Getting to know: Jethro Jean-Baptiste – IT Manager

My name is Jethro, and I was born and raised in Lancaster, Massachusetts. I am an IT Manager.

I’ve been part of Insource for about three years. I started as an IT Support Specialist. Over the course of those three years, I was promoted to Senior Support Technician and Consultant, and then IT Manager.

Before Insource, I worked on a helpdesk for a financial services company for close to seven years. On the helpdesk, I was part of different teams – general helpdesk, CRM, firewall support team. I used to be a firewall coordinator. It was very diverse, and I’ve touched on a range of technologies and scenarios and break-fix scenarios for multiple clients in the fin services industry.

There’s a lot to financial services – compliance, security, etc. But in some ways, it was very consistent – just supporting the one type of product and taking calls rather than visiting clients.

How did you find Insource?

After being on the helpdesk for a while, I wanted to find an opportunity outside of my current role. It was hard to move through the ranks where I was, so I wanted to find an opportunity that would take me outside of my comfort zone.

I had my Masters in Information Technology and I didn’t think where I was would help me achieve my goals. I stepped outside my comfort zone when I saw a post on LinkedIn regarding an opportunity at Insource. As soon as I sent them the message and my resume, they contacted me right away. Tom Yannone gave me a call and he set up an interview with Russell (VP).

How was the interview process?

It was an intriguing process. It was during the summertime and after meeting with Tom, he set me up with a full interview with Russell – he was in the Cape, and I was in a shirt and tie on Zoom but he was in a polo shirt and hat on Zoom while on holiday. Then he set up a second interview onsite. After the second interview, I met Russell, Bruce, DaQuall, and Saleha. I don’t think I’ve ever met so many people in an interview process before.

It turned into really great extended conversations with each of them, which I enjoyed. During the time I was looking, I had a lot of interviews and follow up interviews with other companies but the whole SLT at Insource did such a great job sharing the Insource vision with me. Especially Saleha – she convinced me to join Insource because she saw that I was a good fit and she made me feel special and confident in myself and I knew I’d be appreciated.

What were your main goals going in?

As soon I started at Insource, I wanted to challenge myself technically and professionally in every sense. I was part of a helpdesk for seven years, supporting the same clients and technologies every time. I wanted something more diverse.

I had a high expectation of myself being the “go-to” person for support. I identified technologies and processes I wasn’t too familiar with and made it my personal mission to go the extra mile and become the face of Insource and technically expert in each of these areas.

I worked with Matt, my IT Director, and told him my goals to move into management and use my qualifications, and I also wanted to show him and the rest of the staff that I was determined to reach this goal. He was so supportive and said, “Yeah, we want to work with you to achieve those goals.”

What was your biggest challenge?

Understanding certain technologies and transitioning from different work environments. Being in the world of IT, there are so many different technologies. I was used to dealing with just one or two different platforms, but here at Insource, you have to be comfortable with a wide range of technologies, and be able to support e.g., some sites are all Macs, all Windows PCs, all Chromebooks, etc.

Being client-facing was new to me as I’d always supported clients on the phone before. It was an interesting transition. I felt I did well with it, and I’m pleased with how it went and how supported I was, but it was a bigger learning curve than I anticipated at first. I’m proud of how it worked out, especially supporting very different clients with different needs and technologies.

When I was promoted, my biggest challenge was transitioning an IT Support Member to a Manager and trying to understand the bigger things in what I am doing. Doing more delegating and relying on my team to get things done.

What’s your day-to-day like?

Before Covid life, I was visiting two different clients a day, trying to provide the best client experience, and checking in with the Insource IT team and various other managers. Nowadays I spend most days working remotely and visiting clients periodically.

Since being promoted to management, I mostly work remotely and visit clients periodically, supporting their projects. However, I see myself going onsite to visit clients more often as soon as our clients start to work in their facilities permanently.

What opportunities are available to you?

I think the sky’s the limit here at Insource. The first question you need to ask yourself is what do you want? Then understand what training is available, what benefit will this have for Insource?

Once you can confidently answer these questions, management will support you to achieve your goals. As long as you are passionate and competently providing value, Insource will support you to achieve anything you want to.

What is the support like?

Our IT team is amazing here. We have an open-door policy where everyone is available to assist.

Work you are most proud of?

I can be proud of a lot of things but here at Insource, I’m very proud of the stance the company took during the heightened elevated events of racial and social injustice e.g., Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. Our leadership team – Russell, Bruce, Saleha – wanted to ensure everyone felt safe and was able to express their feelings on these subjects freely.

They took positive action to create DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) resources and training and I was part of that, which made me feel very proud. It’s one of my most proud aspects of working at Insource. It’s so important to have a company that stands for what is right and I think Insource has answered that call. We’re working on that and have no tolerance for hatred of any kind.

What do you do for fun?

I love to work on building equity in my house (landscaping, building decks) and love to play the classical guitar, and pending time with my wife in my spare time. I also can’t wait to start playing pickup basketball and soccer again. I am a Celtic’s and a Cristiano Ronaldo fanatic.

Was Insource the right fit for you?

To be honest, at first, I wasn’t sure – there were days at the beginning where I felt the work was too much and I didn’t feel my efforts were recognized. But when I spoke up and shared my frustrations, they helped me navigate and they really listened.

They’re good at listening to us and they understand that happy employees are the most productive and get things done pretty quickly and efficiently. So, they try to do their best to help us engage with our work. In Boston, there’s a lot of staff turnover and Insource puts effort into ensuring the voices of their employees are heard and they’re listening.

After a while, I had to think about what’s best for me. I could not make the mistake of being complacent – it’s important to set a goal and be clear about how to achieve it. You have to realize what you want for yourself and from your career. Since doing that, I have found my way here at Insource and had all the support I need. To say that it’s a good fit now is an understatement!

Could Insource be right for you?

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