WILMINGTON – PECO, an energy utility company and part of the Exelon family of operating companies is set to complete its first pilot program with The Precisionists (TPI), a Wilmington, DE-based organization focused on employment for adults with disabilities. Approaching its one-year anniversary, the program uses the talents of a team of autistic adults from TPI’s workforce to tackle critical business needs within PECO Energy’s Customer Operations, Transmission & Substations, and Support Services departments.
“As a company that is committed to growing a diverse and inclusive workforce, we support the work by The Precisionists to nurture the talents and bring out the strengths of people with diverse abilities,” said Michael Innocenzo, CEO of PECO, in a statement. “The employees from The Precisionists have been reliable contributors to our team and performing at high levels for our business. This program is rooted in performance. Our partnership is sustainable and impactful to our long-term diversity and inclusion strategy at PECO,” Innocenzo added.
“When properly assessed and trained, people with autism are extremely high-performing employees working in critical and challenging jobs such as administrative business functions, including scanning documents and data entry, software testing, website QA, and data analytics,” said Ernie Dianastasis, CEO of The Precisionists, in a statement. “When you consider that more than 80 percent of neuro-diverse adults with developmental disabilities, such as autism, in the country are either unemployed or underemployed, we are making a true difference in engaging a significant, untapped labor force. We are thrilled to partner on this project with PECO, an iconic and highly respected Philadelphia company, that continues to demonstrate leadership and commitment to the community.”
Individuals taking part in the pilot program at PECO were identified, assessed, trained, and employed by TPI. For the last 10 months they have handled project-based work, including customer care correspondence, customer care adherence, and business operations regression testing. New projects are also being added in both the transmission and substation areas, as well as real estate third-party attachment application processing. Responsibilities include data entry, preparing invoices and communicating results to PECO customers.
“The Precisionists have created an innovative model that focuses on the talents and capabilities of people with diverse abilities,” said Lauren Feldhake, vice president of customer operations, in a statement. “We know the best way to serve our customers is by understanding and valuing individual differences and we are proud to partner with TPI on a shared vision for growth and opportunity.”
“Working for TPI has been an unforgettable experience. Not only has my job helped me perfect my known talents, it has also awakened me to skill sets that I never realized I had,” said Jessica Davies, a TPI consultant assigned to the PECO Customer Care Correspondence project in a statement to press.
Those entering the program go through a comprehensive four-week training program. As part of the program, PECO hopes to identify additional opportunities to expand this employment model to other parts of the business, further supporting The Precisionists’ goal of employing 10,000 people with diverse abilities in the United States over the next five to ten years.
