Roberto Moya from Orem, UT has been named the ELM Elite winner for December. Congratulations Roberto for this much deserved honor!
21 years ago, Roberto had never even heard of locating gas lines. At the time he was packing and shipping orders in a warehouse and had previously worked in landscaping as well. A friend of his had recently started working at ELM and recommended he apply. He went into the job with no real expectations of what it would be but still adapted to the job quickly. Roberto believes that his strong work ethic helped him learn how to be a successful technician, saying “I like to work. I just know that work needs to be done and I just do it. I’m happy to do whatever needs to be done.”
Roberto has developed strong relationships with the contractors in his area. Communicating with his contractors was the first step to building these relationships. He knows talking on the phone with a contractor is often the easiest way to get answers to questions he has about the scope of a ticket, but since many contractors are too busy to answer he’ll often send a text first, saying he will be calling. He finds this increases the chance they will answer, or the contractor will respond with a better time for them to talk.
It can be difficult for a new technician to begin these relationships, but Roberto recommends asking your supervisor or a veteran technician to reach out and introduce you to a contractor if they never answer your contact attempts. Many people no longer answer phone calls from phone numbers they don’t know so having a trusted ELM employee introduce them to a new hire can go a long way. It can be as simple as a text saying there is a new technician in the area, here is their name and phone number. This can be a good first step in building trust like Roberto has with his area contractors.
Early in his career, Roberto was able to learn new skills from other technicians. Now, he likes to pass on his knowledge whenever he can. He says, “I think we learn a lot from other people, from coworkers. We learn things we didn’t think about before. It can make you more efficient when you learn from somebody doing the same job.” Even with his level of experience, Roberto isn’t afraid to ask questions, whether he is asking his coworkers, supervisors, or contractors. He is also always happy to answer other’s questions if he can too.
Locating is often an isolated job, working alone on jobsites and spending plenty of time driving alone as well, so Roberto makes the most of the opportunities he gets to meet with his coworkers. “We have meetings every few months, we interact with other employees, get to know them a little bit and we get excited about getting to know each other.” Outside of work, Roberto has two adult children and enjoys cooking, gardening, and working out.