Jaime McDougall: Fintech is driving the wheel of change in space

“The art of communication is the language of leadership.” – James Hume

The debate over what works for effective leadership has existed as long as leaders exist. Among the myriad qualities disputed for being essential within a leader, everyone will be on the same page when it comes to the quality of effective communication skills.

Perfect and precise communication is undoubtedly the most important trait that a person in a leadership position must have. The simple reasoning behind emphasizing this special quality is that effective discourse is the outlet through which a person conveys his message. It has the power to make or break things. It can greatly inspire and motivate people to achieve their personal and organizational goals. When used optimally, communication can drive the wheel of change in any given sector.

One of the prominent names among such leaders who has recognized the potential of this feature Jaime McDougallThe Dr. Senior Director of Growth Program Strategy A. Daily. Starting as Marketing Director at DailyPay, Jaime has climbed the corporate ladder through his skills for innovation and creativity.

We contacted Jaime at Insights Success in an interview to learn more about his professional journey in the fintech space and his vision for leadership as an individual.

Below are the highlights of the interview:

Jaime, please give us an overview of your journey as a senior director Growth Program Strategies at Daily.

My path at DailyPay has always been towards marketing and revenue of our organization. I started at DailyPay when we were directly to the consumer, working with many of our customers – Uber and Durdash drivers – and creating an effective marketing and referral program. I was intimately acquainted with how customers view Daily, the challenges in the shopping journey, and the key strategies to drive acquisitions.

When we pivot on B2B2C, I led the effort to create our inbound demand to attract new businesses to our platform. I’ve learned a lot about how to communicate with executives about the value of daily. How Daily drives down prices by reducing turnover and improving employee engagement and recruitment, which has a direct bottom line effect.

By marrying the two, I was in the best position to think about our marketing strategy for launching the new Delip program. I understood how to communicate with our company and company employees (our last customer). I created the standard launch playbook to create awareness and consideration for DailyPay among our partner companies.

The B2B2C aspect of the business makes marketing to our end customer less understandable than other consumer brands. The companies we partner with vary in size, industry, and employee population, all of which affect how an employee can learn or consider the benefits of DailyPay. So, I am constantly thinking of creative marketing solutions to reach out directly to our partner company employees.

Tell us more about Daily, its offerings, and its strong position in financial services.

At DailyPay, we are flipping the financial system by creating a financial technology platform that starts working as soon as it starts. Founded in 2015, DailyPay is a leading on-demand pay service provider that enables employees to control their payroll time.

The current pay system is a failed system that puts employees in a payroll cycle that is dependent on their employer. DailyPay is challenging this old notion by designing a uniquely useful system to support businesses using Pay Balance to pay employees when they want it, revolutionizing how companies pay their employees and interact with pay.

With our existing pay balance model, which enables employees to access their on-demand pay, we have expanded our pay balance platform and created top innovative solutions for employers, employees, banks and merchants to efficiently manage pay transactions.

Pioneer-thinking organizations across the United States are turning to DailyPay to help them build a happier, more employed workforce, which has become particularly important as the U.S. economy recovers from the COVID-19 epidemic and subsequent workforce shortages.

As an experienced leader, share your thoughts on how the adoption of modern technology like AI and ML has impacted the financial services industry and how Delipe is riding the wave of technology?

While companies are investing in consumer-oriented technology to stay relevant and create a seamless experience for their users, many have neglected their own employees. With the ‘great resignation’ shaking the country, many workers are now leaving for new opportunities and joining companies that invest for their people. As a result, many companies are seeking new benefits for their employees.

As money is a top priority for many individuals, companies are exploring and applying the best financial technologies and benefits, such as on-demand pay, in benefit packages. Demand for this specialty has grown significantly as a result of recent corporate scandals. From mentioning the Fortune 500 business earnings to increasing recruitment rates, job posts say DailyPay is a key advantage that many companies are using to stay competitive.

Considering the COVID-19 epidemic example, how do you plan to navigate similar situations in the future?

The two words that come to mind are employee safety and flexibility.

No one likes the unknown. Communicating and showing empathy in times of crisis is one of the best things a leader can do, as well as providing two-way conversations for employees to connect with each other and remember that the company is listening and behind them.

Employee security has multiple meanings – physical security, financial security and psychological security. It is the responsibility of the employer to ensure that my employees are cared for in every possible way.

If the epidemic affects the health of my employees, I must call on all employees to work remotely. If my employees are struggling to make ends meet through bi-weekly pay, it’s about finding a way to give them access to their daily pay. If the epidemic is taking a psychological toll, I need to make sure they have the healthcare they need to get the medical care they need.

One thing we are still learning from the epidemic is to be prepared for unforeseen events. Many companies have had to change their workplace dates and other company-wide plans due to the new look and growth of the Cowid case. If a similar situation arises, I would say make a flexible plan because you do not know what could change.

What efforts did you make during the epidemic to sustain the operation and at the same time ensure the safety of your team?

The safety of our staff is a top priority at DailyPay. With a steady stream of cove cases, DailyPay has decided to expand the work from home and open an office for voluntary entry.

To ensure we can maintain our normal business level, we have incorporated new technologies into our technology stack and emphasized communication across the organization. As cases in New York are slowly declining, we are seeing more and more employees coming into office and returning to pre-epidemic work styles.

What is your view on the adoption of gender equality from the perspective of business leadership?

I founded Dailymen – our company’s female employee resource group – in 2017 because I knew how important it would be for a fintech start-up like DailyPay – a highly male-dominated industry – to prioritize diversity over the diversity of our customers. . 60% of our customer base is female, so it is important for us to attract and retain talented women with different thoughts and different experiences in Delipe.

How I think about embracing gender equality in the workplace first sheds light on the differences and potential problems we face as a society and organization. DailyPay actively fights against systemic bias and fights for gender equality in the following ways:

• ERG – DailyWomen Programming encourages the participation of our partners. We continue to discuss key issues such as mentorship, sponsorship and looking at different perspectives.
• Pay Equity – We use tools to understand how other people (gender agnostics) are paying in the same size, industry and location.
• Qualification-Based Rewards – Promotions and reviews are based on an ideal set of quality and objective performance measurements.
• Goal setting and personal development planning – Every person in the company goes through the same process of developing a career plan.
• Blind CV Screen – To eliminate the possibility of bias in the interview process, we review the CV for performance and qualifications and nothing else.

Personally, I enjoy spending my time advising a growing number of female leaders and there are female counselors who may face similar challenges as me.

As an established industry leader, what would be your advice to emerging entrepreneurs and those interested in becoming entrepreneurial in the financial services industry?

There is a lot going on in financial services and a lot of disruption from emerging FinTech companies like ours. Whether it’s a new way for employees to access capital or crypto, our legacy financial system is perfect for innovation, and there’s a lot of innovation in space right now.

I encourage leaders, enthusiasts and entrepreneurs to be curious through enjoyment, reading and participation. I recently started using Affirm because I was interested in user experience and point-of-sale installment loans. I also like the integration of Venmore’s new crypto wallet. What I like about these companies is that they are empowering consumers and offering new value to groups that have not been able to access them before.

Some of my favorite publications and podcasts that keep me informed are Morning Brew, The Motley Flower, Finimize, Andrew Sorkin’s Dilbook and Planet Money.

How do you envision scaling up DailyPay services in 2022?

2022 is an exciting year for Daily and the Growth Team. We have new products and services that will provide value for the company and their employees. Our scaling plan involves thoughtful go-to-market execution and great collaboration between teams so that we continue to deliver a great customer experience.

Please give us some testimonials of your clients / customers and a list of rewards / recognitions that accurately reflect your organization’s position in the market.

• IntelyCare, which has about 30,000 nurses on its platform, launched DailyPay’s EWA product in June 2021 in partnership with Denver-based human resources outsourcing firm ADP. Shortly afterwards, IntelyCare reported a 300% increase in placements by 2020 Not only is EWA responsible for that growth, but it is also a unique advantage in a labor market where professionals have an unusual mix of financial challenges and burnouts, but there are plenty of options. Where to find employment. – https://www.americanbanker.com/payments/news/health-care-workers-are-quitting-in-droves-can-flexible-paydays-help
• The DailyPlay app was a welcome relief for Kroger’s more than 400,000 employees; Monty says: “Overall, the response has been overwhelmingly positive. People see it as insurance. ‘I have it if I need it; I have the app, I downloaded it, I don’t use it all the time, but I know it’s there when I really need it, “he said. The app was a big help during a recent blizzard in the South. Having trouble getting their paper checks in the mail, many workers have returned to DailyPay to receive their salaries. – https://hrexecutive.com/one-of-krogers-covid-19-strategies-access-to-earned-pay/

Rewards:

• Time Magazine: 2021 Best Discovery Special Mention
• Newsweek 2021 Top 100 Most Favorite Workplaces by Top Favorite Workplace
• HR / Workforce – Best Innovative or Emerging Technology Solutions 2021
• Global Brand Magazine – The Most Trusted Earned Wage Access Provider, 2021, New York
• List of 2021 CB Insights Fintech 250 Top Fintech Startups