Karine is the newest member in the Supplier Operations team, managing the data entry of invoices and work orders received from our Suppliers in CRM.
Can you tell me about your role?
It’s essentially taking raw information and creating a list of data. We receive documentation from Suppliers after work has been completed. My role is to look at the documentation and enter the critical data into the system in order for CMEPP to fulfill the entry and pay out the invoice. That involves looking for the invoice number, the invoice date, the service date, and what work was done. I enjoy it because in my previous job I was used to dealing with one specific supplier; now I’m dealing with many.
What’s something that’s surprised you about life at CMEPP?
Many companies talk about work-life balance, but at CMEPP, those are not just words. The team really cares. If you’re feeling overwhelmed or if something is going on in your life and you need to take the time to deal with an issue, the team is very accommodating and supportive. One day last week my daughter got on the wrong bus and I had to leave at four to go get her. I wasn’t finished all my work but I knew my colleague would step in to help. She helps me or I help her. It’s a good flow.
Our interview is interrupted by Karine’s 9-year-old daughter MacKenzie. She tells her mother to stop opening her curtains. “She likes to live in a cave,” says Karine. “For every trait I have, she’s my opposite. I like to have open windows, open curtains. I like bright, she has her curtains closed in her bunker of blankets.”
What is it that attracts you to analytical work like this?
For someone who dislikes math as much as I do, I never expected I would like numbers. But it’s a puzzle. When I’m looking at data, questions come up and sometimes the pieces don’t fit. But having large amounts of data at the same time is what allows me to put the pieces together and see those connections. I get a little rush when I look at an invoice and can see patterns from service events – or catch a discrepancy. That’s what I like about this kind of data. It’s learning.
When you’re dealing with data all the time, is it easy to lose sight of the big picture?
Yes. You can follow your process but at some point the steps change or become more complicated and you’ll never get comfortable doing it if you don’t know the ‘why’. If you know the big picture, you understand why it’s important to show savings to the Participants. It helps me remember. If you don’t know the why, it’s easy to skip or to overlook steps.
What do you look for in a job?
I was concerned when I took an invoicing role that it would not be a fit, but it just clicked. I love the bantering and easy conversations we have every Friday at The Perk. I also like that with this work, I can be independent. Last week I was on a call about our portal launch. This is a fantastic development because it provides such useful information and helps us triage the emails that are coming in for support.
During the meeting, I could hear some music playing in the kitchen – oh, that’s Mambo No. 5. I started dancing and suddenly realized I was on camera! Freeze! My workdays are fun, I’m dancing and I’m singing.
