It would be easy for Lacey Nietert to feel like she existed on an island.

There’s more than one thing that’s kept Lacey in Fort Smith, Ark. her entire life. For one, she enjoys the family atmosphere in the town of nearly 90,000 that hugs the Arkansas-Oklahoma state border and situates itself at the confluence of the Arkansas and Poteau Rivers. It’s comfortable, calm, and a great place to raise her “fur” babies. In fact, her entire family (parents, grandparents, etc.) resides in Fort Smith, too.

All the while, her direct supervisor works 150+ miles away, in Little Rock. Lacey is the lone administration person for the Fort Smith Office, making in-person collaborations tricky.  But both Lacey and manager Kristen Finkbeiner are mutually committed to no excuses AND no division in their daily operations and regular interactions. In fact, it’s written in their Mutual Commitment document itself. You can call it superior communication if you want, but we think it’s more than that.

We think it's superior culture.    

No regrets.

In March 2021, Datamax acquired Bull’s Office Systems in Fort Smith as part of its strategic Growth Plus corporate strategy. At that time, Lacey was working in sales for the local Newspaper there, something she’d succeeded in for 20 years. But the impact of COVID on an industry that was flailing itself landed Lacey looking for a new gig.

A friend of Lacey’s (who was a Datamax customer) referred her to Kristen, and the position match was a great one from the start.  

“It was a total ballgame change (moving into this industry and with this organization),” Lacey said. “It’s been a great change. I don’t regret taking a role here for one second. The perks that come with working for Datamax are huge.”

No Negativity.

Lacey doesn’t deny being a positive person. There’s no point in being negative… you’re not going to get anywhere with it, she reasons.

On a daily basis, Lacey supports account representatives Kim Southerland and Donn Guanzon with billing efforts. She also jumps in with Baptist Health (our largest account in Arkansas) support, and helps all Arkansas reps with producing and preparing for Partnership Reviews.  In short, if a need arises, she’s up for the challenge. With a smile on her face, no doubt.

“Lacey has always had a great attitude, basically since the first phone call I ever had with her. Her positivity has shown anytime I need her help on projects,” Kristen said. “She started working with us pretty much right after we took over the Baptist Health account, and we really needed help doing some auditing and record upkeep, and she jumped in right away, no complaining to help out.”

No Division.

How do you overcome a geographic gap between the employee and manager? Phone, email, phone some more, email… you get the picture, Kristen says.

“I have to make sure I do my part in communicating to my team anything that is important to them. She’s never afraid to pick up that phone and ask questions,” Kristen said. “We have used Elevate so she can share her screen and I walk her through processes because she’s a huge hands-on learner. Another absolutely key part of all of this is fostering the relationship with the team as a whole. She knows she can call on other team members for help as well, and that helps strengthen those bonds and feeling a part of the larger collectives."

Inside the duo’s Mutual Commitment document, Kristen has committed to meeting with Lacey in person once a month (as she does with other team members outside of Little Rock). Though there are exceptions to this, Kristen says she strives for making these meetings as meaningful as possible to give her the one-on-one attention she deserves.

“Kristen is always willing to help, no matter what the case is,” Lacey said. “Even if she has to jump on a Zoom to share her screen and walk me through something…. I’ll tell you this. Kristen is a breath of fresh air for me as a manager, compared to what I’ve had in the past. When I first met her, I could tell almost immediately. She cares about her team deeply.”

A team divided, after all, cannot stand. But that’s part of the deal with Kristen, her team, and the cultural identity at Datamax as a whole. No negativity.  No division. (See: Datamax Little Blue Book Principle #5).