Pam Steinmann Appreciates Castle’s Assets
The first time Pam Steinmann walked through the doors of Castle’s previous office in downtown St. Louis, she wasn’t sure she wanted to work there.
“I came in for an interview when my payroll position at another company was outsourced,” she says about the 2013 visit. “I remember walking in that derelict building on Second Street thinking, ‘wow, this is pretty rough.’ But after the interview, I knew I wanted the job. I just liked everyone and could tell it was an up-and-coming company.”
A year after Steinmann accepted a job as payroll administrator, Castle relocated to its current office in Webster Groves and she stepped into her current position as project accountant.
It’s a job that keeps her hopping. During the first part of each month, Steinmann processes subcontractor billing and distributes lien waivers, conducts MBE reporting, and responds to a steady stream of email requests. “About the 10th of the month, we print out billing worksheets for project managers to review and then track them down to complete monthly billing,” she says. “That goes on for about two weeks. And then it all starts over again.”
One of Steinmann’s greatest challenges is keeping her fingers on the pulse of Castle’s growing roster of projects. “Usually we have about 100 jobs running at the same time,” she says. “They may not all be active, but they're still up in my head.”
Her role also includes accommodating clients with special billing requests as well as a growing number of clients that have their own invoice tracking systems where information and bills must be uploaded each month.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Steinmann’s workload has remained as busy as ever, but her team’s shifting office schedules mean she works in the office three days one week and two days the next.
On the days she works from home, Steinmann appreciates the time and gas money she’s saving by avoiding the 30-mile commute from Glen Carbon, Illinois. But she also enjoys spending time with her colleagues. “We've got a great group and the culture here is pretty fantastic,” she says. “I think sometimes other people outside the company are kind of envious of what we have.”
The mother of two adult children, Steinmann recently became a first-time grandma when her son’s wife gave birth to a baby boy, Everett, a few months ago.
“The night he was born, we were all able to go stand outside the hospital window because the room just happened to be on the first floor,” she recalls. “I still wear a mask when I hold Everett, but I just want to kiss him on the head so bad.”
Outside the office, Steinmann’s hobbies include painting old furniture, decorating her home and spending time with longtime friends. “My next move will probably be to downsize, but I'll probably stay in the area since my kids and the new baby are all here,” she says.
And she has no plans to leave Castle, noting “I think I've found my landing place before retirement.”
