Charmaine Travel and Consumer Agent for Working Solutions since 2018
In her nearly two years with Working Solutions, Charmaine has worked on accounts ranging from travel and veterans’ health to exercise and laboratory sciences.
The work has varied, but her job satisfaction hasn’t. “I love the freedom of working from home and the fact that everyone at the firm is so accessible and helpful.”
If anyone needed such a supportive environment, it was Charmaine, who at age 39 nearly died of a heart attack. “I had felt a pain that radiated down my neck, but I didn’t think much of it. The next thing I knew, I was being wheeled into an ambulance.
“My surgeon called me a medical miracle. Two of my coronary arteries were completely blocked and another didn’t connect properly,” Charmaine said. “I was lucky to have survived the operation.”
Sporting two new stents, Charmaine’s next goal was to destress. “I was a divorced mother of three in a high-pressure job, training laboratory personnel. I needed a career where the stress was more manageable.”
A contact center job appeared to be the perfect fit, and Charmaine signed up with Liveops. The Liveops experience didn’t, however. “The company was just too impersonal.”
A short time later, she interviewed with Working Solutions, and the interviewer was none other than company founder Kim Houlne. “From the beginning, Working Solutions seemed like the right environment for me.”
Charmaine began her adult life by getting a degree in computer information systems from the University of Michigan. Not a bad accomplishment by any measure. But a career in information technology wasn’t in the cards for Charmaine. She wanted more direct interaction with people.
One of Charmaine’s most memorable experiences came early in her Working Solutions career, while working on the veterans’ healthcare account. “These veterans were special people, who had been through difficult times. However, I understood where they were coming from and did my best to help them. I think we ended up being good for each other,” she said.
When she isn’t on the job, Charmaine likes to unwind by traveling. Recent, pre-COVID-19 trips include a cruise and vacations to Cancun, Belize and Sedona, Arizona. She’s always thrived on being surrounded by water but conceded “the desert was remarkably beautiful and calming.”
These days at home in Missouri City, Texas, Charmaine is back on the job and happy to be part of Working Solutions. “It’s hard to imagine working in a better environment where you never feel alone. It’s truly a company with a lot of heart.”
