What's it like to work at FHB?
Get the inside scoop from our valued team members in this special blog series.
Megan Soles joined FHB as a Principal Consultant in April of 2021. Along with 16 years of experience in the public sector and accounting firms, she brings as a quick sense of humor and a spark of positivity to our team. We recently sat down with Megan to discuss her experience at FHB.
Q: What sort of work did you do prior to joining FHB?
A: I identify as a recovering auditor. Prior to working at the government, I was an auditor. And then when I went to my local government, I was brought in to bring our financial statements in-house and started looking at our accounting more internally. I later transitioned to budgets, and then FHB.
Q: What made you decide to come here?
A: The funny thing is, when I first went to my local government, I actually had a call with Jamie (FHB President Jamie Black), because we were looking at bringing statements in-house and using Caseware. So, I reached out to Jamie. And although we couldn't afford it in our budget at the time, I remember thinking that he had a super cool job. I could totally see wanting to do that. So, when I was considering leaving government, the only career page I went to was FHB’s. And I saw that they were hiring. This was the only place I applied. The thought of saving people from the drudgery that I experienced brings me great joy. So, I am a recovering auditor and now a drudgery demolisher. That has been my journey.
Q: How did you come to work in Enterprise Risk Management (ERM)?
A: When I was working in local government, I had started the training to become an internal auditor, because I wanted to bring some of that into the work. When I transitioned to FHB, there was potential in that area. And because I am an auditor, I really do enjoy that piece. So, I continued the training and got my designation. That's what brought me into the ERM space. My job now is a marriage of both of my roles in one. I was interested in automating financial statements and budgets for the same reason I like working in the GRC (Governance, Risk, and Compliance) space—because I see some of the tools we can offer and how they can save people some of the slog…so they can see the good in what they do.
Q: Can you recall a highlight of your time here at FHB?
A: I don't know if there's one particular moment, but it’s when we hear how what we've done has impacted our clients. When you hear that someone didn't have to spend all hours working on their budget or financial statements, and they got that time back with their family, or they could do something else with it. That's what makes me happy. Because I used to be one of those people. So, I feel like I'm bringing joy to my peeps. And that brings me joy! That happens a lot.
Q: Can you talk about a time that one of your coworkers at FHB stepped in to help you with something?
A: I can honestly say that this is the first job I have had where I feel like when I say that I'm tapped, I actually get support. In some of my other organizations, they didn't always have the means to do it. History had dictated to me that if I said, “Hey, guys, I'm drowning,” I would be given a snorkel that was too short, with a hole in it, and told to just figure it out. Whereas here, when I say I have too much, everyone steps in to see what we can do—move the schedule around, take things on—and it goes all the way up to Jamie Black himself. There was a time when I was really overloaded, so he volunteered to co-present something, because I wasn't able to. Everyone here pulls together; that's one of many examples. When you ask for help, you receive it.
Q: What's your favorite thing about working here?
A: That I'm the dumbest person in the room. The thing I love about FHB is, I work with people who are brilliant, just absolutely brilliant, pushing the boundaries of things, learning more. And we all come from different backgrounds and different expertise, so you don't get that tunnel groupthink. You get to learn so much from everyone else. I don't ever want to be the smartest person in the room. I'm glad to be here where I can learn from everyone, even in areas that I know nothing about. Like Joe (FHB's Sr. Graphic Designer, Joe Gravel) taught me about whitespace, and how formatting and shading matter when building a presentation. You can really bring yourself to the next level here.
Q: What do you think FHB gets right with its employees that other companies miss?
A: I can say that they help in a lot of ways. If you are having a personal issue, they will step up, and not just help you in work ways, but also help you sort out your problem, volunteer to do other things. The other thing we do well is, I love our culture here! We have a culture where we don't take ourselves too seriously, where it's OK to make mistakes and break things and figure things out. We're in a culture where you can share your experiences, everyone gets to give feedback. And there's no ego here. I noticed that one time when we did see an org chart, it was what I would consider inverted. Jamie was at the bottom of the org chart, and everyone else was above him. And that's not typically what you see. It's a subtle thing. But I think it speaks volumes.
Q: How does FHB support you to do your best work?
A: By surrounding me with people who have expertise and knowledge, who you can bounce ideas off. Another one is giving you the right leverage to do your own thing but being available when you need help. And another way is, we have goals, and we get to be involved in what we want to do here. I'm never told what I'm going to do; I’m asked, “What areas are you interested in? Where do you want to develop?” So, you get to give some feedback, to pick the direction you're going in. I think that helps me. Because you're going to excel in something that really interests you.
Q: Where do you see yourself in five years?
A: I honestly don't know. And I think that's a great thing. Because we're changing so much, I don’t even know where FHB is going to be in five years. If I think about the stuff that I have done since I started, I was originally hired on with budgets and financial statements. I've done a procure-to-pay implementation, I've done business process reviews, I'm doing this new GRC side. I just assume that whatever I'm doing will be pushing limits and demolishing drudgery—I just don't know in what context.
Q: What's it like working for Jamie?
A: It's inspiring, I would say. Because you can tell he's very passionate about what he does. That goes a long way for me. I need to know that I'm making a difference. And I don't have to be saving the world. But I do need to know that my work has meaning. You can see it when he speaks, he truly believes in what we do. And I feel like he's very thoughtful in his approach. He’s good at asking for feedback. You're able to give ideas and contribute, and he takes them seriously. He is one of the better leaders I have had. He's very thoughtful and careful in the words he uses. And he thinks about how things will be perceived and doesn't do things off the cuff. Even in some of the difficult conversations we have in staff meetings, I feel like they're very fair and thoughtful. And he has done his best to communicate the message in a way that will hopefully land well with everyone.
Q: Tell me about a way in which you've grown or learned something at FHB that really stretched your capability.
A: Where to begin? One of the things that interested me when coming here was learning more about technology and software, and how to write the rules, and the mechanics of how it works. Since coming to FHB, I have learned a lot about that, which is super cool to me, because it is a side interest. So, for example, in the GRC space, I'm learning how to write some of the code to make the software look the way it needs to and add the data. I've been learning how to write queries, and that's really interesting to me.
Q: How has FHB demonstrated that they care about you as a person?
A: In lots of ways. People send you little messages, even in meetings, just checking in on you. Or I've had some personal challenges, just with my family, my parents over the last year, and everyone is reaching out and checking in to make sure I'm OK, and following up, which is super nice. If you ask for help, if people can swing it, they'll help you right away. Or even if you just need to have a chance to chat and vent, people are available for that. So, there are lots of ways.
Q: How do you strike work/life balance?
A: I do like the work from home piece, because even when you are working a lot of hours, you're already at home. And that makes a big difference. So, on my lunch break, I can unload the dishwasher. Or I can put that laundry away that I should have put away like a week ago. You can tackle little things like that. And I get to spend the day with my dogs! Not everyone can say that. And they honestly bring people joy. People look for my dogs now more than they look for me. They don't even care what I have to say they're just here for the dogs.
