Meet the HIKE2 Team: Celebrating Kelly’s 3 Year Work Anniversary

Kelly King, Director of Managed Services and one of HIKE2’s first employees, is celebrating her 3-year work anniversary. 

She is a trusted advisor who brings over a decade of experience in consulting and implementing solutions to the table, including expertise in Salesforce configuration and integrations.

Kelly is passionate about delivering great functional solutions to clients and takes pride in knowing that her technological approach to problem-solving will make her clients’ days easier.

We asked Kelly to tell us about her proudest and most memorable moments at HIKE2 over the last three years.

Q: How have you seen HIKE2 grow since starting here?

Kelly: I have seen HIKE2 grow in every area! 

When I started, HIKE2 had three clients. Now, the organization has so many, and it is amazing to see that growth. We have grown as a company in terms of the structure and processes we have in place as well as the amount of employees. In just three short years, we’ve built out development, consulting, and delivery teams. Plus, our managed services practice is serving various clients with six consultants who are dedicated specifically to that area.

Generally speaking, we went from everyone doing everything that we could to get HIKE2 off the ground, and now that it is up and running, we are focusing on more strategic areas. It has been really amazing to see!

Q: How has your position changed since starting at HIKE2? 

Kelly: Personally, I feel that in just three short years I have grown more than I have ever grown at any point in my career. 

I have been entrusted with a lot more responsibility and have had the opportunity to explore more than at other organizations. 

This company relies on its people to take ownership and help it move along. Because of that, I think I’ve been able to take on a leadership role in the organization and watch it grow. I especially feel a sense of belonging with my peers allowing me to take on a leadership role. Through this, I’ve been able to contribute at a much higher level. 

In terms of what I am passionate about, I love being a part of the managed services team. You get to have interactions with clients and meet with them more frequently in a less formal capacity, which allows you to get to know them on a personal level. You are really helping them to keep their business running. Sometimes you get so much more appreciation just for fixing small pains in their daily work than you do on big projects, and you get a much more instant feedback loop. 

Plus, I just think that we have such a great team, I can’t say enough good things about it!

Q: Can you talk about what Managed Services involve? 

Kelly: The purpose of the managed services team is that you get a little bit of everything. There is really an opportunity for interfacing with all of the clouds. As of now, it consists of Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Experience Cloud, Marketing Cloud, and more. We work with partner products as well, such as AdvoLogix, iManage, and all different kinds of connectors. Docusign, Formstack, you name it. We have to know a little bit of everything. 

We help orgs at various stages of maturity, and it is a fun challenge every time to see these different implementations and being able to come in and see it with a fresh set of eyes and make best practice recommendations. 

In terms of skills, not only are we being asked to fix problems that they know that they have, we are being asked to come in and make identify problems that they don’t realize are problems or can be fixed. You don’t always get that unique ability when you come onto a project and there is a clear, defined set of objectives. You don’t often have as much flexibility to suggest doing things differently. 

Q: Can you tell us about some memorable feedback you’ve received from a client?

Kelly: Generally speaking people are appreciative of my responsiveness. I don’t like to sit on things too long. I tend to respond to things very quickly. I often get feedback that I am very responsive.

Q: Do you have any advice for clients to get the most out of Managed Services?

Kelly: Come to the table with as many ideas as possible or as big of a backlog as possible. Sometimes we come into these big, mature orgs that have existed for a really long time and people are scared to make too big of changes and move with the technology as fast as it’s moving. Be open to change and know that we have a variety of subject matter experts who you can trust to help take you to the next level. 

As much as it’s possible, having a dedicated resource on the client side helps move projects along. Just working with us as much as they are able to so that we are able to fill the budget and make it worth the investment.

Q: What does it take for Managed Services to be successful?

Kelly: Trusting relationships between the client and the consultant. It takes equal levels of participation on both sides. A commitment to be present in the meetings, be prioritize, and help things move along. 

From the HIKE2 side it takes good technological, Salesforce, consulting, and other skills. Being able to make best practice recommendations. Being able to work in a way that meets the client’s needs and bringing suggestions to the table. 

Sometimes there tends to be a reactive relationship in managed services where you wait to be asked to do something, but I think that the best managed services engagements are when we are in there, and we know our clients so well that we can make recommendations to them.

Q: What are you looking forward to this year at HIKE2?

Kelly: The Innovation Summit last year was so cool to see, and I am excited to see it grow this year. It was so cool to see us produce such a well-respected event in the community. 

In general, I like seeing the team grow, even in team meetings. It is so amazing to see how many faces pop up on those team meetings now. Just three years ago we started with just five employees. To think that there are now full-blown teams and people that I haven’t even had a chance to work with yet, it’s just amazing to see. 

Q: What is your favorite HIKE2 memory?

Kelly: We started before COVID and we had a lot of online events. I remember that there was just such a concerted effort to see everyone on Zoom and do things together. We did a virtual escape room and fun things like that. There was so much effort to collaborate!

Q: How does HIKE2 culture help to deliver better results for our clients?

Kelly: Our culture really promotes a sense of collaboration and teamwork. Because of that, no matter who is staffed on a project, they always have the power of the full HIKE2 team behind them. This really allows us to offer our clients a really well-rounded solution because we have so many resources to pull from and everyone is so willing to help. 

We are people-focused which helps us establish relationships with clients. It also helps us to gain repeat business, have a successful launch, and the overall effort to just be there for our clients. 

Q: What can clients expect when working with HIKE2? 

Kelly: They can expect a collaborative, innovative, smart group of people who really care about what they do. This team is going to do the best work that they can for you using emerging technologies and best practices recommendations.

Q: How would you sum up your last 3 years with HIKE2?

Kelly: It’s been a whirlwind! 

Fast paced, fun and exciting. When I look back, I was so scared to take the jump with a startup and brand new team, but it was probably one of the best decisions that I have ever made.

Congratulations Kelly! HIKE2 is thrilled to celebrate your three-year work anniversary with you.