Nov. 12, 2024

This paid piece is sponsored by Direct Companies

Go from a team of 40 to about 140 in only two years, and there are bound to be some adjustments needed to support growth.

That’s why Sioux Falls-based Direct Companies is putting a greater focus on both the internal experience its employees enjoy within the company and the external experience that customers receive.

Leading Direct Companies’ new Experience Division is Marcia Schmitz, who brings a broad background in strategic leadership, customer relations and multiple facets of human resources to her new role.

“We’ve experienced unprecedented expansion in recent years at Direct Companies, and Marcia really is the right person at the right time to lead us through this phase of growth as a company and position us for the future,” said Paul Zweifel, founder and CEO of Direct Companies, a family of businesses that largely are tech-focused, including process and machine automation, custom software and data management, phone systems, managed IT and security system services.

“She’s helped many successful businesses navigate growth, and we can already see the impact she’ll be able to have for our team and our clients.”

Like Zweifel, Schmitz also is an entrepreneur and co-founded Lead to Inspire, a professional training and coaching business eight years ago.

She began her new role as vice president of experience at Direct Companies in September. We sat down with her to learn more about the new division and what it will bring to the company.

What are your first impressions of the organization?

My first impressions are that Direct Companies is a very innovative and progressive company. I believe we’re on the brink of doing some really cool things. It’s not uncommon for organizations growing this fast and in multiple ways to experience growing pains. Paul recognized the need to lay a solid foundation and establish processes and procedures to ensure smoother growth in the future. Direct Companies has moved fast, Paul’s mind is always going, and growth is part of our future strategy.

What about the vice president of experience role excited you?

I think it starts with leadership, and my impression of Paul is that he really cares about building a strong team, taking care of the people that will create and build the business. It’s important to have a great culture and ultimately be a place where people want to come to work, and that’s a big part of what the Experience Team will focus on. If people like coming to work, feel valued and appreciated and we’re training them to be successful in their roles, the external experience our clients receive comes a lot more consistently. One thing that’s exciting is that many of the needs we’ve uncovered here are not unique to this organization at all, and they’re very solvable, so it will be exciting to put plans in place that I think will lead to greater employee satisfaction and organizational success.

It’s a broad role, so what do you plan to tackle first?

One month in, it’s clear to me that laying out a foundation internally needs to come first. So we’ll look at how we onboard, how we train, make sure all team members understand their key responsibility areas and ensure this fits into the overall strategic vision. We’ll have a lot of those processes and procedures set up by the end of the year, and then phase two will happen quickly after that, which will focus on making sure our leaders are equipped with the right tools because we need them helping grow their teams and developing people. The priority is laying the groundwork with upgraded processes, coaching our leaders, developing people and making sure everyone is equipped with the right toolbox.

Are there any focuses on external experience you’re addressing right away?

We’re definitely seeing business development, so I think we’re doing that well, but we want to ensure we’re supporting that pipeline of development and that we’re structured to best meet clients’ needs. One of the opportunities for Direct Companies is continuing to help people understand the unique and diverse nature of the business. We serve so many industries and deliver a high level of expertise but have been somewhat under-the-radar as we’ve grown. There’s a really exciting story to share here.

Are you actively hiring, including for the Experience Team?

We are hiring. We have a bright and talented Experience Team with diverse backgrounds and just added another new team member this month. HR will be part of the Experience Team, as well as marketing and our client success managers. This team will be actively supporting all areas of the business. And then within the broader Direct Companies, we are definitely still searching for talented people. It’s a great time to join our team because of the bright future and the innovation and growth ahead. There are key positions open and a lot of future opportunity for people in this organization.

To learn more about growing your career at Direct Companies, click here.