Spotlight: Caine Martin, director of strategic accounts
Between July and January 31 each year, Sharecare’s product and technology team, account management team, enterprise sales team, – and many others – dedicate their efforts to the implementation phase for our new and returning employer, health plan, and government clients. These teams coordinate their efforts to set up client-specific platform configurations with custom benefits, member challenges, content, and offerings – as well as make sure all technical operations run smoothly for the members who use Sharecare’s comprehensive care platform to manage all their health in one place.
Caine Martin, is a director of strategic accounts nestled within Sharecare’s account management team – and currently is in the midst of client implementation season. In his role, Caine helps initiate and organize projects, carefully planning to ensure both deadlines and client objectives are met. Joining Sharecare by way of his wife, Michelle, who has been at Sharecare for over six years and is a director of client implementation, Caine uses his hands-on understanding of the technical and interpersonal aspects of Sharecare’s operations to ensure accounts under his stewardship remain on track for a successful program launch.
Originally from Mississippi, Caine and his wife reside in Smithville, Tennessee, with their two French bulldogs, Oscar and Ollie. Outside of work, Caine enjoys boating activities, including wake surfing and wake foiling. Relishing long walks through his neighborhood, where the 800-feet changes in elevation provide a therapeutic escape, Caine lives by the mantra, “ride the waves, but when the need arises, make a tidal wave.”
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Tell us about your role:
Right now, I’m an account manager, but I’ve worn a few different hats here at Sharecare. I started out as a business systems analyst (BSA) and was in that role for a bit over a year. It was all about working closely with clients, understanding their requests, and setting things up – kind of like building a house, so to speak. From there, I shifted into Project Management. It was a different beast. I had to make sure both our internal team and clients were on the same page, especially when deadlines were tight. And now, as an account manager, I’ve found myself in a unique spot. Having gone through the roles of a BSA and project manager, I get what they go through. It helps me be more empathetic and respectful to their challenges. If our BSAs aren’t configuring things right, nothing works. Similarly, our project managers play a pivotal role in keeping things on track.
The first couple hours of every day involve going through requests from members. It’s a process of checking what they’ve done, communicating with the client, and then making decisions on rewards. I’m also working on launching a new large government account, alongside a handful of other accounts. Right now, we are focused on implementation.
What projects are you currently working on?
From July until January 31, we are focused on the implementation phase – a process which involves configuring the client’s platform, deciding on marketing strategies, and integrating them with our operations – eventually leading to the program launch or re-launch which typically happens at the beginning of the new year. These few months come down to working as hard as you can to get everything over the finish line.
Can you describe what the Implementation process looks like?
Every project begins with an alignment meeting to define its scope and discuss incentive design. Each activity in our app is like a project within a project, requiring meticulous planning around dates, audience, and content. The BSA plays a crucial role, ensuring everything is set up correctly, which leads us to the user acceptance testing (UAT) mode. Here, the implementation team validates configurations against client requirements. After several validation stages and addressing any client concerns, we ensure everything runs smoothly post-launch. And the cycle just keeps on repeating with every project. It’s a continuous cycle of balancing client feedback and diving deep into the technical aspects I’m passionate about.
What should people know about working with you AND/OR your team?
Being clear, transparent, and empathetic is crucial. I always try to keep in mind that I don’t know what others are going through. We never know what’s happening in other people’s lives, and even if we might be frustrated or frazzled dealing with numerous tasks, being considerate of people is essential. I strive to be considerate of those I work with and those I interact with personally.
Can you tell me about your journey to Sharecare?
It’s a funny story, actually – my wife, Michelle Martin, worked for Sharecare first. We found out about an opportunity with the company from a friend, back when we were still just dating. She’s been with Sharecare for about six or seven years now.
For three years, she would tell me about her role and experience, and I was envious of the company culture. I knew it was where I wanted to be, it just took me a bit longer than Michelle to get here. After three interviews and securing the job, I’m happy to say I’ve always believed this was the right fit for me.
How do you keep your RealAge down?
I’ve always had this mentality; people have a choice in how they act, respond, and what they do with their time and energy. I don’t like to make waves; I like to ride waves. But when it comes time for me to make a wave, I’ll make a tidal wave – that’s kind of my mantra. But truly, I don’t make tidal waves ever, really. That’s how I try to look at it from the mental side.
On the physical side, we are outside a lot. We boat all the way up until November. Our neighborhood has about 800 feet of elevation, and we do a lot of walks throughout the week as a way to decompress. It’s a pretty healthy walk with that kind of elevation change.
What keeps you motivated on a day-to-day basis?
I genuinely love Sharecare and what we do. My work now feels like being part of something bigger and more meaningful, compared to my previous roles in different industries, which didn’t offer an opportunity to change people’s lives for the better. It’s rewarding to know that I’m part of a company that has the potential to make a positive impact on people’s lives.
What is the toughest challenge you’ve faced or a lesson you’ve learned?
Between work and personal life, it’s hard as you try to please people – you really have no control over certain things. I have to remind myself to control the controllables and let the other stuff go. I can’t control how people interpret things, and I can’t worry about it. Learning this was a big life lesson for me, especially having teenage kids. It took me a long time to get there – I wanted to do everything right, and trying to do so was running me to the edge. Once I realized I can’t control everything, things started to change for me.
