Employee Interview: Mary Schneider
Pictured, Mary Schneider (left) and Seth Conover (right)
Employee Interview: Mary Schneider, VP/Managing Director of Staffing Services
Our Marketing/Content Specialist Seth sat down with Creatis' new VP/Managing Director of Staffing, Mary Schneider to discuss her new role, and why her background leading sales and marketing teams translates so well to Creatis.
Seth: Mary, what initially attracted you to Creatis?
Mary: I’d heard about Creatis’ great work, their values and their results. I’ve always known Kathy Hollenhorst, Creatis President/CEO, through our mutual networks. When she reached out to her network about this role last summer, we connected to discuss it further as I knew about some possible candidates. Through our conversations we each realized that this would be a good fit for both the organization and for me, and several months later, I joined the team.
Seth: Networking works! So when you were leading marketing teams – what qualities did you look for in an outside agency partner?
Mary: When I previously worked with outside agencies, I was looking not only for a strong reputation, great work, responsiveness, clear communication, trust and effective time/budget management; but for a partner that would challenge my thinking instead of just following my orders. An agency that could relate to my business challenges and offer solutions that gave me confidence in their knowledge and delivery. This is the difference between being a vendor and being a true partner.
Seth: How does Creatis meet those qualities you just described?
Mary: By truly listening to the needs of our clients to understand expressed needs as well as hidden needs; the Creatis team works closely to support resourcing needs and match the best candidates to the right assignment – not just expecting our clients to do the upfront work. We make suggestions and offer solutions that might not be apparent, but these solutions actually work! And we live our values to share the journey with clients and employees and to build strong and trusting relationships.
Seth: A theme is emerging - Creatis focuses on people and partnerships. Is that what separates Creatis from the pack?
Mary: The level of service and the value-added touch points that Creatis provides to both its clients and its employees is a true differentiator. We do a great deal of upfront work to save our clients time and offer quality solutions.
We invest in building trust and establishing strong relationships. We work in a highly accountable environment which drive our delivery to our clients and supports our working experience with employees. We reinforce our values through touchpoints with clients and employees, and recognize employees that demonstrate our values in their professional lives at an annual event.
With clients, we show them that we share their journey and that we care about and focus on their results. We place a high value around building long-term, trusting relationships, and both our clients and employees tell us how much they appreciate our commitment.
Seth: What do you see as the biggest challenge for marketing/creative leaders from a people or resourcing perspective?
Mary: The need for new skills in digital, marketing automation, content strategy and customer centricity are current challenges for marketing leaders today. Marketing changes constantly and keeping pace with the fast-pace of change – especially from a resourcing perspective – is critical to success.
Seth: Marketing changes so fast it's probably changed over the course of this conversation! So why should a prospective client want to work with Creatis?
Mary: Creatis has a long history of serving clients by presenting strong and creative people, and effective solutions. We are marketing professionals that support the needs of marketing organizations. We understand the unique needs that our clients have, and we provide resources that meet these needs. I recently had a client tell me that “Creatis is the Gold Standard.” We truly care about the success of our clients and our employees.
Seth: Do you have something like a professional mantra when it comes to serving clients?
Mary: Early in my career, I had a mentor who told me the best way to differentiate yourself from others and to drive for success is to “say what you’re going to do; and do what you say – follow through, follow through, follow through.” I have incorporated advise throughout my career and my personal life. It is not always easy to do, but I have found it to be one of the best ways to establish credibility and integrity and to develop trust. It has served me very well in all aspects of my life.
Seth: Thanks for taking the time and for the thoughtful answers, Mary.
Mary: Thank you! I'm excited to be part of the Creatis team.
