Exploring Fidelity’s Programs: The Boston Experience

Alicia Steere Welcome to the Side of the Desk podcast hosted by Fidelity Jobs and the Fidelity Women's Leadership Group. We are here to have deep discussions on the authentic experience of being a working professional in today's ever changing workforce. Alicia Steere Hi everyone, and thanks for joining us for this episode of Side of the Desk today. Alicia Steere I'm really excited to chat with three of our regional center associates from the regional center Boston. Experi ence Program. Today I have with us Alicia Steere two current members of the program and one former member, so I'll let them go around and introduce themselves and we'll dive into some of the benefits and what exactly that looks like. Nicole Desimone Hi, I'm Nicole de Simone. Nicole Desimone I'm a high net worth associate here and I've been with the firm for about three years. Sam Hettrich I'm Samantha Patrick. I am a former associate in the regional center Boston Experience. I was actually in the first rotation and I've been with City since 2020. Wyatt Hammond and my name is Wyatt Hammond. I'm an investment consultant with Fidelity, and this will be my third rotation going through the regional center Boston Experience. Alicia Steere That is so awesome. Thank you all for making time for us today. Alicia Steere So first off, what is the Ah CBCs, the Regional Center Boston Experience program for our listeners who might not be familiar with it? Alicia Steere when we think about when clients call up, they call a regional center, which is a big phone site. What we're able to do is bring the top performing associates from those regional centers in Rhode Island or New Hampshire to Boston. Alicia Steere That's awesome because there was not a previously established call center or phone site, regional center type experience that existed within Boston, which is where Fidelity's headquarters was. So I think and correct me if I'm wrong, you all know more about this program than I do, but it was kind of established as a way to have that regional representation around New England, inclusive of New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Alicia Steere for associates to Alicia Steere commute into the headquarters every day and get some of that exposure that comes with working in the office in Boston and be selected for a program Alicia Steere of some like minded individuals to get some different exposure, create networking connections and Alicia Steere work in just a little bit of a different working environment. Wyatt Hammond Yeah, exactly. It's a really fascinating program because it gives us the opportunity as associates to not only network with the leaders, but also learn more about the initiatives that they're starting. But one of the other big benefits is it gives the leaders the opportunity to come down and listen to client facing calls as well. Alicia Steere that's awesome. So leaders who might not necessarily work with clients directly or even once removed or indirectly, they kind of get to know what people are dealing with in the day to day and kind of who handles those client relationships over the phone. Wyatt Hammond Exactly. Yeah. It's really a fun experience. And you're right down here in Boston. Get a view of the harbor. Wyatt Hammond So I can't complain about any of it. Alicia Steere That's awesome. And I'm curious, so you mentioned why that there it's for high performing individuals. Is that how did you all hear about the program? Sam Hettrich So I was actually I started my career in Merrimack, New Hampshire, but I was living in Boston at the time, and so I was commuting from South Boston up to Merrimack. Sam Hettrich And one day my manager called me and said, I have something that you might be interested in. They're starting a phone site at the headquarters. Never been done before. I think this will be a really cool experience in my immediate reaction was absolutely. Instead of driving an hour north, I just hop on the bus right down the street. Sam Hettrich But to all of its points, it's a really cool program because you're on the floor with a whole bunch of other top performing representatives. But we're all taking different types of phone calls as well. So what Nicole does is different from what I did is different from why it does. So you're on the same floor and leaders all across the headquarters at Fidelity get to come down and listen to a whole bunch of different types of client interaction. Sam Hettrich So I personally, when I was on the floor, I learned a lot because I was sitting next to a representative that worked in retirement, and that's not what I did, but I got to learn so much from them the same way that they got to learn from me and what I did. So it's a really cool collaborative space, Nicole Desimone definitely, And I would add to that as well. Nicole Desimone It's more than even just the leaders. I think going back to the way that I heard about the program, a lot of it was word of mouth at the time. I wasn't part of the first rotation, but I got to see a lot of the benefits that the associates were experiencing from coming into the program. And a lot of leaders from even other branches, maybe not just our main home offices where we work out of, will come and take some time to sit and listen to those calls. Nicole Desimone Maybe it's to benefit a project that they're working on or a new product that they are creating to get a better understanding of how the clients actually interact with that. So it's definitely beneficial for both us as those frontline associates and any sort of leader and other fidelity associate that wants to learn more. Alicia Steere Yeah, I love the way that Fidelity prioritizes that client connection and making sure that that's available to any of the product areas across fidelity so that they can be as equipped as possible to handle what the client needs and what they're actually caring about and calling about and what they want to accomplish so that they can get it done and ultimately Alicia Steere we can help our people Sam Hettrich going after that point. One of the coolest things I think that our program did was every day there was a whiteboard in the corner and I'm not sure if it was if it's still there, but it was first round. There was a whiteboard in the corner and for each different section, for each different role and kind of specific type of client call, the question would be, what's the client talking about today? Sam Hettrich And we would just put a whole bunch of things on the board of trends that we were getting phone calls with. And that was great for me because I kind of knew what was coming my way. But it was really cool when the product teams come down to see right now, today, this is what our clients are talking about. Sam Hettrich So it was a really cool mindset for all to be for us all to be in as we got together and helped the client. Alicia Steere Yeah, absolutely. So I know we've each kind of said this in our own way. You need to be somebody who is competent in their metrics and be a motivated, driven individual in order to go to through with this program. Alicia Steere But what else? What other skills come to mind in order to enjoy or get the most out of your rotation? Wyatt Hammond Yeah, I think some of the skills that come to mind is you want to be able to build relationships, kind of get to know more about the company that you work for, and it's really eye opening when you come down here to be able to see just how widespread fidelity is and all the different areas in which they are helping clients or helping associates as well. Wyatt Hammond So building those relationships and being able to share your ideas to leaders, other associates and just be comfortable around them, I think is big. Sam Hettrich I think all of us together on the floor are working together to deliver the best client experience in every interaction. But the floor that we're on is a really cool place to make that happen. Sam Hettrich Because I was in a back office role. My team was called the Service Support Group, so we specialize in account maintenance, money movement and transfer of assets. I am not the retirement's representative. I specialize in a very different thing. But when I heard a representative next to me who wasn't on my team get a call about a transfer of assets and that wasn't their specialty, it was really cool because they literally could put the client on hold. Sam Hettrich We could work together, look through those things together, and it just made it a really seamless process for the client not to have to just to have everything done on one phone call, in one interaction. And so the teamwork aspect was really special to all of us, I think. So going into this someone that's a good teammate willing to mentor in a sense was one of my favorite parts of the program and something really important coming into it. Nicole Desimone Definitely. I think if you show your leader that you are someone who has a willingness to mentor other people and a willingness to continuously learn and grow at the company, if you're interested in learning more about how your day to day job has a larger impact on fidelity as a whole and how we can kind of see how each business unit operates and the ins and outs to smooth line the process, like Sam had said, to make that client interaction just a seamless process definitely will go a long way if you're interested in this program. Alicia Steere Yeah, I love that. Nicole. I think that, you know, getting to see that larger scale of fidelity is one of the big benefits. And Sam, I think you have a good story of how your rotation led you into a new role. Sam Hettrich Yeah. So like we mentioned, I was in the first rotation of the program. What rotation are we on now? Sam Hettrich I don't even Nicole Desimone This is the beginning of five. Sam Hettrich Wow. So that's awesome. Speaks to how successful and phenomenal the program is for sure. But when I was in the program, I was actually at the coffee maker on the second floor of the headquarters, and I turned to my right and there was someone standing next to me. And as soon as you say to other people at that quarter that you work with clients, I think people get really excited. Sam Hettrich Like, wow, you talked to the client? Yep, all day. So that's really special. But I was talking to we were kind of talking about our different jobs and what I do versus what he does. And he was a leader in the crypto space and he told me I wasn't looking for a job at the time, but he told me to look into crypto on work day. Sam Hettrich So I got home and just for fun I typed into Work Day, our Fidelity platform. I typed in crypto and I hit enter and I found my job description for my current role. I'm currently working at Devin Church, which is actually down the street from the headquarters, but it's Fidelity's private equity firm and so I work in operations over there, but I honestly never would have even known that Devin Prior existed or spoken to anyone that would have led me there if it weren't for my experience with this program being in this building and just learning all of the other different places and different things that you can do at Fidelity because there is so Sam Hettrich much that you can do here Sam Hettrich that, yeah, that led me to where I am now. Alicia Steere That's really awesome. And I think obviously that is a super direct example of how being in the office and networking and being in this rotational program led you to find your next role. But why it, Nicole how else do you feel that it may aid your career being that you are current participants still in the rotation? Wyatt Hammond Get one. It's just nice. I mentioned this earlier. You get to know more about the initiatives that Fidelity has focus on, get to hear from the people creating those initiatives. So you are kind of the first one to bring it to your team, which helps you stand out. Just being a part of the program as well helps you stand out from other associates if you're looking for other moves. Wyatt Hammond And I think we all know Sam, you're one of them associates who have been able to find other roles because they were part of this program. Alicia Steere Those success stories. Exactly. The Wyatt Hammond success stories are out there. And it's just about networking, being able to talk to people and not being afraid to extend a hand and introduce yourself. Nicole Desimone I agree. Nicole Desimone Why it And to even add on to that, I would say that the program can help boost your not only your resume, but maybe your confidence, not only in your role, but just on your career path. I've had some opportunities to organize presentations, present, you know, resume skills, leadership, just ways to better our floor associates as well. And along with that, I think that, you know, building those relationships, as we've all discussed, is huge. Nicole Desimone But we talk a lot about the leaders. But another thing is the associates that we're all sitting next to, as Sam had said, maybe you're not in the same role or taking those same kind of phone calls, but you never know. The associates that you meet through this program might someday be your hiring manager or your leader, or you might be leading them. Nicole Desimone And it's just a great opportunity to really broaden your communication skills, your networking skills, and better yourself all around. Sam Hettrich I could not agree more with everything that Nicole just said. I think the way that we all sit next to each other, taking those different types of phone calls, we learn so much from each other and therefore become such a better, well-rounded associate just based on the language that you pick up subconsciously, just because you're sitting next to someone who is taking that different type of phone call. Sam Hettrich If I ever needed anything, instead of really, really searching for it, the resource, the best resource was sitting next to me in the chair like it. It sparked really cool conversations. I think we all walked away with a lot of knowledge, but some really good friendships as well. In this program we often found ourselves hanging out after work and we became really good friends too, because there's a camaraderie in talking to the client and delivering the experience that we do. Sam Hettrich So that was really great. I think we all became very well-rounded associates because of the experience. Alicia Steere Yeah, that's that's really awesome. I think the camaraderie is an excellent point. I know that does exist. Having worked in a regional center outside of Boston before, I know that working on the phones and having similar roles or people in different roles, you do just get to meet so many people. Alicia Steere Like I remember I met the leader of the CVACs years and years and years ago, and then when the CVACs got launched I was like, my gosh, hey, can we just work together in New Hampshire? Like, This is so awesome. So it's really cool and it just kind of echoes how vast fidelity is and how many different things there are to do and different people to meet. Alicia Steere And I think that is one of the great things about the service is that that generated camaraderie. You get to be in the office a little bit more. You get to see each other a little bit more consistent. But what else makes it a fun place to work? I know why you've got a great vest on. So clearly they give you some swag. Alicia Steere There's some great swag that they gave us, right? That's one of the big perks. You got a nice vest. Nicole Desimone Yesterday and it's in the morning. Perfect. Wyatt Hammond Yeah, it's it's pretty amazing. And down on the fourth floor, we get to see the technology center. All of the advanced technology that Fidelity's using. And it's just it's just pretty on inspiring everything that we're able to see here. Alicia Steere Yeah. Speaking of inspiring, Sam, I heard that this job change that you got as a result of the RCP has actually prompted you to go back to school. Sam Hettrich That is true. That is very true. I stepped into adventure. I was definitely surrounded by a whole bunch of things that I never even knew existed. It just again speaks to how big fidelity is and how many different things you can do here. But it really sparked an interest for me to go back to school. Nicole and I were talking about this earlier. Sam Hettrich We were both marketing majors, graphic design minors in college. Both graduated in 2020 and never saw our selves in this industry and both love it. So I am really excited to go back to school and really study the things that I never really saw myself going forward with my career in this direction, but really excited about the opportunity and all the different things to learn as I go towards my MBA that I never really spent the time touching upon my undergrad. Sam Hettrich So really excited about that. Alicia Steere Yeah, I think it's so great to have like that focused element of I have some experience. I really want to do this because I want to do it and because it's interested. So all the best of luck to you on that. We'll have to have you on again to talk about how you're doing and how it's going. Alicia Steere So I want to go back to something that you said, Nicole. Obviously, you've got your day to day role, your you still to do your job. Right. So no matter which regional center, whether it be in Boston, New Hampshire, Florida, Texas, wherever you're sitting, that role is going to be pretty much the same. So that's your regular job responsibilities day to day. Alicia Steere But you had mentioned something about like resume workshops. And I think that that may be exclusive to the CVACs. I'm not saying other people might not adopt it because it sounds like a great idea, but could you talk a little bit more about some of those other non atypical day to day opportunities? Nicole Desimone Yeah, definitely. I would say one of the biggest things kind of going off how we talked about our major sense of culture that we have and sense of community in the office along with that is, you know, we want to make sure our associates are happy. Nicole Desimone And what you're putting into this program is what you're going to get out of it. So each rotation, we've had a dedicated week where we've been prepping throughout, you know, the weeks prior to prepare a couple different workshops, like I mentioned, one was resumé building, one was networking or managing difficult conversations about your career with with a manager. Nicole Desimone So that's something that's been organized by the leaders of this, our CBCS program as well. So associates such as myself and Wyatt and Sam here, who are really enthusiasts about expanding this program and getting all the benefits out of it that we can we kind of create those workshops as a way to, like I said, not only better ourselves but help our peers. Nicole Desimone Like Sam was mentioning before, maybe someone might be awesome at Excel in certain hard technical skills, but a colleague of theirs struggles with implementing that onto their resume so we can work through with each other and, you know, share different tips and tricks that we've learned through career resources here at Fidelity and just through life resources as well, in order to really expand on the opportunities for those workshops. Alicia Steere I love it. It does sound like there's some consistency across the rotations. I know that as we were preparing for this episode, you all shared with me that 30% of the participants are repeat rotation participants, and they're called your culture carriers. And I thought that that was like, really, really cool. And Sam, you were in the first round. Alicia Steere So it's just interesting. How do you feel that the program and this is a question for anybody I don't know if you'd be able to tell us since you were in the first round, but how do you feel like the program has evolved and what are some of the ways that it has? Nicole Desimone I would just say real quick, I've been I know Sam was the first rotation. Nicole Desimone I've been here. This is my third rotation in a row. So can three back to back. I know that our leaders really rely on associate feedback and like I said, they want us to make sure that we're getting benefit out of this program as well as bringing benefit to fidelity in our headquarters. So they really rely on all sorts of feedback, whether it's from, Hey, did you enjoy the leaders that you got to meet with and the experiences, the products that they talked about? Nicole Desimone To the second week that we all met, we went out for an outing and we got to get to know our associates a bit better, you know, how did that work? Did we like that things as simple as ping pong seats, some of our favorite things. So a lot of us don't know each other. When I first came into this program, I didn't know any other associates that were going to be participating, so they would have us pick random ping pong balls to kind of just sit around in different desks to get to know a bunch of different people. Nicole Desimone So it works. Sam Hettrich I'm thrilled to hear that because when we were in round one, we all made a conscious effort to sit in different seats. So in our rotation we tried never to sit in the same seat twice so that we could get exposed to those different phone calls from a completely different set of ears, you know. And so I'm thrilled that that's still the same way, because we all kind of challenge each other to bounce around a little bit. Sam Hettrich What more can you learn from the next person? Go introduce yourself to someone that you've never talked to before. So I think that's really special. But I'm also thrilled to hear that you have repeated in the program so many times because after the first round, everybody loved it, loved the experience, loved being in Boston and loved the friends that we made at the round tables of different leadership that would come down and talk about their department that I didn't even know existed before I talked to them was phenomenal. Sam Hettrich But when the program was coming to an end, there was chatter on the floor of where we can do this again, right? Please tell me, because that wasn't a thing. They weren't officially allowing quote unquote, repeaters in. So I'm thrilled to see that you guys have repeated, because I think that speaks to the program. People love it and want to say, Wyatt Hammond yeah, it is amazing. Wyatt Hammond And I will say that I am one of those ones who is guilty of sticking in the same seat. And so I do like when we have the ping pong because it forces me to get out and change a new seat. But I love that view of the harbor. It is, you know, I train rotation. Everyone fights Nicole Desimone for those window seats and then a couple of weeks and everyone starts shuffling around and then you're like, someone took my seat. Alicia Steere Like, come on, switch it up. And how long is a rotation? Alicia Steere The rotations are I think, 17 or 16 weeks. Alicia Steere Okay, So about a quarter then? Yeah. Okay. So four months there and it gives us enough time Sam Hettrich and that doesn't stop when you leave. I'm still getting dinner with our Round one associates. I'm still on teams asking them how their new job is going, whether it's in Boston or at a branch in New York City. Sam Hettrich One of my best friends moved to a branch in New York City. I'm constantly asking him, How's it going? What's going on? But yeah, maybe instead of moving your chair, you find something new to learn from a different person. There are different ways that you can do Alicia Steere it. That's exactly right. I don't have to give up my view or everyone else around me. Literally. Awesome. Well, to wrap us up here, I just want to kind of tie it back into where do you see our CBCS helping you with the future of your career or skills you want to develop and and kind of tying it back to fidelity as a whole? Wyatt Hammond Yeah, good point there. And or good question, I should say. And one of the things that the program offers us is the ability because in my role, I educate clients just about every phone call on ways that they can invest. But it's nice to be able to educate our cohort as well and the other associates. Nicole She ran the resume building workshop. Wyatt Hammond I ran one on an elevator pitch, just being able to get out there and introduce yourself and be able to talk to people and talk to leaders and just get your name out there. So it is good. It pushes you as an associate to be better. You want to do better, Wyatt Hammond and I think that will continue to move forward just throughout your career. Wyatt Hammond It is very motivating to be in this building. You get to see a lot of what is going on and you actually have some influence on it as well. Sam Hettrich I think fidelity as a whole and your career path as a whole, I think we touched on this topic earlier, but one thing that's so special about fidelity is how much we have to offer here and all the different things you can do. Departments that you'll learn about in this program that you never knew existed before. But it's also really cool because they're an ode to the same exact career paths. Sam Hettrich If you look around at your group that you onboarded with when you started at Fidelity, there are a lot of different routes that you can take. One of my best friends I onboarded with is in a completely different part of the company than me, but we're all still Fidelity family, you know? So but we're all still at the same company. Sam Hettrich I was still part of Fidelity, so there are all different places that you can go, but I think that it comes back and connects to the point too. You never know down the line when you're interested in some department or your team needs to work with another team. It's like, I worked with that person back on the regional center site in Boston that year. Sam Hettrich So I think it all comes back together in a really cool way, but just always leveraging each other, learning from each other, and you never know where it's going to lead. You Nicole Desimone agree? Just to piggyback off that, I mean, like I said before, really what you put into this program is going to be what you take out of it. Nicole Desimone I do think that, of course, meeting leaders and all those different business units is going to help propel your career just because you're getting a better idea of what we're working towards and how we're trying to help our clients day to day. And like I said, on more of the technical skills, being a part of that program, can really help boost confidence in yourself and see what other associates do to kind of stand out as leaders on their teams and share some language and just be a better all around associate. Nicole Desimone And I think the program definitely gives a lot of opportunity for that. Alicia Steere I love that. Thank you, all of you, for joining us today. I'm so happy to have had you on the podcast to talk about our Regional Center Boston Experience program. Thank you to our listeners for for joining us for this episode. If you have any questions, please feel free to like subscribe follow at Fidelity Jobs. Alicia Steere And as always, thank you for to our wonderful creative Solutions team for making all of this happen. Nicole Desimone Thank you. Thank you. Alicia Steere Thank you for listening to this side of the desk episode and thank you to our recording studio and editors who make our episodes possible. For more information about working at Fidelity, check out FidelityCareers.com.