call one newsletter - february 2015

THEINSIDE WIRECall One’s Quarterly Newsletter

THE END OF AN ERA

February 2015 / Vol. 1 - First Edition

2014 marks the end of my tenure as employee advocate. I would like to take this time to express my gratitude for all of you for trusting me to serve the company in this capacity. My personality is largely driven through the need to be constantly learning, growing, and evolving as a person. This position has allowed me to grow tremendously over the course of the past few years, in lasting and inimitable ways.

I’ve learned about patience and urgency. I’ve learned about the whole, and the sum of parts. I’ve learned about being a cheerleader, and a bubble-burster. I’ve learned about timing and time management. I’ve learned about respect, egos, and pride. I’ve learned about priorities and balance.

I could really go on and on. But I think the single most important thing I’ve learned through serving as the employee advocate, is to hear. When I started, I thought that hearing and

listening were the same. But I’ve come to know that hearing is very different from just listening. Sometimes we all need to gripe. I can listen to gripes, but I don’t want to hear them. Hearing implies a deeper understanding of what is being expressed. Griping can breed negativity, and a cycle of resentment. Sometimes, though, in a gripe, is a concern, an issue, and a need. Sometimes hearing is in the things that aren’t said. Sometimes hearing is relating the side comments made by different people, in different situations, at completely different times. Hearing is so much more than just listening.

It has been my sincerest honor to serve as the employee advocate, and I hope I have in some way lived up to the responsibility you all entrusted in me.

Best wishes for a fantastic 2015! -Christina Mendoza

LETTER fromthe CEO

We all have so much to be thankful for. Family, friends and colleagues. Things we’ve won, received and learned. So many special people and things that sometimes in the hustle bustle of daily life we may take for granted. The holiday season is the time to remember and reach out to those we need to thank. So please don’t hesitate to reach out and thank those people in your lives who have done special things and have been special in your lives.

And now it’s my turn (evil laugh). All of you as a group never cease to amaze. Through all the trials and tribulations you always show great camaraderie, persistence, intelligence, humor, perseverance, strength and talent. We are a great team of great teams. And each of you should be thanked individually. So here it goes…in a lighthearted yet sincere way… -Chris Surdenik Abby, thanks for always letting me know when it’s Wednesday.

Alan, thanks for standing with your hands on your hips.

Aletha, thanks for picking up the mail by the front door of the Naperville office.

Alissa, thanks for telling me about RDP.

Allison, thanks for coming aboard.

Ana, thanks for having the first Call One baby.

Anne, thanks for drinking Prosecco with Nancy.

Arlet, thanks for being Tina’s gracious neighbor.

Art, thanks for not being mad about the RDP thing.

Beatriz, thanks for making sure to teach your second child to run from John.

Beth, thanks for coming aboard.

Bill, thanks for being a fellow gearhead and introducing me to Jay Leno’s Garage.

The INSIDE WIRE | February 2015 / Vol. 1 - First Edition

Blase, thanks for all the kind words you have to say about everyone.

Bob, thanks for always taking one for the team.

Brent, thanks for coming aboard.

Brian B., thanks for being a real-life Ghostbuster.

Murph, thanks for being a salesperson in disguise.

Carmen, thanks for not looking like a “collector” anymore.

LETTER fromthe CEO


Catalina, thanks for being the loud and unruly one in Provisioning.

Chelsea, thanks for being so quiet that I thought you worked in Naperville.

Chris (Topher), hmmm……what should I say……hmmm…..

Chris (Shanks), thanks for keeping your shirt on.

Christina, thanks for going shopping with Derrick and picking those nice mustard yellow sweaters.

Chuck, thanks for the well-timed hugs

Claudia, thanks for being the June Cleaver of Provisioning.

Clay, thanks for having more cars on your lawn than in your garage.

Colleen, thanks for giving one of the “thank yous” in this list your approval.

Craig, thanks for being so good at the Cha Cha.

DaNae, thanks for coming aboard.

Danny, thanks for telling me it was an ID-10-T error.

David, thanks for coming aboard.

Dennis, thanks for putting up with our lame jokes.Derrick, thanks for being a delicate flower.

Dinero, thanks for being a good sport with a rough joke.

Dom, thanks for not falling through your back porch.

Dorcy, thanks for not drinking coffee.

Edgar, thanks for helping with the Francis cardboard cutout.

Erick, thanks for being in Dallas with Jason.

Fern, thanks once again for being in Massachusetts.

Gary, thanks for inviting me to connect on LinkedIn.

George, thanks for being a fellow tequila drinker.

Gerald, thanks for being a great holiday decorator.

Glen, thanks for once again being a die-hard Sox fan, even this year.

Harris, thanks for softening up Dynacom for us in our lease negotiation.

Hillary, thanks for falling down slowly.

James, thanks for coming aboard.

Jane, thanks for always being kind.

Jasna, thanks for changing outfits 4 times a day.

Jason, thanks for making a quick recovery.

Jennifer B., thanks for telling Alan to stop buying pleated pants.

LETTER fromthe CEO


Jennifer S., thanks for putting up with Rick as our softball coach.

Jeremy, thanks for the munchkins.

Joanna, thanks for the question board.

Joe C., thanks for keeping your birthday present under your desk.

Joe S., thanks for still finding interesting stories in the newspaper.

Joey, thanks for keeping the Caddyshack artwork in your office.

John G., thanks for not going nuts when the Cardinals lost.

John H., thanks for helping create the affliction now known as DMSing.

John S., thanks for coming aboard.

JonPaul, thanks for sharing an office with Glaenzer.

Kate S., thanks KATE!

Kate W., thanks for putting up with the accounting department’s insanity.

Keith, thanks for pointing out that one of our UPS deliveries was suspicious.

Kelly, thanks for not dropping all of the wine bottles for the wine pull fundraiser.

Ken, thanks for coming aboard.

Kristin, thanks for not being pushy about the newsletter deadline.

Larry, thanks for keeping Mark in line.

Lauren, thanks for reminding everyone that it’s my birthday.

Lee, thanks for coming aboard.

Lori, thanks for remembering there are plenty of fish.

Luis, thanks for coming aboard.

Lynda, listen Linda listen….thank you.

Lynette, thanks for not leaving the Northern Illinois Food Bank with my motorcycle helmet and jacket.

Maria, thanks for not having a picture of Castro on your desk.

Martha, thanks for demonstrating with hand motions.

Mary D., thanks for keeping Rick and Leon in line.

Mary W., thanks for always gambling for a good cause.

Mike, thanks for only telling clean jokes in the Chicago office.

Michelle C., thanks for dealing with all the crazies around you gracefully.

Michelle N., thanks for keeping the ninja in line.

LETTER fromthe CEO


Mimi, thanks for coming aboard.

Nancy B., thanks for drinking Prosecco with Anne.

Nancy E., thanks for picking up after all of us Ma.

Nick, thanks, you win.

Niki, thanks for coming aboard.

Olga, thanks for calling Derrick a delicate flower.

Paul, thanks for not wearing a pink tutu.

Peter, thanks for letting everyone else play catchup with our network design.

Phil, thanks, all right!

Ray, thanks for being a scotch snob.

Rick, thanks for being da coach again Francis.

Rob, thanks for knowing every Beastie Boys song.

Ruth, thanks for running out every grounder.

Ryan, thanks for not rubbing it in when you win.

Sally, thanks for the Dave & Busters tickets.

Sarah, thanks for being the loud one in the Naperville office.

Sebastian, thanks for making a 125cc motorcycle look cool.

Stephanie, thanks for not thinking it’s weird that I call your mom “Ma” and you grandma.

Steve B., thanks for driving the Call One Mobile with pride.

Steven O., thanks for being “dad” to the first Call One baby.

Sue, thanks for another year of great salsa.

Tom, thanks for not rubbing in too much how bad Illinois is at college football.

Tim, thanks for doing 1657 laps around the office this year….we were counting.

Trisha, thanks for showing me the pictures of you bowling with Jon Bon Jovi.

Veronica, thanks for bringing Olaf to life.

Victoria L., thanks for having a great laugh when you laugh at all of our lame jokes.

Victoria N., thanks for proving girls can play softball.

Wendy, thanks for reminding all of us what colors our brains are.

The HUMANResources ELEMENT

Every New Year brings changes to HR, most of them impacting all of you. Here are a few things to look out for in 2015…

The contribution limit for employees who participate in 401(K) increases to $18,000; up from $17,500 in 2014.

The maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax (taxable minimum) will increase to $118,500 from $117,000 in 2014.

The 401(K) catch-up contribution limit for those age 50 and older increases to $6,000. The catch-up contribution may be made beginning January 1, 2015, by participants who will reach age 50 at any time during the year.

The HSA catch-up contribution for those age 55 and older remains unchanged at $1,000. Catch-up contributions can be made any time during the year in which the HSA participant turns 55.

For those who have the HSA medical plan, the contribution limit increases to $3,350 for an individual and $6,550 for a family.


Friendly reminder: if you are not on direct deposit or paperless printing of your pay stubs and would like to be, please see me. Help us save a tree!

Spritz the bowl before you go and no one else will ever know! Poo-Pourri can be found in all of our bathrooms in the Chicago office at Call One! Go to the following website to watch the video and learn how to properly use it :)http://www.poopourri.com/

http://www.poopourri.com/

QUARTERLYBILLING stats


9-15

-14

$5,2

70,0

91

2015 GOAL$6,000,000+

8-15

-14

$5,1

96,0

62

BILLING

BO

OM

OH YE

AH

MARVELOUS YOWZA EXTRAORDINARY MIND BLOWING

7-15

-14

$5,1

84,9

67

3-15-14

$5,006,164

2-15-14

$5,028,222

1-15-14$5,010,548

6-15-14

$5,153,082

5-15-14

$5,117,416

4-15-14

$5,064,127

12-15

-14

$5,270,761

11-1

5-14

$5,2

08,9

87

10-15-14

$5,301,385

Our billing numbers can normally speak for themselves. Here is a snapshot of the full year’s billing. Thank you all for your efforts in making this possible! - Rob Gronko

KUDOS from our CUSTOMERS


960 Stewart Dr., Sunnyvale, CA 94085 USA +1 (800) 425-9385

November 7, 2014 Christopher Surdenik Call One Inc 225 W Wacker Chicago, IL 60606 Dear Christopher, ShoreTel is pleased to recognize Call One Inc for your outstanding achievement in customer loyalty for the 2014 Partner Year. ShoreTel measures customer loyalty and satisfaction using the globally recognized Net Promoter Score (NPS®) program. Your NPS score surpasses what is considered world-class level of customer loyalty. Your consistent performance in delivering an exceptional all-around customer experience is a tribute to your dedication to our joint customers. It is partners like you who ensure customers are not only satisfied, but are loyal to ShoreTel and our products and services. Congratulations on your outstanding achievement. Sincerely,

Don Joos President and CEO

Before the holidaysChris Surdenik received a letter from partner ShoreTel regarding customer serveys results.Our customers and ShoreTel acknowledged Call One’s exceptional customer loyalty, which is a testament to our hard-working, knowledgable, affable employees. Way to go and let’s earn another one of these letters in 2015!

Network ENGINEERING


A relatively small department within Call One, Network Engineering does a lot. Hopefully many of you were able to attend Network Engineering’s Call One University in October when we went through the different “hats” the team wears here at Call One. Additionally, Network Engineering is responsible for our SOC 2 compliant MNS (Managed Network Services) product offering where we provide, manage, and monitor the CPE (Client Premise Equipment) for most every IP circuit that is installed.

As the in-house technical resource for all things IP related, we work hand-in-hand with almost every department within the organization.

Sales – Acting in a Sales Engineer role, we get involved in complex IP services during the pre-sale stage. We help gather technical information from the customers to ensure we are presenting solutions that meet the customer’s needs.

Provisioning – Acting as support to the Provisioning team, we help provide the required technical information when placing orders with our carriers. When MNS is ordered for a service, we help coordinate the delivery/installation of that unit as well as assist in the turn up process.

Repair – The Network Engineering department works as a Tier 3 group to Repair on IP related circuits when additional support is needed. Repair works off the monitoring of the MNS product to open proactive tickets when an alarm is received.

Billing – Network Engineers often dispatch to customer locations when our networking skillset is required to assist a customer. Those work orders are submitted to Billing as additional revenue for the Company.

Finance – We place numerous Purchase Orders (PO’s) for both customer and in house equipment. We as work with Finance to manage those vendor transactions.

IT – The NE department works with our IT team and assists on the “network” piece of our internal infrastructure. We manage the WAN connections that connect our offices together and to the public internet.

Professional Services – Even though we are two different departments, we share some common skillsets and we help each other out as needed.

Net One – Customer’s order more than one service from Call One, i.e. MPLS and Voice Solution (ShoreTel, Avaya, etc.), we work with Net One to implement these services into the customer’s network. Also, if any advance wiring needs to be completed for implementations, they are our go to team.

On top of those roles, Network Engineering has been heavily involved with the Executive team, Net One, and IT Department in our mission of becoming a facilities based provider to offer our own brand of voice and data services. We now have COLO space in Carrier Hotels in both Chicago and Dallas. We have an infrastructure of redundant, Carrier Grade Voice and Data equipment. We have a direct allocation of IP addresses and our own ASN (Autonomous System Number) from ARIN (American Registry for Internet Numbers). To the world look like an ISP just like AT&T, WindStream, and CenturyLink.

The future of Call One has never looked brighter. We are on the verge of providing our own brand of services, as well as continuing to have the resale model that has grown so well over the years. The sky is the limit, and with the talented individuals throughout the company, we are sure to succeed.


the BIGGIVE backAs we close out the best fundraising year we have had to this point I am compelled to thank all of you for giving so much. The totals are not yet in, but we are just over $7,000 in employee fundraising. That is in addition to the $13,000 the Caddyshack Open brought in. Your money, time, energy, ideas, and encouragement are what make the wonderful things we do possible. Through the support of the Chicago Charity Challenge our reach has expanded even further this year. The Cha Cha teams have donated a combined $4,072,460 and 16,935 hours of volunteer time to various causes, charities, and non-profit organizations to this point. That level of giving is just amazing! Thank you all for your support, especially since I know most of you donate time and money to causes on your own as well. Have a fantastic holiday! - Rob Gronko

Since 2008 Call One has participated in a program to deliver gifts to needy children during the holiday season. We have gone through several different programs including the U.S. Post Office program and the Chicago Sun Times program to find the perfect fit for Call One. While all the different programs were rewarding we have found our best fit partnering directly with McCormick Elementary for the past two years.

In addition to working to find the right fit, we have continued to grow the program each year since 2008. We answered roughly 20 letters in 2008 and I am happy to report that in 2014 we answered 109 letters. This represents more than 10% of the student body at McCormick Elementary and gives us the opportunity to really make an impact at the school. Over 98% of the student body at McCormick live below the poverty line and really need our help. Congratulations to all of you on making this year our most successful and rewarding year yet. - Ray Scherrer

The EMPLOYEESPOTLIGHT PageDANAE PETERSON

Q: What’s your favorite spot for lunch?A: I do not have one. I like to try new places. I am always open to referrals :) (Even Guy Fieri’s joint) Q: What are your hobbies?A: I love to go on adventures: road trips, travel/experience new places, plays/theatre, etc. (Especially road trips to Gary, IN!)

Q: What’s your favorite thing about Call One?A: How employees are treated – friendly, flexible, fun atmosphere, perks, etc. (When will they start allowing pets in the workplace?!)

Q: Where do you live?A: Darien, IL (Naperville, Jr.)

Q: What’s one fact no one at Call One knows about you?A: I was born 6 weeks premature. I was so small I went home in doll clothes that were still too big. (My American Girl doll and I shared a wardrobe until age 3.)

Q: What’s your favorite breakfast cereal?A: I have never been one to eat cereal. Growing up we would get a box as a snack and I would always pick Froot Loops. (I prefer a grilled chicken and a Fanta for breakfast.)

Q: Any predictions for 2015?A: Donate my hair, go see a new play, and travel/visit some place I have not been before. (Cleveland, baby!)

Q: If you were President of the US, what is the first thing you would do?A: See if anything from the National Treasure movies are actually real :) (like Nic Cage’s Nic Cage-iness)

To nominate an employee for the Spotlight page, simply send an email to Kristin in HR and tell her at least three reasons why someone (or yourself) is so special and deserving of such an honor.

Please note all responses in parenthesis and italics are ad-libbed by Taylor & Tōpher.

Salesforce Administrator/Developer—Since 2014


call one newsletter - february 2015

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