At Cox Communications in West Warwick, the company tries to eliminate much of the extraneous nuisances from employees’ lives. This year, Cox implemented a concierge program that outsources all the extra “brainwork” that employees might need for some of the little things in their private or professional lives.
As Kathy Gillis, vice president of human resources, explained, the concierge program can be used for anything from acquiring information about a new car, to finding the best price online for an iPod, to making travel arraignments or finding a local plumber. The concierge program just finished up its three-month pilot, and Gillis said it was as an overwhelming success.
“We believe that if we can take some of the time our employees use sitting at work [to figure these things out], we can spend that time and brainpower on our customers,” said Gillis.
That is not the only way Cox Communications wants to lessen the complications at work. Through a flexible work schedule, employees can create the right work-to-life balance for them.
“They can split their shifts to work around kids or elder care,” said Gillis. “Many of our employees take advantage of that.”
When employees boost their productivity, they are recognized for that too. Last year, the company deployed an education, awareness and recognition program called, “Trust Begins With Me.” When employees go above and beyond in their work, they are celebrated for their commitment with a publicly celebrated recognition, called “Moments of Trust.”
“With our industry and the economy ever-changing, we want to recognize and to celebrate our employees … when they do everything they can to help our customer,” said Gillis. •
