WE ARE A COMPANY DRIVEN BY PEOPLE

You won’t find a sign at CARDONE that reads: “Park your personal problems at the door.” That’s because we firmly believe compartmentalizing our lives in such way is impossible, not to mention unhealthy. There’s no shelving our lives from 9 to 5 just because it may interfere with our work.

People have emotions and experience problems, and we all have needs. At CARDONE, we don’t treat our employees like a skill set for hire applied to a task at hand. Instead, we see them as living, breathing human beings who could use a friend when times are tough.

That’s why we encourage our employees to bring their problems with them to work. And then we invite these men and women—who we consider family—to participate in any variety of real, practical programs that can help them work through their issues. One of those includes talking to our onsite chaplains.

OUR CHAPLAINS

As CARDONE continued to grow, we soon realized that the company needed to strike a healthy balance between the dynamics of our competitive business environment and the compassion we felt for our people. It was quickly determined that a full-time position on our staff was needed.

We needed someone who would be an extension of our heartfelt empathy and trained to handle the personal challenges our employees might face, including their spiritual growth. This person needed to embrace the soul of CARDONE while serving as our lead caregiver. That’s when we hired retired pastor Pagano as our first chaplain.

“To maximize the effectiveness and impact that our chaplains have with our employees, we continually evaluate, assess and adapt our methods and programs, but our principles and values surrounding our people remain constant.”

—THERLOWE PAULIN, DIRECTOR OF CHAPLAINCY

This precipitated the hiring of even more chaplains. And today, this team works together with leadership to help employees overcome crumbling marriages, financial hardships, personal dilemmas, and family crises.

Our chaplains provide care and counseling in 25 areas of service. And in any given year, they are engaged in more than 40,000 personal or key contacts, each one offering a step to reconciliation in the personal lives of our employees.

Here is short list of the services our chaplains provide:

• On call 24/7: This ensures our employees have the care they need, day or night, at work or at home.
• Daily prayer: Chaplains maintain a confidential prayer list that they pray for regularly.
• Conflict resolution: Problems of all kinds are worked through in a healthy, loving, and constructive way.
• Hospital visits: Give loving support to employees who have been admitted for medical care.
• Home visits: Meet with employees on disability.
• Incarceration care: Reach out to employees and family members who are serving jail sentences.
• Bereavement: Minister pastoral care for Factory Family members who have lost loved ones.
• Funeral services: Assist with coordinating these services and being available to officiate services.
• Translation services: Assist employees who do not speak English as their first language.
• Referrals: Direct any employee to an outside service to meet whatever need might come up.

WHEN ASKED TO DESCRIBE CARDONE IN ONE WORD, HERE’S WHAT OUR EMPLOYEES SHARED:

SOLVING UNRESOLVED ISSUES

Often, it’s not laziness or lack of motivation that causes a worker to be tardy or absent. Rather, it’s issues at home—transportation, childcare or health. These personal struggles travel to work with every employee, causing reduced productivity, low morale and safety concerns.

We know that if an employee can come to work with a minimal amount of life-related stress, that person is going to have a brighter emotional outlook, clearer mind and greater willingness to work with diligence and develop as a person.

FACING UNRESOLVED PERSONAL ISSUES

CARDONE CARE FUND

If chaplains serve as the heart of our staff care, then the CARDONE Care Fund serves as our hands. This fund is administered through our chaplains to meet the temporary, emergency needs of our employees in need. Each year, more than 300 people receive assistance to help them in a special time of financial or material crisis.

The CARDONE Care Fund is uniquely designed to assist CARDONE employees in unusual circumstances.

In one case, CARDONE purchased an international airline ticket for an employee so she could attend her mother’s funeral. In another case, we payed a backlogged bill just before a family’s electricity was to be turned off.

Employees who are the victims of house fires, automobile accidents, robberies, and other unexpected tragedies have all benefited from this fund. And CARDONE will continue to invest in this fund because it’s good for business. Even more importantly, it’s good for the men and women who daily serve our customers.

Customers can rely on CARDONE to meet their needs. The same can be said for our employees and communities. These are the friends we enjoy. These are the neighborhoods where we live. And it’s out of our unwavering loyalty to both that we want to provide support and offer opportunities for all of us to enjoy a better way of life—together.

FROM STAFF CHAPLAINS OFFERING EMOTIONAL AND SPIRITUAL SUPPORT TO OUR CARE FUND PROVIDING FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE IN TIMES OF ADVERSITY, CARDONE IS HANDS ON IN THE LIVES OF OUR EMPLOYEES.