Benchmark’s Best: Ariel Finney, Project Administrator

​Ensuring a seamless transition during your bank or credit union’s install or upgrade is successful with the help from Benchmark’s Best for October, Ariel Finney, Project Administrator. Ariel has a great attitude and has been able to achieve so much in the Project Management department. Her role on the Project Management team is essential and often keeps Installs and Upgrade services highly functional and organized. With banking and Benchmark in her family, Ariel has always felt like part of the Benchmark Team. 

​What do you do in your job?
The Project Administrator position requires a detail-oriented and precise person. Ariel showcases these qualities while executing her responsibilities. She oversees scheduling for all of our Remote Deposit Capture (RDC) projects which can involve multiple clients and hundreds of scheduled installations. She coordinates financial institution details while accommodating the specifics of the project. Keeping these details tidy ensures that our RDC team can execute conversions quickly. When installs and upgrades run smoothly, this boosts customer satisfaction and keeps our RDC projects on track. Her efforts directly contribute to operational success in the Project Management team and make a positive impact on our customers.
 
How long has Ariel worked for Benchmark?
Ariel has been an invaluable addition to the Benchmark team since her first summer internship in 2017. Her experience with different departments in Benchmark has instilled banking industry knowledge and Benchmark’s core values. She started as an Account Relations Manager in 2017. Then in summer 2018, she moved to Reception/Customer Service and helped the RDC team with a project. In summer 2019, she started in Accounting but was offered an opportunity to move into the Project Management department full time. She has made a home in this department and has been working full-time year-round while finishing up her time at Kennesaw State University. 
 
Success Story
She enjoys working with the Project Management team and is very grateful for the opportunities that she has earned. Ariel occasionally also assists with online ordering and customer service. Ariel has saved the day on more than one occasion. One occasion that stands out is her interaction with a panicked customer who needed supplies on a deadline. This customer was ordering from Benchmark’s online fulfillment tool, TraxIT. TraxIT allows users to order devices or consumables out of a custom catalog and you can even send in service requests directly from TraxIT. Ariel’s customer was trying to place a large order and needed the new supply items added to their catalog quickly. Ariel knows the importance of completing RDC fulfillment orders quickly and efficiently, so she added the item to their catalog for future use and went ahead and placed the order on the customer’s behalf to get the order to our shipping department before end-of-day. Ariel was able to go above and beyond for her customer and was able to implement Benchmark's core values of customer satisfaction as a top priority.
 
Hobbies outside of work?
Ariel is not only managing her responsibilities of her full-time position here at Benchmark but also is finishing up her last year at Kennesaw State University in Business Management. She will complete her degree in 2021. When she does have free time, she is typically studying. She also loves to cook, watch Netflix, and play with her ferret, Bandit.
 
Favorite Food?
Being a cook herself makes picking a favorite food difficult. She has a wide range of culinary tastes and enjoys a lot of different dishes. If she had to narrow it down, her favorite type of food would be Italian food. With pasta, sauces, garlic and gelato, it's hard not to love Italian food!
 
What are you watching these days?
Ariel has been enjoying NBC comedy classics lately. Her millennial dedication to The Office and Parks & Rec has not faded. She is re-watching both series. She also loves a little bit of horror and glam with American Horror Story. All three series are fantastic shows, and you can check them out on Netflix or Hulu.