Mike W. (he/him) is a member of Sparrow’s Customer Experience team. Let’s get to know Mike!
How did you get to where you are?
I started my journey working for a major entertainment company in Central Florida, where I gained experience as an employee scheduler and training coordinator. In 2018, I accepted a new role as an HR Executive Assistant for a Big Ten University. My wife and I moved to the midwest almost sight unseen, just us, with no family in the area. Working in HR for the University taught me a lot about people services, including some basic exposure to leave management. Then the pandemic hit. I was fully remote for 16 months, and in that time realized what I really wanted was to find an employer that was doing something good in the world, and also one that truly valued work/life balance for employees. Enter Sparrow!
What is a fun fact about you?
I’m an active screenwriter and author, though I’ve never had anything produced or published - at least not yet! Recently I’ve also started writing novels and have been enjoying learning about the narrative fiction side of creative storytelling!
What did your team do to support you in your first month?
I was really nervous to start work with a small team of people I didn’t know. My fears were immediately put to rest. The onboarding experience with Sparrow was the best I’ve ever had - everyone was so prepared, kind, patient and so dedicated to making a difference. Within that first month, the Leave Administrator team had welcomed me with open arms and taught me more than I had ever learned in any office job. They made me feel like I was capable of not just learning the processes but making a difference. The way we train, everyone participates, and because of the nature of our business everyone is in a constant state of learning. No one knows everything and all of us learn together. This became clear almost immediately, and it made joining the team such a positive experience!
What is your favorite part of working at Sparrow?
We have literally the best team - the most dedicated people that I have known in my career are the people I get to work alongside every day at Sparrow. The other best part is how everyone works collaboratively to make people’s lives easier, and when you see results - employees and HR reps responding with genuine satisfaction because we made something complex easy for them to deal with, often at times of high stress - that really makes clear fast how important the work we are doing can be for people.
What are you most proud of in the last year?
My wife and I became parents! I’m starting to enter broken record territory, but Sparrow also made my own parental leave experience wonderful from start to finish! I was a fairly new employee when I said I would need to take leave, and there was never a hesitation, only genuine support from all parties. Sparrow practices what it preaches. My own experience of becoming a Dad was made so much better because of that.
What’s the last show you binge-watched?
I’m gonna date myself a little, but we recently rewatched Mad Men. I love the incredible set and costume design, and the amount of style that perfectly invokes the time periods the show takes place in. Don Draper’s journey as a character is also so intricate, and as a writer I think it’s the perfect representation of why television can be such a good venue for exploring the details of life that you don’t have time for in film.
Want to join our team? Check out our careers page and apply!