DTE’s youngest employee and community ambassador is a 1-year-old lab named Nora
At Michigan gas and electric utility DTE, one of its newest employees is just over a year old.
Nora, a DTE community outreach ambassador, is a Labrador retriever tasked with community interaction. “We were looking for opportunities to engage with employees and customers in ways that we haven’t before,” Paula Silver, vice president of corporate communications at DTE, told American Gas. “We thought this would bring humanity into the company and show a more emotional side to the organization.”
DTE is encouraging the community and employees alike to get to know Nora. She has her own office, employee badge and Instagram account, and Silver said that back in May, DTE had a “Meet Nora” event. “Within the first 40 minutes, we had over 100 people take selfies with Nora,” she said.
Even if community members or employees aren’t able to meet Nora in person, they can still see her across all DTE social media channels, where she’ll help spread public safety messages, community news and details of her career at DTE.
It won’t be all work for Nora, however. “This is really a great life for a dog, particularly a Labrador retriever,” said Colleen Rosso, corporate communications manager at DTE and Nora’s primary handler. “She’ll have purpose, be around people all day at work and then just hang out with her family in the evenings and on her days off.” —Justin Grensing