Tracey Sloan Personifies the Company’s Roots and Culture

If you want the history of Working Solutions, there are few people better to talk with than Tracey Sloan, the company’s vice president of Innovative Solutions and Support.

The third-longest tenured employee, Tracey was there with founder Kim Houlne soon after she started the on-demand contact center service, an industry innovation at the time.

“I’ve been with Working Solutions for about 20 years and helped get the firm off the ground,” said Tracey. Before joining the company, she worked with Kim’s husband, Tim, at GE in Dallas.

I’ve always been one to enjoy testing and deploying new technologies, and that was the role I played and am still playing with Working Solutions.

Tracey pointed out that the early days at Working Solutions involved analyzing a lot of customer service solutions and implementing them. She also noted that, as it still is today, clients often make the call on what types of technology platforms they want to use.

A Caring, Virtual Workplace

Her role went well beyond assessing and deploying technologies, however. She worked with Kim Houlne to establish Working Solutions’ empathetic culture.

For example, after agents and employees were impacted by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Kim asked Tracey to go with her to Costco to stock up on food and provisions to send to those impacted.

“That really says a lot about Kim’s values and how much the company cares about its employees and agents,” Tracey believes. She noted there are plenty of other examples of how Working Solutions helps its agents and employees recover from misfortunes.

She points out how Kim’s frequent meetings with agents in the field set a strong, compassionate tone and connection with the company. “As our chief marketing officer Gail Rigler likes to say, culture is the ‘glue’ for Working Solutions.”

“After agents and employees were impacted by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Kim asked Tracey to go with her to Costco to stock up on food and provisions to send to those impacted.” Share on X

Midwestern Values

A native of Michigan and a Michigan State graduate, Tracey carries her Midwestern values with her. She cares deeply about her family and her colleagues. When Tracey’s husband was transferred to Illinois, she asked Kim if she could work remotely. Not surprisingly, Kim said yes.

“The transition has been seamless,” Tracey said. “That’s one of the beauties of Working Solutions. As long as you have access to a phone and the internet, you can do the job.”

Tracey’s job crosses many internal departmental processes, as well as client programs. “I match the right technologies to support our agent community, management team and clients’ needs,” she said.

“Every day brings a new challenge, and things move quickly. No one can meet the fluctuating customer service demands as quickly as Working Solutions. This is a huge differentiator for the company.”

A Family-like Company

At home, for the first time Tracey and her husband are empty nesters. “Both of our sons are in college and doing well. And that’s all you can ask for.”

In their free time, Tracey and her husband love the outdoors, especially the water. They keep a boat in Wisconsin. And they attend their son’s hockey games at Illinois State as often as possible.

A couple of things are for sure. Tracey has spent more than two decades helping to make Working Solutions what it is today. And she has also made sure never to forget her colleagues, past and present, who played formative roles.

“Working Solutions treats its employees and agents like family,” Tracey said. “And this sense of caring has been a key to our success.”

The company cares about its agents and employees. This is central to the culture Kim (Houlne) helped put in place.