Question: PAETEC's VALUES LEAD TO A SATISFIED AND COMMITTED WORKFORCE

Founded in 1998, PAETEC Communications is a broadband telecommunications firm providing local and long distance voice, data, and Internet services to business customers in over 80 markets in the United States.147 Starting out with less than 20 employees, today, PAETEC has over 3,600 employees and $1 billion in revenues.148 Interestingly enough, PAETEC has grown and prospered during a time when the telecommunications industry lost thousands of jobs.149 Arunas Chesonis, one of PAETEC's founders and its current chairman and CEO, has ensured that PAETEC's values are upheld on a daily basis. PAETEC has four core values-"a caring culture, open communication, unmatched service and personalized solutions."150 These values serve as a guide to managers and employees and help to ensure that satisfied and committed employees provide excellent service to customers.151 People-employees and customers-come first at PAETEC.152 In particular, Chesonis has always maintained that PAETEC should take good care of its employees. His reasoning is that when a company looks out for the well-being of its employees, employees will take good care of their customers.153 Chesonis and PAETEC take good care of employees in multiple ways such as helping them achieve a well-balanced work and family life, recognizing their contributions and accomplishments, and encouraging open communication and organizational citizenship behavior.154 Managers and employees are treated as equals and all employees are treated with respect.

At PAETEC, special perks for managers are kept to a minimum and pay differentials between managers and rank and file employees are relatively low.155 Chesonis is accessible to employees and has been known to stroll around company headquarters in Fairport, New York, chatting with employees, commending them on their achievements, and answering any questions they may have. In fact, recognizing employee accomplishments is taken quite seriously at PAETEC both through special awards and annual bonuses. Maestro Awards are given to employees with significant accomplishments and can vary from dinner for two to stock options.

Exceptional employee performance over time is recognized with the John Budney Award, worth approximately $5,000, that could include a luxury vacation or a Rolex watch.156 Employees also receive bonuses based on their own accomplishments and company performance.157 Open communication and cooperation are highly valued at PAETEC and employees are expected to voluntarily help each other out. Thus, helping behaviors and organizational citizenship behaviors are encouraged at PAETEC. Boundaries between units and departments are minimized so that employees will share their expertise and knowledge with each other. Employees are expected to provide excellent service to their customers and are empowered to come up with new ideas to better serve customers needs. Chesonis shares information about the company with employees through companywide conference calls and responds to employees' questions and concerns.158 A devoted family man, Chesonis recognizes that employees' families and their lives outside of the workplace are very important to them. Thus, employees receive paid time off work to take care of family emergencies and illnesses.

159 Holidays are celebrated with parties for employees, families, and customers. On Halloween, employees' children can trick-or-treat in the office and employees dress up in costumes. Parties and special outings are planned at various times during the year so that employees and their families can relax and have fun together.160 Employees at PAETEC know that Chesonis and other managers care about their well-being and, in turn, they strive to provide excellent service to their customers and help PAETEC prosper and grow.161 PAETEC has been a recipient of the American Business Ethics Award for mid-size companies and has been listed by the New York State Society for Human Resource Management as a Best Large Company to Work for in New York State in 2009 and 2010.162 Summing up PAETEC's philosophy, Chesonis has indicated that "Since our inception, we've believed a strong focus on the needs of our employees and their families will ultimately translate into superior service and performance for our customers."163
Questions for Discussion

1. What values does Chesonis emphasize at PAETEC?

2. What factors likely contribute to employee job satisfaction at PAETEC?

3. What type of organizational commitment do you think might be prevalent among PAETEC employees and why?

4. What kinds of work moods and emotions do you think employees experience at PAETEC and why?