Experiences at focus on the family

One of the most dynamic things I learned through the years as an employee of Focus on the Family is that I can never communicate enough. Communication with my co-workers, my supervisors, clients, other colleagues, about what I am working on and what I am finding is critical to the success of a project. If I fail to communicate even the smallest concern regarding data or a report, I risk getting off track, possibly miss-stating a statistic.

Asking for peer review as projects develop and come to completion for insights I may not have thought of or discovered is also important. Don't work in a vacuum. Check and double check my work and how it will be presented.

I can never communicate enough. It is very important that clients understand the scope of the work promised and when they can expect to begin receiving preliminary results. Keeping the clients informed throughout the project is an important vehichle for developing trust and accountability with the client.

Most times basic research results spawn further questions, so don't be afraid to be thorough in analysis work, however, I always weigh the value of additional work and the benefit to be provided. I want to be sure I have answered the real questions being asked by the clients and what decisions will be made with the information to be provided.

Communicate, Communicate, Communicate at the proper level with the appropriate information....

Tactfully solved problems related to customer problems, resulting in increased retention and growth of Focus' customer base. My experience and knowledge led to a decrease in the amount of time required to process requests for materials.

Be an honest individual and very willing to talk to thousands of people about their accounts and their requests. Be a team player in every area.

It's called the G. Harvey project. Every year a man named G. Harvey paints a picture to have printed and donated to Focus on the Family. It's a limited edition and numbered series that is the biggest fundraising project for Focus. I was asked to lead one of the work teams for that project. We had to painstakingly check each print for any defects in printing. Then number each print and put them in correct order and make sure they were shipped correctly to the right donor. A lot of fun, but hard work!...