Do not work here as a Tech - Technical Analyst HCSS Employee Review

Hi there. Thank you for taking the time to provide your viewpoint on your past work experience. Before I start responding to the points you have made, I wanted to just say that I am sorry you felt that way about our department and company. I really felt bad reading this because it’s very far from the reality I am familiar with. Surely having a negative perception of everything provided created a really bad work environment, so I am glad you have moved on because, obviously, you were not happy working here and everyone deserves to do what makes them happy. I hope you have found a new place that suits you better. I took some time to answer each point you have raised, as a simple paragraph or answer wouldn’t suffice. Tech Support Position: - Night and weekend calls are the least liked part of the role, but everyone understands that it is part of it. But the way you explained doesn’t provide a true picture. Techs are on night calls, for one night during the week, every 6 weeks. That shift goes from 8pm - 5:30am. From 8p-10p, by far our busiest time, year-to-date, we have received 290 calls. From 10-5:30, we have received 186 calls (again, through August) out of a total of 45768 calls. So 0.6% and 0.4% respectively. As of this writing, we are 250 days into the year, so this averages out to about 2 calls per night after 8pm. On weekends, we have multiple people in rotation, but a tech completes 3-4 weekend shifts throughout the year. Sometimes as a primary, sometimes as a secondary. So I didn’t want to say “every so often” and actually provide numbers to what it actually is. Don’t get me wrong, I know a call at 2am that may disrupt your sleep isn’t great even if it’s the only call you get all night, but I do feel we balance things out and take care of our employees if that happens. However, all of this is also very well explained during the hiring process to ensure anyone wanting to join our team is familiar and comfortable with this ask. - “Getting in trouble for answering the door and the phone rings”. I’ve spent a lot of time writing and rewriting this statement, but that’s simply not true nor the department and culture we have or would ever want. Every tech is self-empowered to go on DND (do not disturb - where you don’t receive any calls) at any point of the day if they need a break or do whatever. What is not OK though, is not going on DND, and missing a call, as we have a “3 rings or less” promise to our customers that we want to realize with each opportunity. I feel that most people utilize DND the right way and always ensure they are fair to their co-workers and customers. But making it seem like anyone will talk to someone for being on DND for any time is simply not true. If, however, someone spends 30%-50% of their entire shift on DND without an actual reason, that’s a different story as it creates an unfair balance and more work for everyone else. - “Missing all company events”. I don’t think it’s “all”, but it is more than I would like. I do wish we had a better way to handle company events and providing the same opportunity to all. I think the company has attempted multiple things to make this better but it’s still something we can improve on. At the same time, we do try to balance it out end ensure everyone still has the opportunity to participate. When we have wellness team events, such as soccer, basketball, or dodgeball, anyone can participate because it doesn’t require the entire department to go at the same time. And we do try to schedule them in a way that encourages participation from everyone. The work ethic and customer dedication of our tech support department is very high and while that limits participation in some events, it also shows how cohesive the team is and looks out for each other. I am committed to making this better, and if anyone has ideas or suggestions, I’d be happy to incorporate them. - “Treated like a dog”. There isn’t a way I can address this without sounding defensive. I am sure if someone is unhappy in their role or with anything, they see everything as negative and paint the worst possible picture. What I do know is that this isn’t reflected with anyone I talk to, in any anonymous surveys, or simply just by looking at how the department functions. If this were true or even 10% of the dept felt this way, it would be highly obvious. - “Profit-sharing and ESOP” Our profit-sharing last year was 37% of your annual salary, which I personally felt was phenomenal, not just “ok”. From the 37%, 75% of it was cash to the employees and 25% goes into your ESOP (retirement fund). That money can be at any point transferred to an IRA or self-managed account of your choosing. However, our company stock price has doubled since 2017, I’d be hard-pressed to find a fund that would provide that kind of return. But again, you are very much able to take that investment and place it wherever you are more comfortable with. So if you made $60,000 last year, your profit-sharing was $22k in addition to that, with $16,600 of it being deposited into your bank account as cash. - “WFH” - we have been virtual/WFH since March of 2020 and aren’t planning to return to the office until January 2022. Beyond that, all employees that have been with the company (prior to COVID) for more than two years get two days WFH per week, all newer employees get one day. Yes, we do feel that our culture is unique and most beneficial when in person, but right now we cannot take full advantage of it, since our health is most important. You made a point with being “a slave to your computer”, but that’s what may happen when you work from home, as there isn’t an outlet or a way to socialize with anyone or simply have fun at work. This is why we do think our culture thrives on being at the office, not disconnected at home. Regardless, we aren’t going to put anyone in an uncomfortable position and return to the office prematurely. - “discipline you regarding covid”. I really don’t know how to respond to this. This is absolutely not true. Our policy, which was communicated (yes, only once, but we have fixed that since), is that any confirmed COVID infections at the office would be communicated anonymously (unless the employee wants to give their name) to anyone that was in close contact with them. So if you’re working from home, or simply weren’t around them, you will not get a notification because you aren’t in close contact with the infected person. There are laws we have to follow when it comes to this type of communication, but saying that things were hidden is not true. If anything, we needed to improve our communication so everyone was always reminded about our processes to avoid confusion, which we have fixed since. On “falling in line” and “disciplining employees regarding COVID” - I have no idea what this refers to. I really don’t know how to address this because for each point here I am putting myself in your shoes, trying to see how anything that’s happening could be interpreted into your thinking. I am simply out of ideas on this one. - “Not an accredited best place to work” - This is the company we are using: https://www.bestcompaniestx.com/- hosted by the Texas Association of Business https://www.txbiz.org/best-companies (The Texas State Chamber). Here is the list of past winners: https://www.bestcompaniestx.com/winners A simple google search will confirm that these are creditable awards and recognitions. - “Employee feedback” - I think I have addressed this, but I also wanted to add that we have changed our maternity policy because of employee feedback. While we cannot simply realize every single suggestion or piece of feedback, I do think HCSS does a good job of acknowledging it and explaining why or why not. - “Tech support - destroying your life” - Again, sorry you feel this way. I started off in tech support 10 years ago and it created opportunities and personal accomplishment that wouldn’t be possible anywhere else. All around us are success stories of people who started in support. I think our employee retention rate and future success of tech support analysts speaks for itself. - Admir