E
rik Rodriguez, a customer service specialist in the Tucson, Arizona, service territory of Southwest Gas, pushes his children on a swing set and says his oldest son already knows what he wants to be.
“When people ask him what does he want to do when he grows up, he says, ‘I want to work with my dad,’ and that makes me proud,” Rodriguez says in a heartwarming video that’s part of a new series called Beyond the Meter. The series gives Southwest Gas employees a chance to share their experiences at the company and their insights about providing clean, affordable natural gas.
“We want to tell our Southwest Gas story and highlight our culture of safety, excellence and inclusion,” Yvonne Low, director of customer engagement and corporate communications at Southwest Gas, told American Gas. “More so, we want to showcase the people behind our brand. We think the public will be very interested in these employee stories because, after all, they could be neighbors, friends or family to many customers.”
Southwest Gas wanted to highlight employees because they are the utility’s frontline staff and the reason behind its 95% customer satisfaction rating. “When customers know the people behind their gas service, it builds trust in our brand,” Low said.
The videos also may serve as a recruiting tool as they showcase the many different types of jobs available and allow employees’ own words to promote those jobs. Rodriguez shared that his high job satisfaction makes him think he’ll stay with Southwest until he retires.
“These are good jobs that sustain families and support local economies,” Low said. “Southwest Gas has a strong familial culture among our highly engaged employees, and these videos demonstrate their dedication. We want to attract future employees who want to grow rewarding careers in a company like ours—a company that’s dedicated to continued excellence, diversity and inclusion, and community involvement.”
Rodriguez said being the first person featured is a great honor. “I was able to represent our family-like company in a positive light,” he said. “It gave me the opportunity to show our company’s commitment to safety, reliability and a cleaner, greener future.”