What's it like to work at FHB?
Get the inside scoop from our valued team members in this special blog series.
Michael Spurlin has been with FHB for four years. He started as a Solutions Advisor, then departed to accept another opportunity. He soon realized “how good things were” at FHB and returned to accept a new role. The rest is history.
Q: What did you do before you joined FHB?
A: I started out building learning systems and knowledge-management systems for a telecommunications company. Then I went into sales...mostly things you can't touch, like services. I actually worked for Workiva, one of our solution partners. At F.H. Black we’re responsible for opening the government market in the United States for Workiva. I came here initially in a Solutions Advisor role, helping FHB to grow that space.
Q: I know your role has changed quite a bit and you’ve been focusing on demos, client Capstone trainings, and such. Do you feel like you’re cut out for a sales role or more of what you’re doing now?
A: In a world of specialists, I'm a generalist who has the ability to excel in either role. There are days when I love selling, I love being in front of clients. And my role now is to be in front of the pre-sales process and do demonstrations or Capstone training, to be client-facing. Having so many years in a sales role, helping people solve problems, has helped that. And it also helps me with projects, so that I'm able to help our clients be successful.
Recently, I began demonstrating implementation of Workiva for government reporting automation as part of our bi-monthly webinar series. I’ve also worked on demos for a new product offering we’ve developed.
Q: What has been a highlight of your time at FHB?
A: You know, it's not a highlight; it's a recurring highlight. I talk to a lot of people who, on Sunday night after dinner, start dreading things because their job stinks. And they are not looking forward to Monday morning. I've never had that feeling on a Sunday night at F.H. Black. So, it's not a pinnacle moment. It's a “my job is better than their job” moment. Every week.
Q: Why did you choose FHB—twice?
A: The first time, I had a trusted friend who said, “You’ll want to talk to these people at F.H. Black. They're your kind of people.” Jamie Black, FHB President and founder, is one of the brightest people I've ever met. He's very forward-thinking, has a long-term vision. He cares about clients being successful and his employees growing and succeeding. So, that was what attracted me here.
When I came back later, the company I rejoined was even better than when I left it. The benefits available, the opportunities for growth, the areas that the company was expanding and growing in, had improved—even in just seven months. There's that constant growth and realizing we can get a little bit better, one percent better every week. And I'd be a fool to pass up a chance to work with Jamie again.
Q: How has FHB demonstrated that they care about you as a person?
A: We have a great people leader here—I don't think we have HR here, I call Kathy (Kathy Drumm, Manager Human Resources, Performance & Development) my people partner. She has demonstrated that she cares about me being successful. My leader Darryl (Darryl Parker, Director, Solutions Design & Architecture) cares about me being successful. Jamie Black cares about me being successful, and colleagues that are lateral or above me care about me being successful. So, it's not the pinnacle moments. It is every day, day in and day out, this company demonstrates that they care about their people—not just me, but everybody. They might not get it right all the time, but when they don’t, they fix it.
Q: Can you give me an example of a time when FHB helped you strike work-life balance?
A: Having the option to not work on Mondays, having PTO and vacation time, the ability to, within guidelines, manage my schedule with a project as long as I finish my deliverables, and having the tools in place to communicate where I am with project leaders and see what's next—all of that gives me work-life balance. I can work flexibly. There’s no one asking if I’m here at eight o'clock in the morning. And there's no one asking whether I’m here at 10 o’clock at night. We focus on what's right for the client, what's right for the company, and what's right for the employee.
That's why FHB isn't a place for everybody to work. It's for people who have to be responsible, who like to solve hard problems with smart people. Those are the kind of people who are successful here. People who are curious, ask questions, can communicate well, and have been successful in other places. So as far as work-life balance is concerned, part of it comes from being with a mature, strong company. And part of it is, I earn that work life balance by being an employee who delivers.
Q: We have a unique culture here, and I would say that it's pretty remarkable given that we're all remote workers. So how do you think FHB has managed to assemble such a great team? What do you attribute that to?
A: I think the culture doesn't tolerate mediocrity. If you think you're good, but you're not good, you're not going to last here. I've seen people come here who were very good in their pre-FHB roles and they get here and realize that they're with people who are really, really good at their jobs. Some people see that and say, “This is awesome! I'm not the smartest person in the room, but I have a chance to get smarter.” And they roll up their sleeves, ask questions, and get to it. However, some people’s egos are so tied to their job that they can't handle it. And they don't. And FHB is not the place for them.
Being a remote culture allows us to attract the best of the best. I've worked a long time and at a lot of different companies, and I'm really good at what I do. And I only want to work with people who are really good at what they do. And I'm okay with people growing. They don't have to be at the top of their game yet. But they have to be ready—they're going to be better in December than they were in January. Those are the kind of colleagues I want. Those are the kind of colleagues I get to work with at F.H. Black.
Q: What's your favorite thing about working here?
A: I roll into my home office, it's a commute of about 10 steps after I take the dog for a walk. I’ve got me a little tumbler here full of hot cocoa. I can look out my window over here and see the sun rising. I flip on my computer, and I get to solve a cool problem. I get to do that every single day of the week. Elsewhere, there are people who have to fill out some stupid report or do some kind of bureaucratic mess that they're not engaged with and don't love. I get to walk in the door every single morning and help some government financial reporting team solve a problem that they've had for years. And I get to do it with the best people in North America, day in and day out. So that's the best part of my job.
Q: What do you think F.H. Black gets right, that a lot of other companies miss?
A: Having the leadership whose thought process, decision-making, and strategy have evolved...to be even more relevant than we were 25 years ago. Leadership, thought leadership, the art of long-view thinking—that is huge. Being one of the first people on the bandwagon to say “remote work first” is a value. Knowing to hire talent over title, no matter what. Our recruiting process is good at finding the right person. It's somebody who has something unique and valuable to offer. And knowing that we can hire somebody now, but they're going to actually deliver in 18 months from now—Jamie’s vision for growing this company and seeding individuals into roles so that they grow.
It's the culture of evolution and thinking and being relevant. It's the hiring process. It's the remote work first. And it's being so focused on helping government financial reporting teams solve the eight key problems day after day and doing it in the best way. And every client who works with us leaves us happier and better and has an improved process. Those are the things that F.H. Black does, and that separates it from other companies.
Q: How does FHB support you to do your best work?
A: I’ve got two monitors in front of me, I’ve got a kick-ass laptop, I’ve got the equipment to do my job. And I work with really smart people. And if I want to go find something new somewhere else to learn about, I get the resources to do it. I'm going to get continuing education to get smarter, I’ve got benefits so I can go and join the health club and be reimbursed. Whether it's physically, mentally, doing the job properly... I have what I need. It's up to me to show up and just do a killer job. FHB gives me the framework, the scaffolding to be successful, whether it's from technology, benefits, or having great team members to work with. That's what I get.
