Working For The Man

Working for the man.

The term is slang which means working for the establishment. The daily M-F stuck in an office or cubicle. You know, The Office.

I started my work career in 1986 at the University of Southern Mississippi. I worked for Professor Johnny Purvis in the Education and Psychology department. I was newly out of college and anxious to begin my work journey.

Hired as a grant secretary, I spent my days transcribing Dr. Purvis’ notes into resource materials and coordinating conferences. His research was used by the Mississippi Educational Consortium for Long-Term Planning. He was passionate about education; and running five miles on his lunch break. I remember him telling me that his best thoughts came while running.

In 1987, I married at the age of twenty-one and we moved July 2 to Nashville, TN, to be near my oldest sister. I felt like I had moved to Oz. Nashville was this magical world. I was intimidated yet excited to explore every corner.

At my sister’s encouraging, she recommended that I sign up for a temporary agency. In the late 80s this was a very popular means of employment. The agency assessed your skill set and then found temporary jobs that fit your ability. If the employer found your performance satisfactory, you may be offered the position full-time.

It was the perfect way for me to learn Nashville. I had never driven in a city with more than two lanes of traffic, and my sense of direction is non-existent. (Thank you, Lord for GPS!) I would make my then husband drive with me the night before a new assignment to the exact address so I would where I was going and would not be late on my first day. Eventually, I learned to go by myself.

The VERY first assignment I received was to a small company in Brentwood, TN in an office park that was once a very large horse farm. Several businesses had begun to build their offices in the area, but Maryland Farms still had the feel of a nice park with lots of greenery and small rolling hills. This assignment was at the end of the area on Powell Place.

I practiced saying the name because it was odd. FISI-Madison Financial. Fifi? Sifi? no, FISI. I quickly learned that it stood for Financial Institutions Services, Inc. They were not long in their new offices. Artwork was propped against the walls waiting to adorn its new home.

My assignment was in their Member Services area in the call center. Uh oh, telephone work?? In my mind, I was a computer, writing, organizing, etc. girl. NOT talking on the phone for eight hours girl. To say I was green working on the telephone was an understatement! Plus, believe it or not, I was very timid. (Yeah, I know!)

My assignment was for two weeks and let me tell you. This small-town girl got a fast education in the world of call centers. I dealt with grouchy old women, cursing old men and everything in between. I HATED IT.

At the end of the two weeks, they offered me the position full-time. I was so naïve; I did not realize that I could use that as a foot into the door for something more my speed. Alas, I turned it down, thanked them and returned to the temp agency for a new assignment.

Had I known what was in store, I would have made a different decision. However, I went on to work temp for several more months and had some interesting experiences. One being in the office of a Jewish Synagogue. The Rabbi spoke Yiddish most of the time but was very kind to me.

I finally landed at Vanderbilt University and worked in a couple departments there. This felt comfortable given my time in academia at USM. When I was laid off in the summer of 1989, I was so shocked. It was nothing performance related, but I felt deflated.

Back to the temp agency I go. My very first assignment was…FISI-Madison Financial in Brentwood. This time, I was working under a department VP named June in… Member Services. There had been some changes since I had first visited in 1987, BUT. The cubicle they set me up in… the SAME cubicle from my brief stint on the phones. Coincidence????

The assignment was for a few weeks. That first week, June was on vacation and the workers around me gave me the lay of the land. When June came back, they went behind my back and told her that I needed to be a full-time employee. (Thanks Sandy, Marcia, Joan, Jill and Nancy)

June welded a green ink pen. A former teacher who edited every single thing I typed. I remember being in tears one day; I felt certain I would not be offered a full-time position because, apparently, I was a horrible typist. To my embarrassment, I was crying at my desk, and she saw me.

She called me into her office and asked me what was wrong. Bawling, I began apologizing for my poor performance. I remember she sat back and looked at me with this strange look on her face. Then she surprised me. She told me that I was the best secretary she had ever had, and her editing was for HER, not because of me. Huh?

Needless to say, she DID offer me that position and I had the maturity by that time to realize this was not a coincidence and I needed to say yes.

I then spent the next twenty-four years employed by FISI-Madison, which became Progeny and then Affinion.

I was twenty-one the first time, twenty-three the next and left at the age of forty-seven. I grew up with this company. I married and divorced. Had cancer, and a bunch of other health issues. Buried family members. Watched co-workers who were family to me be buried. Made life-long friends that are still in my life.

One of those co-workers who got laid off with me and about a hundred others in early 2013, started a Facebook page for our original FISI-Madison group. Sadly, that co-worker, who was the brother I never got to have is no longer here. Mike, I am forever grateful that you started this page, and for the love and friendship you and Martha gave to me. I miss you both so much!

Sadly, most of the posts these days are letting us know of another beloved co-worker who has passed on to the other side. It seems to be happening more often. We all got a notice over the weekend about the passing of wonderful lady named Shirley.

As always, I started remembering things about her and how that time in my life was. Let me explain something. FISI-Madison had once been competitors. FISI was originally downtown on Music Row. Madison Financial was in a field somewhere in Williamson County. The two joined forces and built the building on Powell Place in Brentwood when I joined the gang.

There may never be another business like this one. We worked hard, butted heads, and all those things, but at the end of the day we were a family. We loved one another. The CEO and President knew everyone’s name, and usually your family too. If you were sick, people visited, sent food, gave money, etc. If you had a death in your family, people came to be with you. It was special.

Once the owners decided to sell to a larger corporation, it was never the same. We all tried very hard to keep the atmosphere the same, but the larger we grew, the harder it was to do that. By the time I was laid off in February 2013, if I’m being honest, I was relieved. It had changed so much and for a person with my personality type, it was very difficult.

I have a secret desire to be a motivational speaker. I would LOVE to go in front of these large corporate groups and explain to them that you can make money while treating your employees like a person instead of a number. I have the perfect blueprint to write my course outline.

I KNOW it can be done because I had the pleasure of working alongside people who ran their business that way. We wanted to work longer and harder because we had been given a sense of ownership in the big picture. The more success the company acquired, the more we were rewarded. Holidays were like Santa made a special trip to FISI-Madison. And Halloween! OH BOY!

I held several positions during my time. I ultimately ended up spending the majority of my career in Client Services under the leadership of great women. Kathy, then Nancy and always Christie. Thank you for making me great at dealing with people and delving into small details. It has served me well as an artist and illustrator.

Toni, thanks for being the Momma to all of us. How you managed to get your work done, I’ll never know. You will always be FISI-Madison to me. You invited me to that small little church and look at what happened there! I love you!

If Toni was Momma, Jean would be my sister. The impact on my life, you have no clue. Thank you.

Mr. Hank, Mr. Larry, Bill, Greg and then Don. Thank you for being our leaders, for caring and knowing my name.

Walt and Chuck, you kept the warehouse buzzing and the trucks rolling. 

Andy and Sherrine, Mr. and Mrs. FISI-Madison. What did you NOT do?

Ray and Penny, FISI-Madison’s quarterback and homecoming queen. Thanks for always being in my corner. Hail RDB!

Momma Sandy, there would never have been a Savers Club Book without you!

Glenn, thank you for risking life and limb with your pranks of falling down the stairs at random times.

Rick for keeping our finances tip top. Along with Linda in accounting making sure the bills got paid and us too.

Mike for an open-door policy in HR.

Gail and Ivy – the voices of FISI-Madison.

Pat for your lemon water, grace and consummate way you ran the executive offices.

Charles for your star-filled cubicle and gentle spirit.

All the sales force. You made us money and crazy all at the same time.

Dear Carroll….FISI-Madison’s son. Hank loved you and so do we.

To all my former supervisors: June, Penny, Marie, Christy, Judy, Carol, Sherry, Julie, Judy, Jeff, Angie, Martha, Phillip and Kim. Thank you for pushing me to be my best.

There are countless other names that I could mention. Thank you for loving this small-town girl and helping her grow up.

Working for the man. We all must do it to survive, but it can be a happy place, not a place you dread.

Corporate America…YOU ARE DOING IT WRONG. Just ask any of us from FISI-Madison Financial.

P.S. This blog was a double whammy instead of a flat fee.