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ChargerHelp! Women-led startup creating jobs and opportunities
We are witnessing a renewed commitment by the U.S. federal government to deal with climate change head on and California recently passed a law that all new car sales must be zero-emission vehicles by 2035. ChargerHelp! co-founders Kameale Terry and Evette Ellis are poised and ready.
Presenting a solution to a massive need in an exponentially growing industry, ChargerHelp! was named the winner of ServiceNow’s 2020 Digital Workforce Challenge with the mission of providing workforce training and certification to repair and maintain electrical charging stations through an on-demand app. Since taking home the $100,000 grand prize in June 2020, ChargerHelp! doubled its contract sales goals and was approved for an “O-NET code” by the U.S. Department of Labor, granting ChargerHelp! the ability to create more job opportunities and, therefore, better pay equity.
In addition to the grand prize, ChargerHelp! was also awarded a team of dedicated ServiceNow employees to work behind-the-scenes to integrate the Now Platform and create a custom app for ChargerHelp! which has been the key reason for their growth. ChargerHelp! provides dispatching, troubleshooting, and sending data. With the Now Platform, the app uses geo location to find the nearest technician, dispatch, and send a notification when a technician is in route. When the technician is servicing a charging station, they can take video to document the issues and record any parts needed. This kind of visibility and communication is a first for this new industry. Once the service call is complete, data is sent to the customer immediately which, until now, wrap-up reports were known to take up to three weeks.
Kim Stoffel, ServiceNow volunteer team lead, says ChargerHelp! used everything out of the box for field services, with some report customization. Kim and team followed standard project methodology for implementation and execution which includes workshops, gathering requirements, writing and configuring stories, user testing and go-live processes. The main functionality ChargerHelp! needed was an automated way to manage field services to deploy service technicians to electric charging stations.
Kim says working closely with Kameale to define requirements, “felt really good, it was very motivating. We just wanted them to succeed. We would do anything to make sure they were successful.” Kim’s team rallied together and people outside the team even stepped up to learn new skills so they could deliver an exceptional experience. ServiceNow provides paid time off for volunteering, matches donations, and regularly shares opportunities for employees to get involved in work they are passionate about in their local community physically and around the world virtually to create global impact.
Kameale recounts, “When I first set out to launch ChargerHelp! I did not truly understand the possibility of how impactful and successful we could be. I just knew I had to take a bet on myself." She saw the need, tapped into her passion for the environment and creating jobs, and followed her heart. Born and raised in south central Los Angeles, Kameale’s mom has had cancer most of her life. “The environment is literally killing people in my community and communities similar to mine. It only makes sense that we give folks the opportunity to not only be a part of the solution but also expose them to this industry to inspire them to create a solution of their own. ServiceNow's impact on ChargerHelp! is only the tip of their overall impact."
By the end of 2020, ChargerHelp! had three full-time techs. In 2021, their goal is to reach 10,000 service contracts, hire 33 full-time techs, and expand into six new regions. “I am so grateful for ServiceNow. I can't say that enough,” said Kameale. “There literally is no way we could be where we're at today without their support.”
See the winning pitches and learn more about the MIT Solve Digital Workforce Challenge
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