Amanda Sweet is a Talent Acquisition Recruiter, part of the Associate Services team at ORR Corporation. She works hard to find the right people to join the ORR family by knowing as much as she can about our organization, our industries, and the work being done all across ORR.
I work on the Associates Services team at ORR to support ORR Protection, specifically our field associates. In an environment where your teammates are spread across 24 states and three time zones, building a close-knit community can be tough. In fact, I never considered the possibility that there could be close relationships between our field technicians outside of their local teams. But from what I witnessed at ORR Protection's 2017 Technician Conferences I could not have been more wrong.
Field Technicians Coming Together
Every other year ORR hosts two conferences specifically for the field service teams. It’s an opportunity for our highly skilled technicians and trainers to present new technology, communicate current business information, and freshen up soft-skills. More importantly, it’s an opportunity to meet face to face, share stories from the field, and from home. It cultivates the family spirit that is the life blood of ORR.
There were two dates to choose from so all field personnel could attend, without leaving our client sites unprotected for any length of time. It is a quick two-day trip, jam packed with presentations on wireless alarm technology, legacy alarm systems, customer service, and more.
The presentations were top-notch and I was honored to have the opportunity to participate as a trainer (more on that in a later post). But the aspect of the trips that stood out the most were the intentional opportunities for us to interact as a team:
I saw Sherrie from our SoCal team catching up with the NYC techs. She had been out there for a week earlier in the year to assist them with a job.
I saw Ed and Randy, each of whom have been with ORR for more than 20 years, introducing each other to the new techs from their regions.
I saw Lisa and Erica from our Field Service Management team chatting with techs they’ve spent hours on the phone with, putting a face to a name for the first time.
I saw alliances form at the betting window when we went to Churchill Downs in Louisville and friendly competitions grow over the greens of Top Golf in Atlanta. I even hit a golf ball for the first time (I will not be going pro anytime soon).
Benefitting From Years of Fire Protection Experience
All around us were small groups swapping fire protection war stories (which frankly went right over my head), sharing family photos, asking each other how they were holding up after recent hurricanes or wild fires -- this experience was as much a family reunion as any event I’ve ever witnessed.
Of the roughly 140 technicians who attended our conferences, 53 of them had been with ORR less than two years and 28 have been with us for 10+ years.
The family is growing. We’re changing. But it’s experiences like this that continue to enhance the family feeling ORR has, even as we grow and change.
The conferences closed with a slideshow compiled from our VP of Operations, Mike Casper. Throughout the 2 days he photographed groups and lovingly compiled them into a beautiful slideshow set to the song, “Teach Your Children” performed by Playing for Change. Mike said the line, “and know they love you” resonated with him as he reflected on our wonderful group of technicians, leaders, and support staff. I can’t think of better way to say ‘thanks and goodbye’ than that.
