My message to employees: we must press forward

Below is a message I shared with our 4,400 employees of Southern Company Gas earlier today.

To: Southern Company Gas Employees

Right now, much of the world is filled with uncertainty. Since the coronavirus (COVID-19) began to spread, breaking news and announcements have been coming at us at an accelerated rate. Our daily routines have been altered and our sense of normalcy is disrupted.

But in times where uncertainty abounds, we must lean on our strengths and the certainty of what we do know. We must press forward. We must keep working – and I thank you for doing that so well even in this unprecedented time!

We are playing an important role in preserving the American economy by keeping people working. We have pipeline construction projects to complete, service connections to make, gas lines to repair and customers to serve. Aside from our 4,400 employees, we also have hundreds more contract workers helping us sustain critical business operations.

To that end, we must focus on working as safely as possible. We have been consulting with our own infectious disease specialist and working with our medical directors under guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to ensure our work conditions are as safe as they can be.

While many of us are adjusting to the challenges of working from home, many of our business-critical employees are continuing to work in offices or work in the field. They are doing so under new office guidelines and/or with updated personal protective equipment to ensure their safety when duty calls our field personnel into a home.

It’s clear to me that we are leading the industry when it comes to successfully home basing nearly all of our business functions – and we’re growing that every day – and providing job aids and safety protocols to our employees. I am incredibly impressed at our ability to accomplish all of this in such a compressed period of time.

So, what about the future? If we make an honest assessment of the situation unfolding around us, we are in the beginning stage. This will be a marathon, not a sprint. However, I am confident that together we will get through this! And I know I can count on your continued dedication throughout the duration.

More than ever, people need us. We are responsible for providing essential services and critical infrastructure. We have the noble task of pressing on and standing strong for our communities. For the elderly sheltering in place. For the sick quarantined in their homes. And for the parents stuck at home trying to navigate on-line schooling and working from home, simultaneously.

In moments like this, just as our communities need us, we need each other. So, I ask you to continue to support one another with simple but powerful acts.

Extend that extra “thank you” to a teammate. Drop someone a note about how thankful you are for their diligence. Shoot over that text message to tell a stressed co-worker you’re thinking about them. Those extra touches of human kindness will help sustain each other and carry us through.

Lastly, I want to thank each and every one of you for your commitment and resilience. We have a long and proud history of resiliency in this company. This time is no different.

Together, like all the times before, we will get through this. Together, we will continue to provide Fuel for Life.

Kim Greene

President and CEO