Beyond Data Management Podcast
The definitive podcast for government data management and stories from the field - with a special focus on Environment Health professionals.
Beyond Data Management Podcast
The Real Tribe: Why People in Environmental Health Are Different
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Cameron sits down with Beth Driscoll (Sales, Marketing & Client Success) on the NEHA AEC conference floor in Kansas City to talk purpose-built EH tech, how AI is cutting form-build and go-live times, proactive client success, and why the people in environmental health are the real tribe. A special on-the-road episode of Beyond Data Management, powered by HS GovTech.
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We will be generous with the definition of live here. We are here live right now as we sit here, but this will get posted later onto the channel. We did do a live stream last night, and uh, but it's great to be back, a much quieter exhibit hall uh than it was last night. And I am like I'll address this up top if you all remember. Um Bob Custard was on last night during the live stream, and he said, I want to give you one of these shirts, but you can have to swear to me you're gonna wear it tomorrow. And so I pay my bets and we're wearing it, and it's actually a really nice shirt. It is a nice shirt, and we have uh Beth Driscoll, somebody the distinct honor. It's not even been a year yet, actually, has it?
SPEAKER_00Getting close, getting close.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, um, the distinct honor of being able to work with here the past year, you know, it's it's interesting, Beth. Like and I realize as the company grows that um I had a I was a little ninja warrior for for so long. You still are with you know a DHD and then here, but there was so much I missed out on. Like, there's a team that makes this so much easier. You can talk to so many more agencies, but definitely um it's really great to have you here and great to have you at the company. You run all sales and marketing basically here for us, right? That's fair.
SPEAKER_00Sales, marketing, and client success.
SPEAKER_01Yes, and you've already been out on the road.
SPEAKER_00I have, I've been on the road a good bit. I mean, if you're gonna dig into an industry and really understand what drives people and what's important to them, you gotta get out there.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, because you have a background, you've done done that same thing, right, for multiple different industries over your career.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, technology's been my thing for a really long time, and you know, leading uh the revenue function and making sure that people know who we are, why we exist, and what we're passionate about. Obviously bringing them uh into the sales process and into the fold and then making sure that we deliver on those promises that we made along the way.
SPEAKER_01I love that. It's the deliver. And I think you've even found just in the months here so far that the deliver actually builds the strongest relationships, doesn't it?
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. Absolutely. You know, if if we make empty promises along the way and what they find is not uh not as proposed, you know, that causes a problem. Then you have an unhappy customer, and you can't ask an unhappy customer to talk about their experiences and the great things they've seen if they haven't seen great things. So it's really, really important to complete uh the customer journey.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, because you're kind of to a degree are only as good as your last implementation, right? Like it's exactly right. Two years ago it could be great, today if it's longer. Actually, that was it was really exciting this morning to be able to show folks here some of the things that even if we're taking early steps to be able to do internally, even to speed it up. Because it it takes time when there's that many forms to build and that much data to import, but we can get better.
SPEAKER_00Well, and what I love about what you shared this morning is you gave people a glimpse behind the curtain that they probably have never seen because we don't talk about that. You know, f for just to build a form that seems, I mean, while complicated, it's a form. Understanding the process that we had to go through and have historically gone through and now to see AI and new technology make that faster, people should know that because it means we can deliver faster and you know they can have what they need to take advantage of it.
SPEAKER_01And it helps make AI real for them too. But you're right, I can't believe we have gone this many years and never actually let people peek in the back room.
SPEAKER_00As our fearless leader Eric says, to show them how the sausage is made.
SPEAKER_01Yes. And laws and sausage, apparently two things you never want to know how it's made or see bean made. Very true with laws and sausage. Less graphic in our case, it actually, especially with the new AI tools. Like we were like, they can do in 15 minutes what they used to do in four hours. Like that shows up in time to go live.
SPEAKER_00That's exactly right. And so I think it's great that we gave people that understanding. And I think it's gonna be exciting to think you mean it's not gonna take six months or four months, it might take two months for me to be live and moving with my solution. That's a big deal.
SPEAKER_01And the cool thing about the forms is if those are faster, that puts the system in their hands, even if they're just testing and training, quicker.
SPEAKER_00Yes.
SPEAKER_01And then they'll be because a lot of times if you have to wait six months until the data conversions in before you really get in there, yeah. You build so much anticipation and the staff is like, I can't wait for our life to change, and it feels like Christmas never comes.
SPEAKER_00Absolutely.
unknownAbsolutely.
SPEAKER_01So what's been the most uh r uh revelatory for you uh here as we've worked together the last year? Because you're used to learning different industries, digging deep, building those relationships, but what was like unique or maybe surprised you about the you've worked in government before, so in that government that's not a surprise to you, but like this little niche that is environmental health.
SPEAKER_00Honestly, just the passion of the people. I mean, you don't come to environmental health because you're looking to have a big corporate career. I mean you come to environmental health because you deeply care about protecting citizens. Want to do good and to the person, you know, that you talk to, that really is their mission. It's why they're here. And you know, we talk in marketing language about being purpose-built. But what I love about this organization is that we truly are. We have the same passion as the people that we support and serve, and I love that.
SPEAKER_01If you were to put me in any other ballroom, I would be the oddball. But in this group, they're passionate about the same thing. They're your people. And that's that's right. That's the tribe. That's right, that's right. What was it? So I we did a thing last night where a lot of your team and my colleagues did uh just quick intros of themselves. Um we knew we were gonna have you on, so we didn't put you in there. I don't think we did, did we? No. No, we didn't. Um and so interesting about you. Obviously, you know, we always focus on work, but humans are so much more. You uh busy life, uh big family.
SPEAKER_00Big family, yeah. We have six kids. We have a daughter and five boys, and uh probably more time consuming. We have two black labs.
SPEAKER_01The hardest hearts.
SPEAKER_00Yes, yes, they are the heart of the family. Uh and my husband and I love to go RVing. We just jump in the R V and see the country, and really we're just moving the dogs from place to place.
SPEAKER_01But uh You haven't put you haven't talked too much about your joy of RVing with my wife yet, have you, this week? You're not gonna be helping me. She wants one.
SPEAKER_00Oh, I gotta go find her later. Thanks.
SPEAKER_01Well, I know there's getting ready to be a break in here, but definitely I want to get ready to like be meeting a lot of people here, but just in general, she can help you, but she's great. Like and and I'm not alone anymore.
SPEAKER_00Uh you are not. No, you what's so great again, in so many cases, you know, the founder leaves the organization and goes on to something new. What's great about you is you're not done with this journey yet. And so the foundation was here. And now we've just been able to accelerate that growth. We've added more people, we've added more capabilities, and it's just gonna allow us to respond faster, get to more people faster with this proactive client success function. Proactively find out how people are doing what needs to change and show them all the changes that are rapidly coming.
SPEAKER_01So if you're using HS now, I don't want to put or Lisa under the gun, but um you will hear from us uh way more regularly and in a very constructive, helpful way, whether it's something you could already be using in your system that you're not, yeah, or maybe you have something where you've grown into a certain area. Lisa and is on your team and it really you're the proactiveness matters. You're not it's not buy it and then hope you can get a hold of somebody if it starts raining. We're gonna we're gonna get in your face a little bit more, all in all in the right way. Uh also it goes to product roadmap, right? The what you're learning out there, what Lisa's learning out there, I learn every time I go to a conference, there's a real path now to get it back into the product roadmap so we can be more purpose-built, as you said, which which we really are, but actually continue to live up to it, not just purpose-built once.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Enjoy it that way forever.
SPEAKER_00That's a great way to put it.
SPEAKER_01So, Beth, thanks for stopping by. I'm gonna get out of the shirt, but Bob, I did it for you, buddy. And uh, we got a couple more hours here left at the Nihon conference, and we'll look forward to talking to more of you. And we'll check in with a couple more interviews here before we pack it up. Until then, the special clip, I'll call it, episode of the On Data Management Podcast, powered by HSGov Tech. Uh, and we'll be back with a couple more from Nihon back in the studio in just a couple of weeks as well. Take it easy.