Philadelphia Social Enterprise solidifies reputation for excellent customer service and outstanding employee support
PHILADELPHIA, May 13, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- For the eighth year in a row, InspiriTec Inc. has earned a place on the Philadelphia Inquirer/Philly.com list of Top Workplaces. On the list, which was published online on May 12th, InspiriTec finished in 14th place among companies of 500 or more employees.
The awards program, now in its 15th year, was based on employee surveys distributed to more than 4,900 enterprises throughout the region. It was managed by the Exton, Pa.-based firm Energage, which runs similar programs nationwide. Any organization in Philadelphia or the region with 50 or more employees was eligible.
Getting on the list – and staying on it – signals the Philly-area business world's widespread respect and appreciation for the mission of InspiriTec, a Social Enterprise that affirmatively employs professionals with disabilities, veterans, and disadvantaged individuals, who in turn provide award-winning Contact Center and IT Help Desk solutions.
Andrea Cohen, a Customer Service Representative at the Philadelphia office for four years, said she sees why InspiriTec keeps landing on the Top Workplaces list. "It takes more than a paycheck and benefits to make a workplace a good working environment," she said. "You also have to take care of your employees, and they do that here. It's a very supportive environment for the workers. They treat you like a human being."
Nick Mendillo, a Senior Case Manager at the Philadelphia office, said, "It's because we do things differently. You don't see many companies doing the things InspiriTec does."
Case Managers constitute an entire department at InspiriTec, one not found at many other companies: they assist all employees, disabled and non-disabled, with issues both on and off the job, and also run liaison between them and operations management. Mendillo, who has been at InspiriTec for 6 ½ years, said, "sometimes, it's the non-job things that are the most important. Recently, one of our employees found themselves in a rough living situation. If you're in a bad circumstance like that, you can't focus on the work. So we got a U-Haul®, moved them out and into a new place, and helped with a little financial management. What other employer would do that kind of thing? But it's what we're expected to do."
Gordon Clinkscale, Chief Project Officer, pointed out that this support is crucial in the workplace as well: "Working at a call center is a hard job for anyone. We have good people who can handle the tough calls – and when there are situations where maybe they need to decompress, take a moment, we know how to support our people, and we're getting better all the time."
Takia Harrison is an IT Help Desk Analyst now in her second year at the Philadelphia office. "You're treated with respect and dignity," she said. "The Case Managers are amazing. Just about anything you need, say you're late with rent or gas bills, they can find a way to accommodate you. It's something you just don't see at other workplaces."
Cohen shared her own story in this regard: "I was hired during the pandemic and had to work from home, but I needed a keyboard with bigger letters. So I went to Case Management, and they got it for me, very speedily."
Clinkscale said, "The difference between us and other organizations is that we're not here to increase shareholder value but rather to serve our employees. If you treat your employees well, they give your clients excellent customer care. That's the secret sauce, the reason we're here."
"The job takes a lot of patience and asks a lot of the employees," Harrison said, "but you always know these awesome people have your back and are doing their best to make sure you succeed."
"Something we say a lot at work is 'We should listen to those who have been ignored,' " Mendillo said. "Much of the time, that's the way our callers feel. They're often calling in with urgent needs they have been trying to find solutions for, often for a long time without success. So we need to listen and listen well."
For more information about the work and mission of InspiriTec, visit InspiriTec.org.
About InspiriTec
InspiriTec provides award-winning Contact Center and IT Help Desk solutions, delivering superior customer service by combining customized technology with affirmative employment of professionals with disabilities, veterans, and disadvantaged individuals. InspiriTec was founded in 2000 by a core management team under the Computer Science program at the University of Pennsylvania. Today, employees perform under an innovative Social Enterprise model that integrates intelligent technology with inspiring compassion to raise the standards of contact center and IT support for businesses, nonprofits, and government organizations.
Media Contact
Dean Marino, InspiriTec.org, 1 215-574-6714, [email protected], https://inspiritec.org/
SOURCE InspiriTec.org
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