Charter Communications – “Overall a decent workplace, but confusing and seemingly irrelevant standards applied by management.”

Pros

The actual day-to-day work is very enjoyable. Customer interactions provide immediate and honest feedback on your work, good or bad. The technical aspects of installation and troubleshooting internet, video, and telephone are mentally stimulating, and every day offers new challenges. Freedom to make some decisions on the fly promotes independence and improves many important skills.

Cons

There seems to be an increasing amount of "busywork" and redundant paperwork. The technical supervisors are given a mandate to physically grade technicians' work and focus on things they have done wrong. Our local supervisor was praised for doing this where neighboring supervisors were not. The standards of quality for technical work have basic requirements that don't change: customer satisfaction, cable and networking line mounting procedures, cleanliness of work. However, the finer points have Charter-defined standards that are in a constant state of flux, aspects that don't affect safety, product performance, or customer satisfaction. These aspects are what supervisors can point out and rate poorly. These ratings directly affect the technicians' rate of pay.

Advice to Senior Management

The higher management have done well improving the overall image of the company, especially considering the recent Chapter 11 restructuring. However, there seems to be some confusion or poor communication on the part of middle and local management as far as field technicians. The majority of technicians in our office are very dissatisfied with recent changes in policies, and are searching for other jobs. The timekeeping policies and additional paperwork would do well to rethought. A major point of contention is the constant changes in the job quality requirements, as to many it seems the technicians are "doomed to fail".