Welcome to our Compliance Superhero Series! Every month, we’ll highlight a compliance professional who we feel is doing excellent work and ask them about their background, their thoughts on the industry, and any hidden superpowers they have. I’ve reached out to Marvel about adding them to the next phase of the MCU, but in the meantime, you can get to know them here. This month, we’re highlighting Tina “The Chicken Whisperer” Gallagher, a Senior Quality Assurance Associate at Upstart and the winner of the 2023 Compliance Powerhouse Award. The interview has been lightly edited for clarity.
Welcome! Tell me a little bit about yourself and your role at Upstart.
My name is Tina Gallagher, and I am a senior Quality Assurance Associate. My main role is listening to calls and grading them for compliance and following procedure, but also soft skills like tone and pacing.
What was your path to the compliance space?
I spent five years as a senior tax preparer with a large national company. My knowledge helped me gain a position as a customer experience agent with Upstart. I then worked my way up to subject matter expert, then Quality Assurance.
What’s your biggest piece of advice for a successful compliance program?
I would say my best piece of advice would be to know the “why” of compliance, to understand how complying (or not complying) can affect the consumer. If you know the why, you have a greater chance of explaining the importance in a way that agents and consumers alike can more easily understand.
What tools – software or otherwise – are most important for your work?
I would say my Google calendar helps keep me on task. As someone who loves to go “down the rabbit hole” with a mystery or unsolved problem, my calendar helps me stay on schedule with deadlines and set limits. I must also mention that “hot keys” are vital to my productivity. Remember, it takes a fraction of the time and energy to use a hot key than it does to use a mouse. It adds up!
What compels you about the work that you do?
I love the fact that the company is growing, and there are always new things to learn!
What’s your secret superpower?
My work superpower is being able to dig to find the answer, no matter how obscure. The truth is out there; sometimes, you just have to dig deep and not give up.
My non-work superpower would probably be the ability to hypnotize a chicken (not that it will save the world or anything, but you never know).
Rhonda McGill