International Women's Day Interview – Elise

Name: Elise Hawkins

Role: Customer Success Manager

Favourite movie: Return of the King – This was such a difficult decision as I love the entire trilogy.

Favourite food: I love a lot of food, so this is difficult but I’d have to say an old favourite, and at the risk of sounding like Garfield, it is lasagna.

Favourite book: The Hobbit – J.R.R Tolkien, a classic!

1. Could you tell us about your role and what a typical day looks like for you?

My role as Customer Success Manager is to help all our customers get the most out of their subscription with us, in whatever form that takes. This can be through account reviews, exploring additional features with demos or just ensuring our customers are aware of the features and functionality available to them on their current plans. 

For me, a typical day will be responding to email enquiries from customers, along with meetings with customers.

2. What does International Women's Day mean to you personally?

IWD to me means remembering all those women in history who fought to break societal biases and paved the way, so that not only their daughters & granddaughters, but all women, could run. 

Reflecting on their struggles, reminds me to never take for granted the opportunities afforded to me and I will lead by their example.

3. Thinking back on your career so far, can you tell us about an experience or decision that really shaped where you are today?

It came down to taking a chance around 8 years ago. This decision allowed me to further hone my customer success skills, work on my problem solving and ultimately led me to now being able to do what I love most when I joined ExpenseIn.

4. Have you faced any notable challenges as a woman in your field, and how did you navigate them?

The biggest challenge has been encountering personal biases due to my gender. People from all walks of life still unintentionally follow the belief of assuming a woman might not have as much technical knowledge as their counterparts.

I found the best way to navigate this was to focus on finding the solution to the issue raised by the customer, as this is the best way to prove that I am more than capable. Sometimes though, you have to accept that you can do everything the right way but it won’t change the view of the individual you’re working with, but the only thing we can do is our best.

5. Who are some of the women—either in your personal life or in the public eye—who inspire you, and why?

I’d have to say firstly my grandmother, who taught me kindness and compassion costs nothing, and my mother who taught me the gift of knowledge is a blessing and encouraged me to learn.

Along with female friends, who have always encouraged me to better myself and always picked me up when my self-belief faltered. They are some of my biggest supporters in any of my success and I am honoured to have them in my life.

6. This year’s International Women’s Day theme is “Accelerate Action.” In light of that, what do you think can be done, both here at our company and across the industry, to foster greater gender equality?

I feel within ExpenseIn, we’re already doing great. We have diverse teams and some fantastic female leadership which I know will continue here.

For the industry, continue striving to be better. Don’t be complacent and keep to how ‘it’s always been done’, break the moulds and hire the new talent. Diversity will only be a positive and bring more growth, personally and professionally.

7. What advice would you offer to women who are just starting out in your field or looking to follow a similar career path?

Don’t be afraid to take calculated risks with your career path, if it feels right, and trust in yourself. Follow good leadership examples. A good leader will guide you, give you the tools to build your confidence and encourage you to expand your skill.

Don’t be afraid to say I don’t know or I don’t understand, and ask all the questions you feel you need to, to get to where you feel comfortable.