Employee Spotlight: Rachel Sigler

Once a month, fusionSpan will share the talent and hard work of the people that we call our team. From development, operations, digital strategy, professional services, and more – we pause to get a little bit personal, showcasing the faces behind the technology solutions that we work on each day. This month we meet fusionSpan Project Manager, Rachel Sigler.

What positions did you hold prior to joining fusionSpan?

My background is in Health Fitness & Recreation Resources, and I got my degree from George Mason University. After college, I was a personal trainer for a bit, then I moved into corporate fitness. I was mainly responsible for running different health and wellness programs, as well as a lot of administrative work. You wouldn’t think so much about corporate fitness jobs, but a lot of planning goes into that field as well.

During the summers, when I was in college, one fun job I had was as a gas attendant at a marina. When boats came in to dock, I would help bring them in, tie them up, get them gas, and send them on their way. I got to do that for a few years, and it was definitely a fun and unique experience!

What hobbies or activities do you enjoy in your free time?

I grew up playing soccer. At age seven, I started playing competitively, then I played throughout high school. Even now, I play in co-ed, recreational leagues – it’s a lot of fun. It is a nice hobby to get outside and get exercise with friends. I usually have games once or twice a week.

What are the main responsibilities of your current role? What do you enjoy most about your position?

My current role is Project Manager within our Professional Services department, so I spend a lot of time in that liaison role between the development team and the client. I keep communication flowing and make sure every task is getting done.

A big focus of mine is keeping tasks and projects organized and on track. I ensure items are getting done in order, on time, and make sure those items are communicated to the client.

What I enjoy most about my current position is helping clients and seeing that we are making a difference for them – it doesn’t have to be the biggest project to make an impact. Making even the smallest change could be a huge help for the client.

When clients provide feedback along the lines of “this is so much better and easier,” but it was a minor change that they didn’t know they could make, it’s just a great feeling to have made their day a lot easier.

How has your role changed or grown since you joined fusionSpan?

When I started about three and a half years ago, I was in more of an Administrative and Registrar role. My background wasn’t in consulting so I came in with an open mind, and quickly learned how to start grasping new concepts.

fusionSpan was a lot smaller, so most of my work was with our CTO Manav, in our eight-person office. It included random office duties and helping move to our new office in Rockville. As an event registrar, I would assist troubleshooting registration problems and travel with clients to their conferences to assist onsite.

I have always been on our Professional Services team. Because we’re so small, I’ve had to wear a lot of different hats. Initially, I would handle the support tickets that came in our ticketing system from clients. I got to troubleshoot their systems and I’d spend much of my time trying to figure things out myself. If I couldn’t, I’d get help from someone else on the team that had a little more experience. It has been an amazing opportunity to learn and grow into my current position here as Project Manager.

What words would you use to describe fusionSpan? What have you enjoyed most about being here?

I have been here for three and a half years, and while that may not seem like a very long time, I feel like I am a company veteran. I have gotten to see us grow from the little eight-person office in DC to our large, two suite Rockville, MD office – it’s cool to see us bursting at the seams now. It’s just great to see how much we’ve grown and developed since I started here.

When thinking of words to describe fusionSpan, the first one that comes to mind is growth. I see so much expansion and growth of the company, and that’s been so great to see and experience.

The second word is open. I can talk with everyone. I don’t feel like there are any closed doors. Even with Manav and Gayathri being President and CTO of the company, I feel as if I can always pop in their offices or send a quick Slack message to touch base. It’s an awesome feeling to be a member of such a team and family oriented environment.

The third word that I would say describes fusionSpan is opportunity. You don’t have to come into fusionSpan with all the knowledge to be successful. Much of my work was on-the-job training. If someone has the right mentality and an open mind, they have so much opportunity to learn.

At the end of the day, I see a lot of success here at fusionSpan, and can’t wait to see how we continue to grow and help clients!