In this month’s “In the Limelight” Employee Spotlight, meet Becky Lukwiya!

Born and raised in Buffalo, New York, Becky’s extensive background in customer service and technical support paved the way for her success at Broadleaf. Today, as Client Operations Lead, Becky keeps Broadleaf’s Master Service Programs (MSPs) running smoothly.

At Broadleaf, Becky leverages so many of her strengths and experiences in support of our clients, including her love for learning and problem solving, the teaching skills she gained while instructing undergraduate labs in college, as well as her ability to organize and prioritize but also pivot when needed to accommodate an urgent project.

Learn more about Becky’s unique journey to Broadleaf and the critical role she plays in delivering unparalleled service to our clients and their contingent workers.

Journey to Broadleaf

I graduated from Buffalo State with my Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry, while minoring in Spanish Language, Mathematics, and Physics. The summer I graduated from Buff State I took the MCAT to attend med school but ended up starting a Master’s program in Anatomy at D’Youville.

At the time, I was working part-time as a host in a fine dining restaurant in downtown Buffalo. I later went full-time at the restaurant, and sometime after that a fellow employee and friend referred me to an opening within Broadleaf. The people I interviewed with were both so friendly and personable, and their knowledge and passion for what they did was so evident. I could not wait to work with those women. Ultimately, I was offered a position in payroll operations.

My extensive experience in customer service, which started with working retail jobs during high school, and technical support were a perfect fit for both my original position at Broadleaf that required a lot of patience and people skills and for my current position that requires a lot of problem solving and troubleshooting.

Studying chemistry made me highly detail-oriented, while my background in science and math made me very analytical. Communications skills and teaching undergraduate labs helped improve my ability to train other team members here at Broadleaf.

Life At Broadleaf

In my current role with Broadleaf, I facilitate success of our Managed Service Programs by leading our client operations team. We’re responsible for invoicing contingent timesheets and expenses within various vendor management systems every week. We collaborate with our talent acquisition teams, leadership, and Aleron’s Shared Services like corporate billing and payroll to keep our client programs running smoothly.

My role also involves training our team members and guiding the team’s day-to-day activities, which can change drastically depending on client needs. Our team is busy all day, every day, handling inquiries and requests from contingents, suppliers, client managers, and internal parties. We help to facilitate cost savings, review processes and implement improvements to better serve our clients, and assist with complex issues and escalations. We’re the point of contact for a lot of support features, from contingent login issues to even payment inquiries for associate suppliers.

Why Broadleaf?

The environment here is like no other. A lot of companies claim they are a “family,” but this company actually walks the walk. I’ve been encouraged to learn and grow while feeling respected and heard. Being a woman-owned business is also something I’m very proud of and love to brag about.

I love the possibility of fixing something or solving a problem. If I can help guide someone to a solution, I am happy for the rest of the day. Even though we do a lot of the same tasks day-to-day, there’s never a dull moment and always something new going on somewhere.

Looking Ahead

The industry has changed a lot in recent years. There has been a big shift from paper to digital, like the I-9 onboarding form that previously had more rigid requirements prior to COVID—not to mention the shift to more remote work.

Looking ahead, I think even more jobs will be fully remote or hybrid. We’ll also see increased use of AI to facilitate recruiting and talent acquisition and continued improvements to the technology and tools we use to do our jobs today.

Life Outside of Broadleaf

I’m constantly busy during my workday, so I prefer to relax in my spare time and try not to schedule too much too often. I love hanging out with my seven- and nine-year-old nieces. There’s always a game to play or something to do outside, and in the winter, we made our own at-home version of Among Us. My partner and I like to walk, hike, bike, garden, play tennis, read, and paint! I also enjoy spending time with my long-term friends from college and high school.

If time and money were no object, Japan would be my first stop on a world food tour! I’d also love to visit New Zealand, South Korea, India, Spain, France, Sweden/Norway, the UK, Egypt, Uganda to meet my extended family, and Poland, Ukraine, and Lithuania to learn more about my family roots. I’d also love to go to a few states in the U.S. with cool national parks and see the giant trees in California!

I’m also very passionate about safe driving. My mom and dad are both volunteer EMTs and volunteer firefighters, so I’ve heard my fair share of horror stories that could have been prevented with safe driving.