Team Member Spotlight: Sarah Baughman

Let Me Tell You About Sarah

By Karen Carpenter, COO

It’s hard to put into words how much Sarah means to EPM, as well as to Jason and me personally. She is not only a trusted confidant and advisor, but she also treats EPM as if it’s her own. She makes every decision with incredible empathy and compassion always at the forefront of her mind.

Sarah started with EPM before we even had an office, back when it was just Sarah, Jason and me working out of my basement. As EPM has grown, Sarah has grown with us. And as EPM has evolved, so has Sarah’s role.

Her current role as Director of Client Service came about when we took on a new large client and I knew I needed more help to manage the growing list of properties that were relying on EPM to provide that exceptional customer service we had become known for.

Jason and I were looking for ways to take more things off my plate while empowering our already amazing employees to grow and take on more responsibility. We wanted to have someone in charge of handling all the customer service issues and concerns – both big and small – that inevitably pop up in a growing, service-oriented business. By  having someone in such a role, we would ensure that, no matter how big EPM got, there would always be someone actively deepening EPM’s relationships with our customers, while preventing small problems from becoming big ones.

We needed someone who would be proactive, a creative problem solver, and a people-pleaser who would feel a sense of urgency to make things right. At first, we thought this would be a hard role to fill, but after a little reflection, we knew Sarah would be the perfect person to take on this new position.

In many ways, Sarah and I are cut from the same cloth. We even share the same birthday! Her perspectives on customer service and attention to detail are just like mine. We both hold ourselves to the same high standards. And we are both passionate about finding creative, win-win solutions to every problem.

As EPM continues to grow, our goal for Sarah is to have her sprinkle that fairy dust of hers around by conducting training sessions with our management team, property management coordinators and pest management professionals. And who couldn’t use a little more fairy dust?

What EPM Means to Me

By Sarah Baughman, Director of Client Experience

I’ve been with EPM for several years. When I think back to when I first started, it was time I remember fondly. This was when it was just Karen, Jason and I working in the office together. Jason trained me on our Work Order System, which is a system that he created.  I’m slightly embarrassed to admit that I was slow to catch on! I asked a million questions and really appreciate that Jason patiently answered all of them until I finally mastered it.  I attribute a lot of my success to Karen. She has really shown me what it means to provide exceptional service. Proudly, I sometimes refer to myself as “Karen 2.0.”

What I love most about EPM is that Jason and Karen are truly supportive business owners who treat their employees as their greatest assets. Whatever you give the company, you can be sure you’ll get it back ten-fold.  I believe this is one reason why EPM has been voted one of Columbus’s “Best Places to Work” four years in a row now by its employees.

EPM is always looking to improve and get feedback from our clients, so in my role as Director of Client Experience, I reach out proactively to my contacts at all the properties we serve just to make sure everything is going smoothly and staying on track.

Part of what makes me successful at my job is my attention to detail. From the moment I learn of something that could become a bigger problem, it’s my mission to find a solution, get things resolved, or put a new process in place within 24 hours.

While this job can have many challenges, I take a lot of pride and satisfaction in trying to ensure that I’m not just meeting our customers’ needs but exceeding them.

What do I do when I’m not working? Well, I’m probably working. What I mean by that is if somebody emails me at 8pm then I’m emailing them back right away and not waiting until 9am when it’s technically the next workday. This work has changed my life. While I’ve always had patience and empathy, this position has provided me with additional tools that help me not only with customer service, but in life. It continues to challenge me to be a better person and a better employee.

And getting back to what I do when I’m not working? I enjoy spending time with my husband of 24 years, Jason [Baughman], and our three children. We have a daughter in college, Madison, a son in high school, Blake, and a teen daughter, Brooke. The newest addition to our family is Henry, our little French bulldog, who’s an adorable ball of energy…and a little bit ornery!