Texas811 Today

There are a lot of good things about being at Texas811, but my favorite is that every day we are not only doing a good job, but we are actually doing good – by helping to protect Texas from the effects of excavation-related damage to our buried facilities: utilities, pipelines, and communications lines.

        As a team, we’re working to build a culture that values those we work with - inside and outside the company. Here are some of our initiatives:

·         Revamp work and compensation structure to closely relate reward to performance;

·         Sponsor events for employees and family members;

·         Open meetings to employees to increase transparency and understanding; and

·         Establish a company-specific social network, Yammer, to foster communication.

On September 2^nd, we opened the “We Care Wellness Center” to provide our full- and part-time employees - and their dependents - with quality family medical care, at no cost to them. We are managing our drug testing program through the clinic, as well as flu shots and other medical related tasks.

How can this make economic sense to a small company like ours? Two years ago, we were forced to change our employee health care plan from fully-insured to partially self-funded. This was made necessary by a proposed 75% hike in our insurance premiums. Financially this means that Texas811 is now responsible for most of the cost of medical care over the employee co-payment. As an example, if a plan participant goes to the doctor, they pay their $30 co-payment. Since the actual cost of that appointment may be $150-200, or even higher, Texas811 pays the balance.

If the clinic operates at half-to-two-thirds capacity, we will be able to offset the cost of routine outside doctor visits and save a possible $100,000 or more per year. As an added bonus, the clinic enables our part-time employees and their families to receive medical care, which was not possible before. We are now looking toward opening the clinic to outside companies and individuals, which will allow us to spread the cost over a wider base and hopefully offer more services.

There’s a lot going on and I’m glad I’m here to participate – I think you will be too.

-Lee Marrs