Rodney is the Professional Services Manager at Bellwether. He’s been working in the IT industry for more than three decades, with most of those years being at Bellwether. It was during his high school years that he became interested in computers when his brother-in-law introduced him to the world of technology. He found that he loved it but his career in IT almost didn’t take off.
Rodney was walking out of his house to become a supervisor at a Wendy’s restaurant when he got a call from Poco Sloss, owner of Bellwether, which was called ComputerLand at the time. Poco invited him to interview and instead of becoming a restaurant manager, Rodney started working as a hardware technician.
It wasn’t too long before Rodney became the service manager, overseeing employees who had been working at ComputerLand longer than he had. His hunger for knowledge and growth propelled his career forward.
Working for the Best Interest of Clients
Today, Rodney not only leads the professional services team, but he also oversees a portion of the company’s staff who work at client locations, and he’s the virtual Chief Information Officer (vCIO) for about half of Bellwether’s clients. Working in the best interest of clients is at the core of Rodney’s work, whatever hat he might be wearing throughout his day.
“I’ve been successful for so long with clients because they know I’m truly looking out for their best interests,” said Rodney. “They know that if I’m telling them to get something it’s because they truly need it.”
According to his supervisor and coworker, Zasha, Rodney’s success hinges on his dedication to clients, to Bellwether and to his coworkers. He’s always willing to lend a helping hand and share his expertise and he has a comfortable rapport with clients.
Teamwork and Trusting Relationships
A typical day for Rodney includes several meetings. He might go from a project meeting to a strategy call with a client to a management meeting. He’s constantly fielding questions from engineers and pitching in to close out tickets when the team needs a set of extra hands. He also works closely with Zasha, the Director of Operations.
“We take teamwork to heart,” said Rodney about Zasha. “We know we can trust each other with our opinions. She knows I’ll give her a straight answer and I get the same from her.”
Zasha echoes Rodney’s sentiments about their dynamic work relationship, “We have open communication, work well together on projects, and have great banter throughout the day which makes it fun.”
There were a couple of times when Rodney ventured away from Bellwether to work for other companies but he returned when he realized that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side of the fence. He says he’s one of several “lifers” at Bellwether and will be staying until retirement.
Playing a Part of Client Success
Rodney has lots of reasons why he chooses to stay at Bellwether. He’s not micromanaged. He has limitless opportunities to learn as well as share his knowledge by mentoring others. He likes the way the company treats their people. He feels appreciated and that his input is valued.
What continues to get him excited about the work that he does every day is to know that it impacts the success of Bellwether’s clients.
“I like to help clients get better value out of their IT systems,” Rodney explained. “When I see that it was me who recommended something and now it’s working for them, doing exactly what we thought it would do. That’s what gets me excited about work.”
