and mindset guides Paige Ratzloff’s people-centered leadership at Click Rain.

As director of account service at the digital marketing agency, Ratzloff spends much of her time focusing on the dynamics of her team and their relationship with clients.

She knows that the key to quality work is ensuring that the team has the resources and capacity to get it done. Working at Click Rain for almost a decade, she has seen how this mentality not only has benefited the team but also the work they deliver. 

While marketing wasn’t part of Ratzloff’s original plan, it has turned out to be one of the best career decisions she has made. 

Right place, right time

Ratzloff didn’t start off in account service. In fact, she didn’t start out in marketing at all. She went to school for communications and worked in HR for a couple of companies before applying for a job at Click Rain. 

How did she land the job at Click Rain with little marketing experience? She actually started as a part-time office manager. Ratzloff made herself stand out with her natural confidence and personality, and even from those initial connections, it was clear she was a perfect fit.

Working up the ladder

Glad to be in a new role, Ratzloff was always ready to help out wherever needed. However, along the way, she realized that she wanted a position that was more focused on client relations. She always considered herself someone who loved being around people. Engaging with clients in a way that is both personal and productive has always been her priority.

By request, she started helping out more with clients. After six months, Ratzloff was promoted to account coordinator and continued to ascend the ladder to her current position: director of account service. She now oversees the account service department, where she guides and mentors the team and collaborates with other company leaders on strategic initiatives. 

An agency centered on people

Using Ratzloff’s decade-long history with Click Rain as an example, you have to think, ‘What is it about Click Rain that makes people stay?’ Ratzloff attributes it to the support she has received from both her department and her managers. According to Ratzloff: “Click Rain is like no other! I know the people here truly care about me as a person and always take the team’s overall well-being into consideration.”

As a people-centered agency, Click Rain focuses on providing its employees with a flexible, supportive environment where team members can grow and thrive. This means things like flexible scheduling, workload management and regular one-on-ones with managers are all part of the experience. 

As a mother, Ratzloff has seen the lengths Click Rain will go to ensure that employees’ time at home with family is respected. “They truly value all of their employees as wives, mothers, daughters, friends,” she said.

Ratzloff said her managers will take the time to listen to her and have made efforts to help her grow in her field. During their regular time together, management at Click Rain will meet with the individuals in their department to see how they’re doing and set goals for the next few months. This sets up employees on the path toward growth and success.

And getting to work alongside individuals who are passionate about this line of work and are bringing new ideas to the table consistently is a huge benefit. “I get to learn from some of the smartest people in the industry and know that I am surrounded by a team driven by shared values and a passion for excellence,” Ratzloff said.

Cultivating community with clients

Not only does Click Rain foster relationships with its employees but with its clients as well. A primary function at Click Rain is to “simplify digital.” For Ratzloff, this means being the liaison between the client and Click Rain. It means simplifying the strategy for meeting the client’s objectives and providing them with a clear-cut game plan for their marketing efforts. 

Forming relationships with her clients is a huge perk of the job for Ratzloff: “The relationships that I have built with my clients over the years are one of the most cherished parts of my job. Helping them to reach their marketing goals is the cherry on top of the trust and friendships that I have gained.”

Not all business owners understand the nuances of digital marketing; that’s why they come to Click Rain to simplify it. Being people-centered means gaining clients’ trust and putting their needs first without sacrificing the work-life balance of the Click Rain team.

It takes a village

After 9 1/2 years at Click Rain, Ratzloff has seen and experienced a great deal. But one thing is for sure: Every member of the team adds value to the final product. Like Ratzloff has said, when employees feel taken care of, it shows through in their work. When they feel supported, they turn and make sure their co-workers feel just as valued, forming a strong, reliable team.

It truly takes a village to create something amazing, and after seeing that play out for almost a decade, Ratzloff is in it for the long haul.