News from Puerto Rico: People Count

By Elissa Nesbitt

And now for some positive news from Puerto Rico: People count. Don’t take it from me, here’s an excerpt from an email our team received from Ruben Parrilla, our Area Service Manager in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico.

“Puerto Rico is working hard to rebuild and recover; Xerox employees are also doing their part to keep our business running with a good, positive spirit. Although it will be a long journey, we will surpass the different challenges this situation presents.

“We have recognized that we are not alone in confronting these challenges.

“Last Friday, October 20, 2017, we had the opportunity to distribute a “care package” to all Xerox employees in Puerto Rico that included water, food and batteries – all essential items that will provide great comfort.

“Hurricane Maria has dramatically changed our daily routines and consequently, our way of life. Nevertheless, although a hurricane can take away many things from us, it cannot take away our spirit, our determination, our courage.”

Room for more

What’s inspiring is how our people rallied quickly, tirelessly and bravely, for our customers and for each other, a true example of our winning way at Xerox.

Even as our people work hard to keep their customers up and running, many of these care packages (and more are on the way from various sources) arrived via our regularly scheduled shipping container of printers, toner and spare parts for our customers. The container wasn’t full, so why not top it off with essential supplies for our employees in Puerto Rico? That’s exactly what they did, and Xerox covered the cost. No decision to escalate, no layers of approval — it was the easiest decision anyone ever had to make.

The shipping date was only a few days away, so our people had to move fast to buy the supplies, fill out the shipping and export paper work, get everything to the loading dock and pack the container — all done with a few hours to spare. The cooperation and a quick turnaround times continued in Puerto Rico. Our business partners in Hato Rey opened up the loading dock at their warehouse. This allowed every first-line Xerox manager in Puerto Rico to pitch in and distribute these care packages to our people

Xerox people in our U.S. Channels Unit in Florida also helped out. They worked with many employees as well as members of the Xerox Hispanic Association for Professional Advancement (HAPA) to raise $4,000. They purchased more batteries and water, in addition to bug spray, solar cell phone chargers and more. These care packages arrived via Federal Express. (HAPA is a Xerox employee resource group.)

We have 85 people in Puerto Rico. Every one of them, and their families, counts — and they are safe.