The Baldrige Program Says Good-Bye to Jackie DesChamps

Jacqueline (“Jackie”) DesChamps—head of support services for the Baldrige Program for more than two decades—knows how to run a process well. She is proactive. She is precise. She is persistent. And she is always professional.

But after she retires this month, I think she will be remembered less for how she managed processes and more for how she managed people. 

A strong advocate for those she supervised—and for many others who faced hardships and lacked advantages. A motivational mentor of employees trying to advance their skill sets and careers. A supportive and loyal friend. I’ve witnessed the strength of her caring in each of those roles over the nearly 20 years in which I’ve worked with her.

What’s more, I’ve seen and heard her demonstrate skills as a masterful public speaker and even as a talented singer. (While she performed mainly for her church community, on rare occasions, she could be heard belting out a tune at work, particularly during her “birthday month.”) 

As Jackie is preparing to retire this month, we invited her to share some parting thoughts with the Baldrige community. Her reflections on her work with the Baldrige Program, as well as earlier times in her career, follow. Readers are welcome to comment below the blog.

Would you please describe a few of your most memorable experiences working at NIST’s Baldrige Performance Excellence Program (BPEP)? 

I can think of so many memorable experiences during my 25 years with BPEP, but three stand out. The first is the time when the BPEP staff decided to do a community service event and spent the afternoon at a local center for senior adults. One of our staff members who played the piano selected songs that she thought the seniors would enjoy, and we copied the lyrics to the songs so the seniors could follow along to sing and dance. We had a wonderful time singing, dancing, and interacting with the seniors. They were so happy to have us with them. 

One of the seniors couldn’t speak, and a few of us noticed that he used a pencil to tap each word of the lyrics so he could participate in the singing. The expression on his face was one of happiness and gratitude. A staff member at the senior center told us that it was the first time that they saw him interact and participate in an activity. It was extremely touching. That moment made me so proud to be a member of BPEP. 

Another memorable experience is when I was assigned to escort the late Letitia Baldrige (author, White House social secretary during the JFK presidency, and sister of the late Commerce Secretary and rodeo star Malcolm Baldrige) at the Baldrige Awards ceremony. I was her escort for the day. I was very nervous because she was an expert on protocol and etiquette. I wanted to ensure that I said and did the right things while in her presence. I went to her home in Washington, DC, to bring her to the ceremony. To my surprise, she made me comfortable from the moment that she stepped into the cab. She was interested in learning about my background, where I grew up, my interests—you name it. We talked about “girlie” things and our likes and dislikes. It was a magical day. 

Because I was Letitia’s escort, I got to go into an exclusive reception room and meet and take a picture with President Bush (George W.). That was a highlight, as well. At that time, one’s political views, preferences, or political party didn’t seem to matter when given the opportunity to be in the presence of the president of the United States. At the end of the day, Letitia and I exchanged contact information. 

I thought that she was just being polite. But within a few days, I received the most beautiful thank-you letter from Letitia, highlighting the positive impression I had made on her. I wrote back a reply, and we exchanged letters a couple more times. I would not have gotten this opportunity or indelible experience had it not been for my work in BPEP. 

Of course, among my most memorable experiences with BPEP, I have to mention assisting the Baldrige examiners during the three or four consecutive weeks of annual, in-person examiner training sessions. BPEP’s support team and I were responsible for the examiner training logistics. Each training week, we, along with other BPEP staff members, would meet the examiners at a hotel each morning to register them for training, ensuring that 100 or more examiners boarded buses to come to NIST (where BPEP is based) and providing them with information about the course of their day. 

It was great seeing the examiners each year. And I’ll never forget when examiner training occurred during my birthday month, and I let the occasion be known to all of the examiners. As many people know, I make a pretty big deal of my birthday, observing it during my entire birthday month. It was so special when, during one of the training weeks, 100-plus examiners stood outside of the hotel and sang “Happy Birthday” to me. 

Would you please share highlights of your previous work before you came to NIST? 

I once described my career as a bowl of spaghetti noodles. I said there was no specific path and seemingly no connection or relationship from one position to the other. Boy, was I wrong! You see, when I worked in my family’s floor cleaning business as a teenager, I had aspirations of being a corporate executive, flying around the world in my corporate jet, making world-class deals. Cleaning carpets and waxing floors was the furthest thing from what I aspired to do. However, what I didn’t know at the time was that working in my family’s business was the foundation for all of my career success. 

I learned the importance of providing exceptional service to customers, developing my communication skills to gain the ability to effectively communicate with frontline workers to senior management, as well as learning about workforce planning, strategic planning, inventory control, and process management. My father was practicing the Baldrige Excellence Framework® and didn’t even know it. 

Later, as a young adult, I worked with an electric utility company, which was awesome. I held positions from cleaning toilets to repairing turbines and generators. There were no instructions on how to repair the equipment. It was mostly trial and error. I could be creative in finding solutions to repair the equipment, and I loved working with my hands.  It was quite gratifying when I would figure out how to fix the machinery. That job is where I developed my love of operating power tools and large equipment. 

Next I worked in a Fortune 500 company as a manager for environmental and food services. That was my first management position. I was responsible for about 80 hourly employees—employees who were seldom noticed until a person’s trash can wasn’t emptied or their food order was incorrect. My staff was multicultural. I had to learn to communicate effectively with each one of them. My speaking tone had to be different when communicating with a staff member from Guatemala than when providing instructions to a staff member from Haiti or Sierra Leone. One thing that I tried to do every day was to make them each feel important, that their work contributed to the success of the organization, and that I cared for them, not just as employees but also as people. They could have made more money at other organizations, but when I asked them why they stayed, they said they did so because I treated them with respect. To this day, I make sure that I always acknowledge the work of people in support services, whether janitors, wait staff, security personnel, or others. 

That was a very challenging position. My average work day was 12 to 14 hours each day. I would go to work before the sun rose and often returned home after the sun had set. When my first day of work at NIST ended and the sun was still shining, I said, “I’m going to like this job!” 

I never experienced being a corporate executive, flying around the world in my corporate jet, but my experiences, good and challenging, and the wonderful people that I’ve had the opportunity to work with—some of whom I’ve created life-long relationships with—far exceed the satisfaction that any world-class business deal could have given me.

What are you most proud of during your career? 

I am most proud of my work ethic and being a fair and compassionate leader. When my staff tell me that they appreciate me as a leader and thank me for creating a positive work experience, it’s quite gratifying. My parents instilled in me the value of doing my best no matter how menial the task. Throughout my career, I’ve tried to do my best with each task and responsibility that was assigned to me.

What advice or parting words might you have for your coworkers? 

I want to thank my coworkers for all their hard work and commitment to BPEP. Our staff are some of the hardest-working people that I have ever worked with. If you were to look up the word resilience, you would see my coworkers. Each of them have contributed to my professional and personal growth. Thank you so much for making me a better person leaving NIST than when I arrived 25 years ago. I would like to leave my coworkers—and all the Baldrige community members—with this quote that a radio broadcaster in Pittsburgh used to end his show with: “Put everything you have into whatever you do, or you will be ashamed for the world to see what you have done.” 

What do you most look forward to doing (or not doing!) in retirement? 

I look forward to not setting the alarm clock and instead sleeping in for a while. I also look forward to volunteering at a few community organizations and at my church. I will be spending quality time with my family, travelling, and sitting on my deck doing absolutely nothing but listening to the birds sing, relaxing on my chaise lounge, and sipping a sangria.

Anything else you wish to say? 

I’d also like to thank NIST staff who took the time to teach me about the NIST culture and the important work of the agency. I’ve met wonderful and impressive “NISTers” who are making a significant difference in the world. NIST has many challenges, but its people are what set the agency apart from other federal government agencies. I don’t know too many people who can say that they’ve eaten lunch with a Nobel prize laureate or who’ve met and worked at the same agency as world-renowned researchers. These people have shared their knowledge and time with me, and for that I am forever grateful.