MEET DANIELLE THOMPSON: PROVIDER ROTATION SPECIALIST AT LOWE’S HOME IMPROVEMENT

Danielle Thompson started working at Lowe’s nearly five years ago as a Quoting Coordinator, where she was then promoted to Provider Rotation Specialist in 2022. Her role as a Provider Rotation Specialist requires a unique balance of processes and operations. She’s responsible for ensuring that a qualified, licensed professional is assigned to help Lowe’s customers set up or install items from their local Lowe’s Home Improvement store.

“We utilize data dashboards to make sure everything runs smoothly. I evaluate a lot of data to make sure that we’re distributing providers and specialists effectively.”

Leveling up through Pathstream

Danielle already has a bachelor’s degree, but when she learned about Lowe’s tuition assistance program, she felt empowered to continue her education and level up her skills.

“I learned about it [the tuition assistance program] in one of our larger department meetings. Lowes is basically paying us to go back to school for free. I already have my bachelor’s degree but wanted to keep learning and maximizing my potential. A program like this is so valuable, especially when you’ve already got existing loans from an undergraduate program. I could keep learning without taking on more loans,” Danielle said.

After reviewing her course options, she took the Business Analytics and Operations Certificate at Pathstream. This certificate program offers a combination of project management and data analytics courses that would give her the tools and skills to be more effective and efficient in her current role.

“The Business Analytics and Operations Certificate caught my eye. The certificate’s project management portion interested me the most, but I knew that the analytics courses would help me the most in my current role.”

In addition to the relevant coursework, Danielle was relieved to hear about the flexibility the Pathstream programs provide to students. Pathstream courses are asynchronous, so students can complete coursework on their own schedule as opposed to following specific class times. 

“What I liked about the program was the flexibility. I’m a mom of four. I have a full-time job. I’m very busy. So the flexibility alone was what drew me to the program.” 

Integrating new knowledge into her current role

Danielle was proactive about collaborating with her manager to utilize her Pathstream learning experience with her current work at Lowes. In a one-on-one meeting with her manager, Danielle shared that she was taking the Business Analytics & Operations certificate. 

“My manager is very much into analytics, so he was excited when he heard I was doing this certificate. He tasked me with data analysis and visualization work, like doing daily pulls from our spreadsheets to evaluate how many work orders we completed for a given provider.”

Danielle kept her manager up to date on what skills she was learning, and her manager continued to find ways to utilize her new skills and create opportunities for her to practice using her skills.

“Now, I’m also pulling all the weekly reports for my department and daily reports for my team. My manager tailored the weekly reports so that I could practice using the skills I was learning in the courses. With these skills, I’m also able to produce reports that better serve Lowe’s business needs.” 

Danielle also has seen her productivity increase in her current role as a result of the Pathstream certificate. It’s not only benefiting her effectiveness but the effectiveness of her entire team and department as well. 

“My productivity has increased a lot. Through pulling some of the data, I found some inconsistencies in our reports, elevated it to my manager, and we could streamline certain processes better.” 

Solidifying skills to prepare for advancement

Danielle is excited to keep growing her data analytics and project management skills. She’s also encouraged that management in her department has well-received her new skills. 

“This learning experience made me feel very confident. EVEN THE HIGHER-UPS WERE EXCITED when I shared my certificate with my department. They told me we can definitely utilize my certificate and new skills because there are a lot of analyst positions open.” 

She talked about how she’s seen how crucial these courses can be to company and individual success.

“A program like this, it’s important. It keeps me up to date. I can take different courses to keep up with the business needs of my company.

Danielle is most excited to keep practicing her skills in her current role and gaining experience. 

“I want to get a little more comfortable with the data analysis skills in my current role before moving up. I know that the analyst roles can be hectic. But it’s been good. My management is satisfied with my work and continues giving me data analysis projects and tasks.” 

Paying it forward

In addition to practicing her new skills, Danielle is also spreading the word about tuition reimbursement and Pathstream to her coworkers. 

“Pathstream is a really good program. I actually have a meeting later today with my coworkers because they’re interested in the certificate.” 

Danielle said the Pathstream program required dedication and time management, but she found the payoff worth the effort. 

“I learned a lot. For example, my manager would use this lingo, like stakeholder management or other project management terms, and we would have no idea what he was talking about or how to utilize the concepts better in our work. I learned these terms in Pathstream courses, and now we have a shared language that we can use to take action.” 

For those interested in taking a Pathstream program, Danielle’s advice is this: 

“Be consistent and stay true to the time you carve out for the program. It’s a lot of work, but it’s worth it.”