Jennifer Rasmussen began her tenure with Accurate through a temp agency, initially working in a company that Accurate later acquired as a sales support role. After trying her hand at a variety of tasks like billing, credit, and other administrative duties, she had the opportunity to begin reviewing contracts. And that’s when she knew she’d found her niche—her forever home.

“Jack of All Trades”—Master of at Least One!

Over the years, Jennifer has served in a variety of roles with Accurate, calling herself a “jack of all trades.” While her background and experiences are varied and impressive, there is one area where she excels—contract review.

Rasmussen, who doesn’t have a law degree, does have a degree in criminal justice and has long been interested in the law. Reviewing contracts came naturally to her. She was fortunate that, when she first began reviewing contracts, the VP of Compliance, her manager at the time, began giving her more and more responsibility in that area seeing her natural talent and capabilities. That experience, Jennifer says, led her to a position in the compliance department.

Then the company was acquired by Accurate, and Jennifer got a phone call telling her that she would be an Accurate employee and would be transferring into the legal department. She was elated.

“I started as a sales support person kind of filling in the blanks on contracts and, in less than five years, I moved into the legal department—I really quickly moved into this much bigger role than I every would have anticipated.” She’s gratified, she says, to have landed in a culture where others clearly believed in her abilities. That, she says, doesn’t happen everywhere.

“It’s a really, really cool feeling to know that I play such an active role in the growth of Accurate.” It is, she says, why she’s stayed with Accurate and plans to do so for some time.

Background and Interests Lead Her to the Right Fit

Jennifer came to Accurate with a college degree and master’s in criminal justice—but not a law degree. That hasn’t mattered. She’s applied what she knows on the job, and she’s learned along the way from managers who took the time to nurture and coach her and carefully answer any questions she might have had.

“I have a boss who will sit on the phone with me and says, ‘here’s what this means—here’s what we can agree to, here’s what we can’t agree to.” In the beginning, she says, some of the terminology and basis of decisions were very new to her and certainly unfamiliar. That’s no longer the case. She’s become a trusted and highly valued member of her team. The respect is mutual.

One of the things she enjoys the most in her role is the challenge of accommodating client perspectives while protecting Accurate’s interests. It’s not as black and white as simply saying “sign this,” or “add this,” or “take this out.” It’s a back-and-forth negotiation that, she says, really fits with me.” As she does her work, she says, she also needs to put on many different hats thinking about how these contracts impact other parts of the organization.

Jennifer says that the “one company” aspect of Accurate’s culture is especially appealing to her.

Coming Together As One

Jennifer was part of the merger of two companies that became one—a process that she knows doesn’t always move smoothly and one that sometimes leaves some employees feeling left out and no longer valued.

That wasn’t the case with the Accurate acquisition, she says. The focus was clearly on becoming one team and valuing the input of all employees, regardless of “which side” they had come from.  This philosophy made a significant impact on her. “It was so important to me that we make it one whole because we were all on the same page. I worked really hard to integrate into the team and learn as much as I could.”

When the companies came together, Jennifer says, “the first thing I noticed was that there wasn’t an “us and them” even in terms of when you’re talking to someone. It was not, ‘well, we do it this way—or you did it this way. We talked in terms of us. I noticed that people made a point of not making it about two separate teams trying to come together. It was more inclusive. It didn’t make you feel like an outsider.”

That’s why, she says, Accurate’s value of “work as one” really resonates with her.

Strong Culture Builds Engagement and Loyalty

Accurate’s culture is built on four core values pillars that unify the company with a common purpose, define where they’re headed, indicate what they’ll do to get there, what they believe in, and how they will behave with each other and their customers. They are:

• Take ownership: be accountable for your actions, your team, and the company.
• Be open: be open to new ideas.
• Stay curious: stay curious even as you move forward.
• Work as one: work together to create the best customer and workplace experience.

“I’ve been through acquisitions before where I felt like an outsider,” Jennifer shares. “So, the day that I came on board with Accurate—in March 2006—it was such a positive thing for me.”

It’s a culture, she says, that is likely to keep her engaged for the long term doing pretty much the same thing she’s doing now, except perhaps with more responsibility. “I see myself staying in the legal department—this is what I love to do—but I see myself being able to help my bosses. I feel my role is to be able to take more responsibility and ownership from them.”

At Accurate, Jennifer feels she is doing what she truly loves while making a difference that benefits both Accurate and its clients. That’s a win-win-win.