Meet Ty Givens | Founder and CEO of The Workforce Pro

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ty Givens and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ty, maybe we can start at the very start – the idea – how did you come up with the idea for your business?
A few years ago, I was working at one of the fastest growing startups in LA, as their head of Customer Experience. We were growing at such a pace, that we needed to hire more than 60 people a month to support our customers. 

I needed people that were ready to hit the ground running in Manager and Analyst roles. I had a large team, but no time to teach new skills. At that moment, I started creating a wish list of what was needed to set up and scale customer service teams. As much as I wished I could call upon a team to help during these times, it didn’t exist. So I created it. 

Jasmine Bina from The Concept Bureau once called us a SWAT team that drops into your business to create fans out of your customers. That’s totally true. We will do your workforce management (planning), so that you hire when you need; help you choose and implement all of your customer support tools (customer experience ticketing systems like Zendesk, Freshdesk and Gorgias) and set up training and on-boarding for new hires (as a e-learning that’s accessible to your learners 24/7). 

We do this in a program called PowerhouseCX.

What should our readers know about your business?
The Workforce Pro sets up and scales customer experience operations for evolving business. That’s a fancy way of saying “we build your customer service team front he ground up”. 

When you start to make lots of money and your customer base grows, we can make sure that your workflows, processes and systems scale with you, but not at the rate of your revenue. 

Integrity is always number one and if we can’t absolutely give our clients a ROI over 100%, we will encourage them to make a different decision. It’s like Warren Buffet says, “Price is what you pay, value is what you get.” 

When we work with clients and cut their customer wait time down from 10 days to 4 hours in a matter of weeks, that feels amazing! When we get new hires started in 2 days instead of 2 weeks, we feel like we’ve accomplished something. 

We’re also an authorized implementation partner for one of the most widely use CRMs. Most of our services are 100% done for you, though there are times when we will work alongside your in house team to get you the results you desire from PowerhouseCX.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Wow! I’m such a homebody that my best friend would know for sure that all I’d want to do is grab some grub and keep it low key. So, of course we have to head to Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles. My mom took me there as a kid, back when it was located in the back of a VFW post on Washington Blvd. It’s come a long way since then with multiple locations all over LA and surrounding areas. Any location will do!

Next, we have to go to the beach (Venice) of course. The boardwalk is legendary, then make our way to Santa Monica to the 3rd street Promenade. Then we’d circle back around and head to Downtown LA to visit The Alley and a few swanky restaurants and bars. 

Now that Inglewood has the new Stadium, we have to head by there and definitely check out the Forum. That’s all touristy stuff. But if you want to live like the locals, let’s go to Fresh & Meaty Burger, head on over to the Marathon store (just to say you drove by). Roscoe’s remains on this list (of course) and maybe head to Docweiler for a bonfire and to watch the planes take off. We’d still definitely have to have a look at SoFi and get your photo taken in front of The Forum.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Thank God for my ignorance of glass ceilings. I went to predominately black Christian schools as a child, where I was surrounded by professional people who looked like me (male and most importantly, female). When I started my first full time job (while in school full time), the senior management team looked like me. I could see myself in those roles. 

As I finished my undergrad, my grandfather told me to get my Master’s degree. He said I should never give anyone reason to say I wasn’t qualified. I did and I’m glad I did. My grandmother taught me to be self aware. Thanks to her involving me in activities in church, I had no fear of getting up in front of people and using my voice. 

My mom taught me to make my own way and be my own person. I never followed anyone’s path, I created my own. I’m grateful that I never felt limited, not good enough or not smart enough. I have always been enough. That gave me courage to step out on faith and do what I’m doing today.

Entrepreneurship has high highs and low lows. Even at the lowest points, going back to a traditional role is never an option. Why? Because what we do makes a HUGE difference.

When it gets rough, I remember how much I needed the company I’m building and the difference it would’ve made for me years ago. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s to take things one day at a time. I don’t spend much time worrying about next week, because a call I get today can make all the difference. 

The only thing I can attribute to success is NEVER giving up. 

Website: www.theworkforcepro.com

Instagram: @theworkforcepro @itstygivens

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tybryantgivens/

Twitter: @theworkforcepro

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ty.givens.twp

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCc4ZRMVbU2sWtQZgtxSbFnQ?view_as=subscriber

Image Credits
@ralfotos for the halfbody shot in jeans @terrantinosashooter for the shot where I’m pointing at the screen