United States
I feel that part of Experian’s responsibility as a global information services company is to build and bolster community involvement initiatives that help others. I’m currently a manager of our Fraud Resolution Team and Credit Educator Department in Allen, Texas, but I also have the honor of managing all outreach programs for our branch, bringing together Experian employees to give back to the community. Taking on a volunteer project on top of regular work can be daunting. As the point person for my office’s volunteerism, I’m in charge of communications about upcoming events and drumming up interest and excitement among employees, be it through flyers, silly videos, emails or even free t-shirts. I know a lot of my fellow employees, but I don’t know everyone, so spreading the word isn’t always easy. Despite these challenges, I continue doing this important work because I care about the impact Experian makes in its local communities. My first volunteer experience with Experian was working alongside Stop Hunger Now – an international hunger relief nonprofit – several years ago. I was amazed at the impact we had. Shortly thereafter, I also participated in a canned food drive, rallying Experian employees to visit the Texas Food Bank. After these two chaotic, inspirational, behind-the-scenes experiences, my interest was permanently piqued in on-site volunteer days within the Allen community. Since then, I’ve organized volunteer days with many other nonprofit programs. The amount of organization and work that goes into each volunteer day is much more than you might think. For every Stop Hunger Now event, we package 10,000 meals for those in need, which requires about 100 volunteers dedicating their time. When we worked with Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit organization devoted to building homes for those who need them, our first two scheduled events were rained out – and it never rains in Texas! I was worried that no one would show up the third time, when we had to reschedule for 7 a.m. on a Saturday. Luckily, every single volunteer spot was filled. We got to meet the family we were building a house for, and we all signed a piece of wood from the house for them. Their gratitude made all the frustration and extra work worth it. It takes a village to get some of these events off the ground, but I have a strong support structure at Experian. And learning to empathize with people through volunteering helps me in my day-to-day work. People who are dealing with fraud can be very emotional, and fraud is unexpected by nature. My volunteering experience has equipped me with the skills needed to empathize with others better and think on my feet.
Patients ideally should know what they’re going to owe when they show up for an appointment – the last thing they need is a big financial surprise to add to the stress of their visit. Similarly, doctors, nurses, hospitals and all healthcare providers help people to stay healthy day in and day out. Providers should be able to go to sleep at night knowing that they’ll be fairly compensated for the work that they do. However, making that happen isn’t easy. Behind the scenes, contracts, benefits and eligibility between medical groups, hospitals and insurance payers are fairly nuanced and complex. Clients benefit when it comes to how much a patient owes a hospital or medical group after treatment, rough estimates aren’t ideal – perfection is difficult/ create problems and issues. Billing must have pinpoint accuracy and add nuance based on unique contract terms that all medical groups and hospitals sign with their employers and payers. The details can actually be quite difficult to keep straight, and there is an extensive amount of variation in each contract’s rules. Experian Health works to make payment transparency the norm, so that patients know what to expect and healthcare providers are paid fairly, accurately and in a timely fashion. I began working for Experian in 2004 but my interest in product development and research eventually led me to Experian Health. My team of more than 100 Experian employees painstakingly reviews contracts, patient eligibility, benefits information and historical claims to generate an accurate fee estimate for each patient’s medical visit. Nuance/aiding are helping to work toward this. We utilize up-to-date technology that organizes all the information we find in an extensive database and review the claims on behalf of both our medical group clients and patients. The biggest challenge for me and my team is anticipating both patients’ and hospitals’ future needs and innovation in the field. Any time healthcare policies are changed or reimbursement guidelines shift, it affects our clients and requires nimble thinking on our part. How do we ensure that our technology is as modern as possible and our team members stay current on the latest trends and news? I’m looking forward to seeing how we continue adapting in the future.
My work with the non-profit side of Experian started more than a decade ago, when I was asked to provide some general oversight with a project. I was only meant to play a supporting role, but my passion for the work blossomed immediately. It also seemed fortuitous that my colleagues could jokingly call me “Tammy Non-Proffitt.” Non-profits are dedicated to furthering and advocating for their respective social causes, but they don’t always have the resources they need to drive their message home. Additionally, non-profits sometimes have trouble understanding who their actual donors are due to a lack of data insights. With the limited budgets non-profits have, it would be a shame to waste hard-earned dollars on a campaign that won’t resonate with the right people. Luckily, Experian utilizes data that helps non-profits target the audiences that care about their causes across multiple channels, driving donations that are crucial to the organization’s function, while raising awareness about their cause and furthering their efforts. Recently, I worked with the Raleigh, North Carolina-based non-profit Rise Against Hunger, an international organization that prevents hunger by providing food and aid to people who need it. When Rise Against Hunger was looking to promote several fundraising Facebook campaigns, our data allowed the organization to identify the right audiences for them to target. With this data, Rise Against Hunger can directly target people who are more likely to care – and donate – to their cause. I’ve also had the opportunity to work with The Orangewood Foundation, based in Santa Ana, California, which prepares former and current foster youth to reach their potential and learn about the basic life skills they need to succeed. Like Rise Against Hunger, Orangewood needed help segmenting their own current donor base for different promotions and campaigns, based on age, location and area of interest. Orangewood provides services to more than 1,500 youth every year, so making sure they are targeting the right people for donations is extremely important. Since I began working with Orangewood, I’ve had the chance to visit their campus and charter school, and was simply blown away by the quality of their staff and facilities. Data drives and informs decision-making, helping organizations like the non-profits I work with make smart choices about their communications outreach. In addition, my recent work has not only allowed me to help non-profit clients I care about, but also connected me with other Experian employees, showing how different teams can effectively collaborate to use data for good.
In the United States, many individuals struggle with managing their money. In fact, a recent study by Mintel found that only 19 percent of respondents would rate themselves highly on their financial knowledge. As the Director of Public Education at Experian, this finding, while concerning, is not surprising. Since joining Experian twenty years ago, my team and I have spoken with thousands of consumers across the country about personal finance. From bank presidents to blue-collar workers, the individuals I speak to all want the answer to one question – “how can I plan for my financial future, taking into consideration life’s ups and downs?” The Mintel survey found that 21 percent of Americans today are not at all confident about reaching their financial goals, but my team and I are working every day to change this. We are committed to working with various communities within the U.S. to help them better understand their finances. We provide training for young men and women in the Air Force about how to succeed financially while on active duty and when returning to civilian life as part of a program with the Hero’s at Home organization. In partnership with the Society for Financial Education and Professional Development, we also educate young adults at historically black colleges and universities, answering questions about building credit and managing money. Through the LifeSmarts Competition, we challenge high school students to compete on knowledge of personal finance. And through some of our other programs, we work with low-income women and immigrant populations to promote financial inclusion by helping them establish credit or understand loans. Through these experiences, we’ve met countless inspiring individuals from various backgrounds with compelling success stories. For example, a member of the Air Force once told us that, following one of our sessions, she was able to improve her credit and buy her first home. Stories like this are why I am so proud to be part of the only dedicated financial education team in the industry. I am excited to continue empowering people from all walks of life to reach their financial goals. Learn more about the Mintel research here.
For the fourth consecutive year, Experian has been named to Forbes Magazine’s Top 100 list of the “World’s Most Innovative Companies.” At Experian, we are proud to foster a global culture of continuous innovation, from finding breakthroughs around better utilizing data to identifying ways we can make access to credit faster and simpler for millions around the world. The recognition as a top innovative company is a testament to our employees’ focus on putting the consumer and our customers at the center of what we do, and powering innovative opportunities to secure better, more productive futures for people and organizations. This past year has been a year of significant milestones, including our partnership with Finicity, the introduction of our Text for Credit product, and our drive to create a more open and adaptive technology environment by implementing API capabilities across the Experian network. In March, we were among the first companies to digitize the mortgage underwriting process. We partnered with Finicity to join our new Digital Verification Solution with their data aggregation and insight platform, creating technology that easily verifies consumer assets and income. This new service enables us improve data accuracy and reduce fraud risk for lenders, and removes the hassle and piles of paperwork for consumers, accelerating the loan underwriting process to as little as 10 days. In July, we introduced the first-ever credit solution that enables consumers to apply for credit with a simple text message. Utilizing patent-pending mobile identification through our Smart Lookup process, consumers can be recognized by their device credentials, bypassing the need to fill out a lengthy credit application. Our Text for Credit product enables consumers to apply for real-time access to credit while standing in line to make their purchases, or before entering an auto dealership. We’ve also implemented application programming interfaces (APIs) across the Experian network. This works to improve the transfer of data, speed up the pace of innovation and foster a more collaborative environment, enabling us to create a more efficient and targeted platform for our customers. Additionally, understanding that healthcare is becoming the “new retail” environment, Experian launched price transparency and patient estimate tools that provide health systems with real-time eligibility and insurance coverage to help patients avoid the sticker shock associated with unforeseen medical expenses. An industry’s greatest innovators are successful not only because they deliver superior products in the present, but also – and perhaps more importantly – because they continuously solidify their place in the future through a culture of discovery that encourages modernization and disruption. As author Greg Satell outlined in his new book, Mapping Innovation: A Playbook for Navigating a Disruptive Age, the work we do in our DataLabs – and throughout Experian – shows our commitment to being inventive and agile in an increasingly competitive market. Experian embraces a culture of discovery that enables us to grow and evolve while remaining at the forefront of innovation. Of course, the key is to never stop questioning, evolving and innovating. And we won’t.
A few years back, a friend approached me at church, devastated because his identity had been stolen. His tampered identity made it difficult for him to access credit, and his small business was suffering as a result. I’ve been working at Experian for 9 years, and I’m regularly asked by folks how to effectively build credit and keep identities secure, but this case had me stumped. I ended up directing him to a colleague of mine who helped facilitate his recovery, but I wanted to do more. I started asking around the office how I could help not only friends and family, but anyone in the community who is concerned about their credit. That’s when I joined Experian’s Ambassadors Program. As an Ambassador, I now regularly volunteer my time to share financial literacy presentations on credit and identify theft prevention with people in my community, from students to church groups. One presentation I gave recently really changed my perspective on the power of credit. My son asked me to present at his company, Capital Group, in the Financial District of Los Angeles. Walking into the presentation, I assumed that their work in finance would make them credit experts. I assumed I would be presenting to a small group of people who felt confident about their credit and would ask very few questions. I couldn’t have been more wrong. The group was two times larger than any audience I’d presented to before, and they were incredibly engaged. Many inquired about simple credit concepts: “What should I be aware of regarding my credit report? How can I make my credit better?” It dawned on me that just because someone’s in finance or business doesn’t automatically mean they understand the ins and outs of credit – they work just like you and I do, and it’s not their #1 job to worry about their credit. I realized that everyone could benefit from the information we were providing. During that presentation, I broke the concept of credit down into manageable chunks, explaining things like the consequences of late mortgage payments, how to prevent identity fraud and a person’s credit utilization rate. I drew on the mistakes I made as a young man and the hindsight I now have as a grandfather to 19 children. I wanted to equip them with the tools they needed to adjust to all of life’s events – from divorce to sending a kid off to college – and help them make financial changes that will positively benefit them and their families. One presentation at a time, I want to continue ensuring that families can confidently pursue their dreams and achieve financial milestones.
Health care can be expensive and unaffordable for many Americans. By developing a financial assistance screening tool and raising hospital donations through local charities, Experian makes sure those in need have financial support to put their health first. For many Americans, health care costs can be brutal. Insurance may not cover enough for some people, resulting in expensive out-of-pocket costs. Others may not even have insurance, forcing them to shoulder massive bills they can’t afford to pay. A few years ago, Experian created a financial assistance screening tool that helps patients quickly find out if they are eligible for financial support by asking a few questions about income and household size. We are proud that we get to say to many low-income patients, “Don\'t worry about your bill, it\'s going to be covered – just focus on getting better.” But while it’s wonderful to witness the relief on people’s faces when they find out their medical expenses are covered, we also noticed that many individuals with a moderate income were unable to pay for unexpected medical expenses, even with this screening tool. The financial burden of a sudden health issue could tip their family budget over the edge, leading them to default on credit cards, struggle to pay rent or their mortgage, or even get pushed into bankruptcy. They’re not poor enough to get financial support, but they’re not rich enough to pay for all out-of-pocket expenses, so they fall through the cracks. Unsatisfied with this reality, my team and I created a way to help middle-income families in need, using both the Experian Health Care financial assistance screening tool and the support of generous donors. We ask third-party donors, such as charities and companies – and our fellow Experian employees – to help us assist patients who are struggling to pay their bills. Their donations help create a fund for hospitals that can cover for these types of emergencies. When hospitals run Experian’s screening tool and identify a patient struggling to pay their medical bills, we can tell the patient they\'re covered. Rather than worrying over bills, they can focus on what truly matters – their health. It\'s really exciting to take an Experian product that already works for those in need, and use it to help even more patients. Right now, there are more than 700 hospitals using our screening tool. It blows my mind to think about how many more millions of patients this donation fund will help each year.
Five years ago, I began volunteering as an Experian Ambassador, teaching personal finance to local high school students. It is so rewarding to share my credit knowledge with young people, and to see their eyes light up when they understand how credit works. I ended up starting my career at Experian 26 years ago because my passion for credit runs in my blood. I was raised in a household where reputation was everything to my father. The idea of having a good name, a good reputation and a good credit score was drilled into me. So, when Experian created the Ambassador Program to promote financial literacy in local communities through employee volunteers, I jumped at the chance to participate. At the time, I was an Account Executive and knew that for most consumers, credit is an obscure subject. I thought this program would be a great opportunity to apply my expertise and educate people in my community about the importance of taking their financial reputation seriously. As an Ambassador, I gave my first presentation on financial literacy to high school students, and the experience was so rewarding that I immediately contacted my son’s high school to see if I could teach the same class to his classmates. The program has grown to where I now go to the school twice a year, teaching the entire student body of 4,000 students about how they can responsibly build their credit. For each class, I share personal stories and anecdotal examples that are relatable to them. For example, to explain how credit scores affect consumers, I ask every student to think of number between 350 and 800. I then pick three volunteers to come to the stage – one who chose a number in the low range, one from the mid-range and third from the higher range. I then ask those three kids to agree on the dream car they would buy. Once they agree on the make and model, we talk about how the price of the car is the same for everyone, but that their credit score determines the loan financing. Someone with a higher credit score will pay much less over the life of a car loan than someone with a lower score. That’s the moment my students’ eyes light up, because they finally understand how credit works. Over the years, I’ve had kids come up to me in grocery stores and thank me for teaching them about credit. One young man in particular came up to me at a local farmer’s market, beaming. “I remember when you taught me about credit scores,” he said. “Because of you, I was able to save money, get a secured card, build my credit and buy my first car.” His pride was infectious. Credit has an impact in everyone’s life at some point. By speaking to students at a young age, in terms and language they understand, I’ve helped countless students successfully and safely build credit to help them reach their first financial milestones. I am proud of the opportunity I have been given at Experian to help young people to take control of their financial futures.
Becoming a victim of identity theft and fraud can be a constant fear for many consumers. In fact, according to Experian’s recent Identity Theft Survey findings, 84 percent of respondents acknowledged concern about the security of their personal information online. Surprisingly, despite this overwhelming concern, our survey also found that nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of consumers also believe it’s “too much of a hassle to constantly worry about securing personal information online.” With personal vigilance declining and identity theft on the rise, developing the right consumer tools is essential. Today’s consumers demand easy-to-use, reliable identity protection products that give visibility to their personal and financial information’s possible theft and fraud exposure. In response to this growing need, we’ve launched IdentityWorks – a comprehensive identity theft protection product which helps consumers become actively engaged in defending themselves against identity fraud. For example, IdentityWorks’ dark web monitoring and alerts help consumers manage the risk of exposure in a place they can’t even see or access. Most consumers don’t really know anything about the dark web – other than it’s a bad “place.” The product also allows a user to instantly lock or unlock their Experian credit file, literally by clicking or tapping an icon via desktop or mobile device. It’s that simple. In addition to providing an array of user-friendly tools, IdentityWorks offers a set of resources to give consumers peace of mind. If suspicious activity is detected, Experian’s team of fraud resolution specialists are available to guide consumers through the process of repairing the damage done and shielding them from additional damage. Furthermore, while we work to secure your information, up to $1 million in identity theft insurance is available, just in case. * We know consumers perceive keeping track of, and protecting one’s identity as complex and inconvenient. According to our Identity Theft Survey, approximately 53 percent of individuals believe staying on top of financial transactions is a challenge. That’s why we believe IdentityWorks is exactly the right solution at the right time. It reduces the scale of that challenge into something much more manageable, with resources for both monitoring and remediating identity theft and fraud. The responsible use of credit can propel consumers’ livelihoods – helping to qualify opportunities like affordable mortgages and automotive loans – but identity theft can make it more difficult to obtain credit, making someone’s good credit history look poor. This is why IdentityWorks is so relevant to Experian. We are driven to help consumers achieve their long-term financial dreams. By enabling consumers’ active role in protecting themselves from identity theft and fraud, we help them buy a home, purchase a car or invest in their education. We hope the launch of IdentityWorks will empower consumers to manage their financial futures and remain vigilant against those who would take that away. * Identity Theft Insurance is underwritten by insurance company subsidiaries or affiliates of American International Group, Inc. (AIG). 175 Water Street, New York, New York 10038. Please refer to the actual policies for terms, conditions, and exclusions of coverage. Coverage may not be available in all jurisdictions.