Unifier Spotlight: Miranda Russell at Helcim

A company may have many different compasses, pointing in many directions. That’s one of the most important reasons why every company needs a “Unifier” – because the Unifier ensures we are headed towards our collective goal, the company’s ‘North Star’!

In Part 2 of our “Unifier Spotlight” series (you can find Part 1 here), Miranda Russell joined me to discuss her role as a Unifier and the Chief of Staff at Helcim. We had a great conversation that you won’t want to miss below!

What is your favorite meal?

 “My favorite meal would have to be a Vietnamese Vermicelli bowl (also known as “bun thit nuong”). It’s the best way to treat myself. It’s a comfort dish. Noodles, veggies, chicken or pork, the extras, some egg rolls – just all the best.”

What’s something about you that most people don’t know?

 “Since I work in the city and B2B SaaS, which is a very urban setting, most people are surprised to learn I grew up on a farm. My dad’s side has been farming for over 100 years and his family still farms in southern Alberta. I grew up with all kinds of animals and tons of pets (donkeys, alpacas, sheep, ponies and horses). It has translated to very interesting life skills.”

What does your day-to-day look like?

“My day-to-day life varies quite a bit, which is exciting. I am primarily focused on aligning our goals and strategy. I work to identify and resolve roadblocks, serve as a resource to our entire organization, communicate with our ELT & SLT, and “catch” priorities with no home. I also am heavily involved in our communications and marketing – so ensuring we are communicating effectively with our internal and external parties.”

In the past 12 months, what part of the business has your organization focused on connecting/integrating more?

“As we’ve grown a lot (now over 140 team members) and added more functions, we have focused on bringing visibility to all our departments and integrating data-driven decisions. For Helcim, we focus on giving our entire team the best data, better informing our decisions. Designing meeting cadences, reporting structures, and new ways to unite our teams has played a large role in increasing visibility and collaboration.”

How do you measure the success of your top revenue-generating asset throughout its journey with your business?

“As far as data, we use Metabase as our business reporting dashboard. Transparency is huge for us, so every employee is given the same access to our data and reporting. Measuring the success of our top revenue-generating asset centers around tracking how our SMBs are growing with Helcim. When our merchants grow, we grow. It is a very symbiotic relationship.”

What is the project that you are most proud to have worked together with 1 or more functional leaders?

“I am most proud to have worked on the launching of the Helcim Smart Terminal this year. You always hear, “Hardware is hard for a reason”, which is very true. Our Smart Terminal was a massive project involving development, marketing, sales, and everyone in between. With our POS system, we took a fun approach to a normally lackluster interface. The feedback has been very validating.”

As you shore up planning for 2024, where would you like to see increased unification?

“What we are working on right now is looking at the Executive Leadership Team and Senior Leadership Team – seeing what worked, what we can improve upon, and doing it. Looking at our data, reporting, how to streamline meetings, cadence of meetings, bringing up weekly reports, and increasing visibility.”