Move Everybody – Team Profile: Lori Schiffer, Senior Account Manager

Move Everybody – Team Profile: Lori Schiffer, Senior Account Manager

For over three decades, Corporate Fitness Works has successfully inspired health and fitness for all, stimulating workplace cultures that promote activity and well-being. As we continue to Move Everybody in 2019, we celebrate the amazing Team Leaders behind our mission. By sharing their stories, their inspirations and lessons learned, we hope to enthuse others to pursue their goals and aspirations for optimal health and fitness. This month we are pleased to feature Lori Schiffer, Senior Account Manager.

The Ah-Ha Moment

What began as a desire to ward off a family history of chronic disease, Lori made the decision as a teenager to lead an active and healthy lifestyle. When she began college, she decided to pursue a degree in the field of corporate wellness, and although mid-way through her studies Lori got married and relocated, she did complete her degree and graduate from Minot State University in North Dakota. She received a major in Corporate Fitness and Wellness with a minor in Management. As a military spouse and mom, Lori quickly learned to communicate impactfully and purposefully, which is a great asset not only for Lori but for CFW and the client sites and members we serve. Lori’s biggest motivator and driving force is inspiring people to do and be their best and although there have been many changes along Lori’s career and personal paths, that passion remains the same.

We asked Lori to share a few things about her career journey and success with Corporate Fitness Works.  This is what she had to say…

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Tell us about a time in your studies or in your career that helped you prepare for the challenges you face in your role today? 

I was a military spouse for 21 years, and I faced many challenges that helped prepare me for my current position. Managing two kids through their dad’s military deployments, with him being far away and sometimes in harm’s way, prepared me to do just about anything. The time in the military was also where I learned strong communication skills and how to communicate with finesse. Air Force officers and their wives can be intimidating but they appreciate words chosen carefully. I was one of those officers’ wives and learned from some of the best how to be respectful, sometimes deferential and always kind with words. I feel that this experience has led to my ability to build relationships with clients and use a communication style that lets them know they are cared about, and their needs are understood.

What is your #1 motivator? What are you most passionate about in the work that you do?

A big motivator for me is inspiring others to do and be their best. When I see a Team Leader I’ve worked with, grow and develop from a health fitness specialist to a program manager, who desires to take on more to not only better themselves but to make Corporate Fitness Works better, I feel motivated to do my best for them. Seeing the growth and development of my team gives me a great passion to continue to help them work toward their aspirations within CFW.

Describe the key steps you took in the path to your career success/career growth that made the greatest impact?

Through divine intervention every step on my path led me straight to where I am and have all been crucial in my journey. I took my first position in the fitness industry as a personal trainer and worked the front desk of a gym, which I did for many years as a military wife because of the flexibility it offered so I could be home with my kids – and this is where I began to use my communication skills to build relationships with PT clients. After that, we made a fateful decision to retire from the Air Force and move to Kansas City (which was not home to us). This is where I interviewed for a position with CFW, which happened to be my very first interview in KC, and I got the job. This was all within 1 month of beginning our new life as civilians. Starting out with CFW as a Health Fitness Specialist, I eventually became a Fitness Coordinator, then a Health Fitness Program Manager, Account Manager and currently, Senior Account Manager. Having spent time at every level has been critical in my success and every level has been impactful to my growth both personally and professionally. Learning and growing is something I feel is a lifelong process. Every day continues to provide opportunities and experiences that make me better at what I do. I don’t ever want to stop feeling that way.

How does your role as Senior Account Manager support Team Leader growth and our business growth?

My role is to support our Team Leaders so that they can provide the best experiences for our clients, which includes making sure they have the resources they need to successfully implement valuable programs, facility management services and follow through on deliverables to ensure client satisfaction.

How does your role most impact our client’s (and the members we serve) success?

I help our Team Leaders engage with strong lines of communication so that we understand each clients’ needs, with a willingness to be flexible to ensure we meet client goals – while maintaining CFW’s core mission, beliefs and values. This is also true for my role supporting the Team Leaders; working hand in hand with the team and making sure they have everything they need to make sure we can meet client goals, ensuring the success of our client sites and the members we serve.

Share a career highlight.

In 2011, I was chosen as the Rachel House Hudson award recipient – my nomination was member driven so it really meant a lot to me. Receiving all the member and client comments had me in tears because much of what we do onsite sometimes gets lost in the day to day hustle. The feedback I received through this award was very telling. It was clear that members really appreciate everything we do onsite to make sure they have a great experience.

If you could share one “value added tip” as Senior Account Manager for CFW, what would it be?

Make sure to spend time with Team Leaders whether they are local or remote, reinforcing that they are valued for each and everything they do for us at our sites. Our Team Leaders are the face of CFW – our clients and members see them often, so making sure they have all the tools they need to be successful helps us retain them as well as our clients.

Please share an interesting fact about you that you would want our Team and our clients to know about you? This can be career related or personal.

I completed the 2015 Ironman Triathlon in Cozumel, Mexico to celebrate my 50^th birthday! The breakdown is a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike and a 26.2-mile run – all in the same day! This event was an experience I’ll never forget and having completed not only the training leading up to it and the race itself, will forever be a mental and physical accomplishment I’ll be proud of. But, I probably won’t do another one!