Enginuity Employee Spotlight: Paul Steinhafel, Community Accounts Operations Specialist

Welcome to the Enginuity Employee Spotlight series! This series shares employee stories, focused on their achievements, personality, successes, challenges, and more to get to know them in and outside of work. Our goal for this series is to build connections among employees and boost belonging and inclusion among our larger community.

Today's employee spotlight features Paul Steinhafel, a Market Enginuity Community Accounts Operations Specialist. Paul has been in three roles since starting at Market Enginuity and feels like this is where he belongs. He loves being able to work with the local community and getting lost in research. We are excited for you to get to know him better.

Tell us about one of your favorite work stories

Honestly, it must be my whole journey at Market Enginuity over the last 2 years (I've been with the company for 6-years)! Much like everyone, my world was flipped upside down by the pandemic. For the 4 years prior, I was an Account Manager, but 2 years ago to the date, as I write this, I was offered the opportunity to join and help build a scrappy little "start-up" within the company called Community Accounts.  

My home market of Milwaukee was selected to be the very first market with a Community Accounts Gateway, and I was the lucky test pilot for this brand new, self-serve online ordering system. As the team's official "Test Pilot," I was heavily involved in the development process of the Gateways. I've learned and continue to learn a ton about website development. I've also really enjoyed being the Web Administrator for the sites, uploading new packages and updating content as necessary.  

With Community Accounts being a "start-up" within the company, we've moved incredibly fast and the whole team has learned and taken on new responsibilities. A few months ago, it was determined that our team needed a dedicated researcher to find new leads for each of our markets. As someone who loves diving into a topic and researching it, I jumped at the opportunity and immediately volunteered for it. I'm loving the new role I'm in and feel very fortunate to work for a company that has invested in my growth and desire for a career change.

What do you like to do outside of work?

I really love to cook! I like to just figure out what’s in my pantry or refrigerator and see what I can put together. I mainly cook vegetarian, so it’s always fun to see what I can whip up. Other than cooking, I really enjoy spending time with my family and being outside. We like to ride our bikes, go on hikes together, and visit national parks. Honestly, any activity that includes being outdoors.  

I'm also a big fan of history and non-fiction books. Lately, I've been reading a lot of biographical books. I also love a good documentary film or series. 

What is the most important thing you have learned in the last five years? 

I’ve really learned to never get too comfortable because life will throw you a fast one. I’m kind of a creature of habit, so I need to learn how to embrace change and see where it leads because it can lead to something good. I remember being stuck in a sales role because I was in it for so long until I finally left and joined Market Enginuity. And after a lot of change with my roles, I am finally in a role that fits me best.

What would people never guess you do in your role? 

Throughout the week, I get to "travel" virtually to each of our 13 markets that Community Accounts serves and research upcoming events and season/reason opportunities. I also get to do a lot of research which I love. There are so many rabbit holes you can go down on the Internet, and I love researching a season and reason for each market. Finding leads and contact takes some time, but I love to just throw on my headphones and get lost in the research.

Where would you like to go on a dream vacation? 

So many places and it's always changing! Domestically, I'd love to vacation in Hawaii. It would be a very exotic vacation to be on, and it’s a part of the U.S. so it’s relatively easy to get there. Internationally, I'd like to check out the Alsace region and get the best of both France and Germany. I have some ancestors that came from there after researching our family tree, and it would be awesome to see where we came from.  

During his free time, you can catch Paul watching documentaries, reading historical books or increasing his music library. He recently watched the Paul Newman documentary on HBO and is reading Sing Backwards and Weep by Mark Lanegan. Consider reaching out to him to say hello at psteinhafel@marketenginuity.com.