Cord Cutting | Cox Communications (Glassdoor)
- Theodore Pietz
Overview
To learn more about a company's practices, especially how they really operate and view their customers, who better to tell us than current and former employees? 😎
What we learned about our incumbent service provider:
- Field technicians and customer service representatives are expected to make sales during service calls
- Customer service representatives are discouraged from selling Internet only packages and confuse customers to prevent that from happening though fear of disconnection and/or upselling.
- Front line employees bear the brunt of customer anger related to exorbitantly high prices and "bait and switch" promotional pricing.
- The response to "cord cutting" is the "Homelife" strategy - to keep consumers sending money on a recurring basis for monitoring plans, equipment rentals, and service plans.
Below are some excerpts from Glassdoor, with key statements in bold:
"Good benefits... terrible job"
Former Employee - Technical Support Representative
Doesn't RecommendI worked at Cox Communications full-time for more than a year
Pros
Cheap cable and health insurance
Cons
You get yelled at all day by customers and they company doesn't give you the tools you need to help the customer.
Advice to Management
Be more in tune with your customers and employees
"Eh." - Former Employee - Tech Support in Omaha, NE
Doesn't Recommend
Neutral Outlook
No opinion of CEOI worked at Cox Communications full-time for less than a year
Pros
Okay pay, awesome benefits, weekly meetings so everyone is up to date
Cons
Selling counts against you, reviews count against you even in scenarios beyond your control, how long you spend on a call counts against you
"What an absolutely horrible company to work for."
Negative Outlook
I worked at Cox Communications
Pros
The pay, if you hit your ridiculously high sales goals Benefits are ok. The free food they give you to make up for being such sorry excuses for human beings.
Cons
Pretty much everything. They have absolutely no consideration for you or your well being. No one seems to know how to do their job properly, you have ridiculous goals to hit and get horrible reprimands if you don’t hit even one month, everything is corrective action based, they hold you accountable for stuff that is beyond your control like NPS, customers who hate Cox due to the extremely high pricing. It’s a soul sucking, toxic environment, literally dreaded coming to work each day. Top management doesn’t care though as long as they get their fat checks. They have way too much control for basic roles and they’re basically power hungry. HR is an absolute joke. Expect problems to take weeks or even months to get resolved, guess because there’s SO many to deal with. The customers abuse you and treat you like dirt because they are so unhappy with Cox as a company. Cox likes to “give back” to the community so they can somewhat heighten their absolutely horrible reputation. Was once a good company to work for, but corrupt management has led to the complete demise of the company. Established on corporate America, they could care less about you. You are replaceable, nobody is safe. You basically have to watch every single little thing you do because it is so insanely micromanaged that you wonder what you’re getting written up for that week. Training is abysmal if not lacking completely. You get upfront training, then any new information is relayed to management only which are usually so busy worrying about themselves that they don’t take the time to relay any useful information on to you. I really wish, people read just this one review and take it from me, that this is NOT a company you want to work for. I can’t wait for that brilliant HR to comment on this and explain that I’m “disgruntled” or “biased” whatever they want to comment to make themselves look better. Their reviews are already tanking, it’s a sinking ship and your turnover ratio is incredible. Hate you always :) Couldn’t pay me $300,000 a year to work for such a benevolent and horrible company.
Advice to Management
Get your head just a little bit out of where the sun doesn’t shine, I know that is very difficult for you but it will go a long way. It’s not always about you, think of someone other than yourselves for once. Get better at your jobs too, people will eventually get tired of you saying you don’t know how to do things :(
"It's like working at the CIA, but it's dying" - Former Employee - Information Technology Director in Atlanta, GA
Doesn't Recommend
Negative Outlook
Disapproves of CEOI worked at Cox Communications full-time for more than 5 years
Pros
Running the Internet is awesome Bonus payouts were at 200% for annual cash bonuses and LTI Family that runs company seem to be good people Nice shiny new buildings
Cons
A lot of bad apples with tenure work at Cox (CCI, CEI, Automotive) - see pay above why they stay and fight tooth and nail for their fiefdom's People hold grudges and make enemy lists Lots of liars work here Lots of clueless upper management Horrible culture Slow to change and waiting for someone like Comcast to buy them Tons of politics and people keeping their head low and mouths shut Tons of internal competition and rivalries
Advice to Management
Get rid of the Cox lifers Identify and root out the bad apples Force management in mandatory leadership training (there are too many front line managers and barely any leaders at this company) Fight to keep good managers
"Not tech support SALES" - Current Employee - Tech Support Representative
Doesn't Recommend
Negative Outlook
Disapproves of CEOI have been working at Cox Communications full-time for more than 3 years
Pros
Services discount, ok pay, good paid time off if you don’t get sick.
Cons
Very hostile work environment. from customer and management. Supervisors rate you on sales you will be written up and fired for not making sales in a TECH support role. You are not only yelled and screamed at by customers everyday you have no support by the supervisors unless you make great sales. You are a revenue number to this company and that is it. Over 3 years with the company and I feel just as expendable as I did from day one. 27 member class and only 2 of us left extreme turnover rate. Your paid time off is from the same bucket as sick time it will count against you twice if you have to call in if you have not reserved the time off in advance.
Advice to Management
We are PEOPLE not just numbers to generate revenue. Value the people who can fix people’s problems not just the people who are great at selling. We are all individuals and trying to morph all people into selling genies is unrealistic and causes terrible moral. I have seen more people cry and break down in this job role then any other job I have ever worked at. We need support from our company when we deal with the verbal abuse from the customers we speak with everyday on behalf of Cox not just if we made a sale or not.
"Great place to work"
I have been working at Cox Communications
Pros
Room for growth and the people who work here are great
Cons
Internal systems are out dated. They make the job frustrating at times.
"Run Away" - Former Employee - Solutions Specialist in San Diego, CA
Doesn't Recommend
Negative Outlook
Disapproves of CEOI worked at Cox Communications full-time for more than 5 years
Pros
Some of the people you meet and the coworkers that you work with will become long time friends.
Cons
Zero communication between departments. Unrealistic goals, system is messed up, starting from the programs/software they use to the way they run their operations. Unethical company, but every company in the Telecommunication industry is almost the same. Forces customers on a goose hunt to get anything done. Doesn't disclose much to the customer. Management is a joke. The list goes on
Advice to Management
None, this ship is sinking.
"Good Pay and Benefits" - Former Employee - Business Account Executive in Las Vegas, NV
Recommends
Positive Outlook
Disapproves of CEOI worked at Cox Communications full-time for more than 10 years
Pros
Stable company, not going anywhere anytime soon. Good people work there overall. Good pay and benefits.
Cons
Cox Business had become too data-centric and high-pressure to hit aggressive sales targets. Managers are increasingly managing by spreadsheets.
Advice to Management
Step back and refocus on how to de-stress the workplace. The company has become more of a revolving door of reps and frontline employees in the relentless quest for profitability. Cox had become a great company by being a great place to work, no so much anymore.
"Loss of Culture" - Former Employee - Sales Manager in Phoenix, AZ
Doesn't Recommend
Negative Outlook
No opinion of CEOI worked at Cox Communications full-time for more than 10 years
Pros
Great benefits and many very good people
Cons
Big corporation metric driven management has destroyed a once great family like culture.
Advice to Management
Just sell out to Comcast.
"too expensive for customers" - Former Employee - Customer Retention Representative in Oklahoma City, OK
Doesn't Recommend
Negative OutlookI worked at Cox Communications full-time for less than a year
Pros
good benefits from the company
Cons
they expected you to keep customers at all cost
Advice to Management
review retention expectations of your employees
"Falling Apart" - Current Employee - Sales Representative in Newport News, VA
Doesn't Recommend
Negative Outlook
No opinion of CEOI have been working at Cox Communications full-time for more than 8 years
Pros
Autonomy, Healthcare, 401K, Independence, Pension
Cons
Management; doesn't know where company is going. people cutting cable
Advice to Management
Be proactive, not reactive
"If you don't like working with customers who are hostile or a sales environment, Don't Apply." - Former Employee - Technical Support Representative in Baton Rouge, LA
I worked at Cox Communications full-time for more than a year
Pros
Discount on cable/internet/Home Life/Telephone services
Cons
Sales,Sales,Sales,Sales-Is all the company cares about? Metrics are ridiculous-Voice of the Customer, Transfer Rate, Schedule Compliance just to name a few. Solution Center was a waste of money for the company to invest in.
Advice to Management
You have taken away all the opportunities to get sales and yet you still want tech support agents to sell. You have transfers, new installs, and retention that are required to make and or maintain sales.
"Good job for certain people" - Former Employee - Customer Retention Representative
I worked at Cox Communications full-time for less than a year
Pros
Cox is a good company, great benefits. Supervisors are friendly and coworkers are too.
Cons
The retention department is a stressful position. This is not a job for someone with anxiety. There is pressure all the time about metrics to make a commission and to constantly sell additional services. This job is a Retention and Sales job combined.
"Cox no longer has the "family feel" to it." - Former Employee - Manager in Atlanta, GA
Doesn't Recommend
Negative Outlook
Disapproves of CEOI worked at Cox Communications full-time for more than 5 years
Pros
Large organization, nice campus, competitive pay, long term incentive plan.
Cons
Constant downsizing and restructuring. Unfortunately, the cable industry is being hit hard by cord cutting and Cox Communications is slow to react. Other cable companies are much faster about integrating new products and services and strategies. Cox used to have a family feel when it came to treatment of employees. -Those days are gone forever.
Advice to Management
Look at what the leaders of the cable industry are doing to keep themselves relevant. Publicly traded companies talk about their road map every quarter. -You can at least copy their good ideas, but it would be nice to come up with some original ones on your own. I tried to recommend good ideas on where to take the company for the future but it fell on deaf ears. You need to evolve early and quickly or cease to exist. But for now, just keep laying people off because you're too slow to evolve. -That seems fair.
Cox Communications Response
September 19, 2019 –
Hi. Thank you for your feedback. We’re disappointed that your experience with us is not what you had hoped. You’re correct that our industry is rapidly changing, but we firmly believe that Cox Communications is poised for continued success as we work on next-gen technology, smart home automation and creating moments of real connection. Our employees have always been – and will continue to be – the foundation of our success, and we will never lose sight of that. Thank you again for your time with us, and we wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors.
"Don’t do it" - Current Employee - Account Service Representative
Doesn't Recommend
Negative OutlookI have been working at Cox Communications full-time for more than 3 years
Pros
PTO, benefits and pay is ok
Cons
The supervisors. The training. the customers and the amount of pressure they put on you. The unrealistic metrics and unprofessional
Advice to Management
get rid of the UNREALISTIC metrics and pressure you put on people to sale when that’s not even part of the job. Stop making excuses for customers to verbally abuse and threaten your employees because they pay stupid amount of money for luxury amenities.
"Old company culture led by nepotism" - Former Employee - Customer Advocate in Phoenix, AZ
Doesn't Recommend
Negative Outlook
No opinion of CEOI worked at Cox Communications full-time for more than 5 years
Pros
Free cable services, decent 401k matching.
Cons
Favoritism and nepotism, lots of promises made by management that are not kept. Constant change of roles for departments. 24x7 environment with very little chance of a standard day schedule.
Advice to Management
Compensate departments correctly, when I started as an advocate we had a specific role To support tier 1 and customer service and to handle escalations. By the time I left we had those same responsibilities, as well as tier 2 data supports, business security solutions, executive escalations, and Cox homelife tier 1.5 duties. All these duties were shoveled onto us with not a single bump to our pay. We turned from the Customer advocates group CAG to the Catch All Group. We were undoubtedly the most experienced and trained department in the care organization but we never we treated as such. On top of this it wasn’t uncommon to be held to extremely high standards which were challenging but fair before we started to handle the additional roles. These additional responsibilities led to a drop in efficiency and no drop in expectations leading to a terrible morale level in the department. On top of this some leaders in Phoenix CAG are so under trained and under developed that they quite literally cannot perform their basic duties. Some were promoted simply due to personal ties to upper management and not for personal performance.
"Great team, very positive experience" - Former Employee - Anonymous Employee in Atlanta, GA
Recommends
Positive Outlook
No opinion of CEOI worked at Cox Communications full-time
Pros
Loved my team, very smart people who worked hard but understood that work/life balance was important. Amazing leaders. I learned a lot. Extremely positive experience. Culture was fantastic - culture is to treat employees well.
Cons
Worried technology changes will change the industry and be left behind
Advice to Management
Plan for a future where you don’t get left behind.
Cox Communications Response
August 12, 2019 –
We love to see 5-star ratings and are pleased that you enjoyed our family culture here at Cox. Our company has a 120-year history of innovation and success and we couldn’t be more excited about the prosperity of our businesses as we continue to invest in new solutions and technologies. We appreciate you taking the time to share your feedback.
"Customer service technician"
Doesn't Recommend
Negative Outlook
Approves of CEOI worked at Cox Communications
Pros
Pays well, benefits from day one.
Cons
Having to meet sales quota when trying to fix customers issue over phone. Sales department didnt have a quota only customer sevice repair department
Advice to Management
Do away with sales quota
"ok place to work but hard to advance" - Former Employee - Technician in Chesapeake, VA
Recommends
Positive Outlook
Approves of CEOI worked at Cox Communications full-time for more than 10 years
Pros
great pay,free services,day 1 benefits
Cons
upselling, hard to advance,better oppurtunities, no sick time, fmla but get proper notication
Advice to Management
tech support shouldnt be required to sell products, things like is ok. plus passed over and had more experience than others.
"Warning--outdated software with constant computer crashes and an expectation to stay on the call center phones anyway." - Current Employee - Technical Support Representative I in Wichita, KS
Doesn't Recommend
Neutral Outlook
Disapproves of CEOI have been working at Cox Communications full-time for less than a year
Pros
Decent benefits, pay okay, positive culture.
Cons
I don't understand how they can possibly not replace their outdated ICOMS software/database with something more efficient and stable. Most of my training classmates have quit due to the stress of dealing with computer crashes while on the phones with customers. It's ridiculous. And the company isn't very forward thinking. They should be serving the rising wave of cord cutters with smart TV apps and prepare for the coming onslaught of cheaper 5G MiFi home internet (20 mbps download speeds) from mobile carriers or they'll be gone.
Advice to Management
Innovate, don't replicate.
"Toxic work environment" - Former Employee - Technical Support Representative in Baton Rouge, LA
Doesn't Recommend
Neutral Outlook
Disapproves of CEOI worked at Cox Communications full-time for more than a year
Pros
Community feel, fun work events/gatherings
Cons
Micromanagement type atmosphere, unrealistic sales expectations for technical support team, Cox obviously only cares about making money.
"Stop and Read this." - Current Employee - Solutions Specialist
Doesn't Recommend
Negative Outlook
Approves of CEOI have been working at Cox Communications full-time for more than 3 years
Pros
The people, culture, and benefits.
Cons
As a sales rep with Cox for 3 years, I can honestly say that I have never been in an environment that has gone from so great to so bad so quickly. The goals used to be reasonable, management was helpful and wanted to promote you, and this job was honestly a dream at one point. Within 2 years all of that disappeared. The quotas are so ridiculous that reps are now fighting for their lives everyday, and doing everything they possibly can to keep their jobs (basically sales fraud), the managers micromanage you and send you messages during an interaction with a customer telling you what to pitch.... which really makes me wonder why they even hired me in the first place? Not to mention the commission restructuring which lowered our commission, and barely raised our hourly... most reps are losing money. Oh and they raised our goals consecutive months after taking our commissions down. On top of all of this, streaming has completely taken over the industry and customers coming into the stores just want internet. BUT if you sell "Just Internet" you are looked down upon, and are asked to sell internet to customers at full price, even though you know you have promotions to get them a cheaper price. We shouldn't be punishing consumers for what they want. And the management used to give out amp points, have celebrations, and create a great environment for the reps, but not any longer. It is so sad to see because I really saw myself being with this company long-term, but if you start out as a solutions specialist... good luck. You'll be there for a very long time before you get the opportunity to move up.
Advice to Management
Stop micromanaging (aka watching us from in store cameras) while reps are on the job, stop talking to us during an interaction with a customer and focus on coaching us, or do a better job of training employees. Also, if you are going to decrease our commission, you should also decrease our quotas, not increase them more. We reps have the hardest jobs, because almost every single customer you deal with is at your throat. They absolutely hate the company because they are the only option in most areas, and are crazy expensive.
"Retention representative" - Current Employee - Retention Specialist in Phoenix, AZ
Doesn't Recommend
Negative Outlook
No opinion of CEOI have been working at Cox Communications full-time for less than a year
Pros
The company itself I would say is a pro
Cons
Literally the worst job I’ve had. Unless you’re being shady and avoiding heavy discos and discounts with customers you’re not going to make much here. There is a reason this job has such high turnover and the job is literally always open for applications. I wouldn’t wish this position on my worst enemy . Constant negativity, irate customers, things completely out of your control effecting your pay. Do yourself a favor if you want to work for this company and look at a different position. The company itself is not bad, however I’m not sure it’s headed in the right direction with the way this industry is changing.
Advice to Management
Stop being puppets.
"Going Downhill" - Current Employee - Retention Representative in Oklahoma City, OK
Doesn't Recommend
Negative Outlook
No opinion of CEOI have been working at Cox Communications full-time for more than 5 years
Pros
Good Pay and 4weeks vacation
Cons
Impossible Sales Goals, lots of cheating to make sales
Advice to Management
Give employees realistic sales goals so you won't have to keep firing people for cheating. Stop changing the sales goals so dramatically from month to month
"Great sales environment"
Former Employee - Direct Sales Representative in San Diego, CAI worked at Cox Communications full-time for more than a year
Pros
Team building, competitor training, fast paced.
Cons
Overcoming past customers experience
"sucks working here its all messed up" - Current Employee - Retention in Phoenix, AZ
Doesn't Recommend
Negative Outlook
Disapproves of CEOI have been working at Cox Communications full-time for less than a year
Pros
Pay, benefits, free lunch every now and then
Cons
nearly impossible sales goals, micromanaging, empty promises, the commission is nearly impossible to get and to even get a chance at it you need to lie and cheat people. Also cox is extremely liberal and pushes that on the employees, they have gay pride stuff and they offer to pay for sex change ops as a employee benefit. Goes against my code of ethics.
Advice to Management
Stop treating customers so poorly. Fix prices and offer them, stop offering campaigns on everything and then raising the price. End the retention program, just let people make changes to their accounts, they're adults and can make their own decision, they don't need some retention agent bullying them to keep services or to tell them lies and misinformation to scare them into not disconnecting.
"Great Company" - Current Employee - Retail Sales Associate in Hampton, VA
Recommends
Positive Outlook
Approves of CEOI have been working at Cox Communications full-time for more than 5 years
Pros
Schedule, Pay, Benefit, hours for retail aren't horrible, can be either 8-6:30 or 10-7:30
Cons
Training, If you are doing retail sales or even call center sales, the training is just a quick overview over 6 weeks on how to sale
Current Employee - Sales
Doesn't Recommend
Negative OutlookI have been working at Cox Communications full-time
Pros
Money, benefits, paid time off
Cons
Terrible training and management. Disgruntled employees and angry customers makes for a poor work environment.
Advice to Management
Invest in your employees and listen to their feedback. Stop price gouging your customers.
"Stressful, but Company treats everyone so well" - Current Employee - Inbound Sales Representative in Las Vegas, NV
Recommends
Positive Outlook
Approves of CEOI have been working at Cox Communications full-time for more than 5 years
Pros
Best benefits hands down of any company out there. You will not find a better company for freebies, cheap insurance, free cable, and so much more. They even have an in house "save your butt fund" where they will cut you a check to help in the face of an emergency. The employees are like family. so much time off, fairs, travel, free swag, point system catalogue with everything from hair brushes to trips to Ireland. Just an amazing company to work for.
Cons
Company is losing a lot of money from internet only sales, and customers are not always treated best when they order "just internet". its discouraged and not as incentivized. Also, it's a cable company/internet, and customers are annoying to the point that if you work there long enough, no matter how good the benefits and pay is and they are unmatched, you will start to hate your job, and people. Cox customer base, especially in Louisiana are the most difficult, most annoying people to service. maybe I'm petty, but after a while, you just get so sick of the job. Very high turn over, but lots of room for advancement.
Advice to Management
Lower level supervisors can be cliquish, stand offish, almost like they never had power before, and don't know being in charge of 15 people doesnt mean you can change the weather, veto a bill, or summon Batman. Get over yourselves, stop watching YouTube at your desk, and start looking for ways to improve moral. (to upper-upper management: Great job, but needs to be a purging of lower level supervisors. Too many people want to move up and do a good job because they've worked the sales role for there to be bad sups on the sales and retention floor)
"Cox Business Sales Tucson Don't" - Former Employee - Account Executive in Tucson, AZ
I worked at Cox Communications full-time for more than 5 years
Pros
Almost free cable. Good benefits. Freedom.
Cons
They have around a 65-70% market share in the areas served. You will hunt high and low for any opportunity, no matter how small. The product lines, unless you are a seasoned Telecom rep, will take years to learn and understand. The call center and outside reps dislike each other because they are forced to fight over crumbs. Large opportunities will almost never happen, because you are forced to compete with the national sales desk, the Enterprise sales desk and the third party leads desk. Then, a couple of outside reps will have relationships with all of the leads groups and IT vendors in town. You will be left cold calling the smallest of businesses and praying that the call center hadn't already gotten there first. And there is little advancement out of Tucson. Any advancement opportunities come in Phoenix or Atlanta for this region. You will be forced to constantly field questions and babysit things that don't make you any money. There is a saying, "No sale goes unpunished." New product rollouts are a nightmare. They will scream at you and make you have meetings to force you to sell these products that don't even work at first.
Advice to Management
Reduce the head count. 10 reps for half of Tucson is way too many. Reduce call center head count. You're just creating ROE nightmares for yourself.
"Wonderful Family Owned" - Current Employee - IT Program Manager in Atlanta, GA
Recommends
Positive Outlook
Approves of CEOI have been working at Cox Communications full-time for more than 10 years
Pros
Longevity, Caring environment, Growth within the Organization, Many Opportunities to showcase Talents, Belief and trust in their employees.
Cons
Longevity to the point of not understand when risk needs to be taken, Lots of restructuring,
Advice to Management
Society is changing and therefore we need to change along with it in our mindset for our customers or we are going to lose them. We MUST grow within our technology!
"Fairly Good Company but..." - Former Employee - Account Service Representative
Recommends
Positive Outlook
Approves of CEOI worked at Cox Communications full-time for more than a year
Pros
The best things about Cox are the benefits. Paid time off, paid sick days, free services (discounted equipment), good medical, 401k, etc. It made the choice to leave tough. Great culture overall, most employees don't have too many bad things to say about how they're treated by the company. Tenure tends to be pretty high among some of the more senior and support staff.
Cons
How customers are treated is a problem. Part of the problem is the antiquated and needlessly arcane database Cox uses that has such a steep learning curve that most agents don't truly get the hang of it until they're around 6 months in. This leads to tons of errors on orders and a lot of problems that cause the company to miss good opportunities to serve customers efficiently and smoothly. Another problem is that many sales agents misquote customers, and getting them to agree on prices before equipment, taxes, fees and surcharges, and aren't told of install charges at all. Nearly every call with a customer was one where they did not understand the terms of their discount and had no concept of the true price of their service. This lies by omission approach sales agents take to get customers is unethical and needs to end if Cox is to stay competetive. For employees, in the call center Cox has a practice of doing shift bids which allows agents to get a new schedule at select times of the year. The ratings are by performance (mainly sales I figure), with the best agents being able to choose their new shift. Nothing wrong there right? ... unless you're a college student. Cox provides tuition assistance to employees but they're still subject to the shift bid and if they're not able to perform at peak performance on one of those bids it can be difficult to retain a schedule that works with inflexible college schedules. Shift bids can happen in the middle of college semesters so if you're on a schedule that works for your classes (because you selected classes around your work schedule) you're likely to end up with a schedule that heavily conflicts with your classes after a bid happens. With no part time call center options, and these shift bids, college students have limited choices. Work or school, not both. If on the tuition assistance, if a shift bid causes you to fail a class, or you have to leave Cox to keep studying, the tuition assistance has to be repaid.
Advice to Management
First, review sales practices, both in training and in a live environment. Enforce ethical sales practices and punish employees who use poor salesmanship to attain customers. Next, be more transparent. Part of the problem is that customers don't understand their prices because all they see in print are the heavily discounted "advertised" prices, they never see "rate card" prices anywhere, even in the fine print on Cox.com. Lastly, employees who are utilizing the tuition assistance program should be exempt from the shift bid process while they remain in school. Shift bid leads to instability, and instability for students leads to poor educational performance which if it occurs means that the student will likely have to repay tuition assistance. That reduces the efficacy of that program and is a contributing factor in employee attrition. You invest a lot into your employees! Their salaries and benefits while they're in training for 3 months isn't cheap (not to mention their trainers salaries). Retain retain these people and realize the value an educated workforce brings to the table.