Alberta's Top Employers (2025) Magazine - Flipbook - Page 34
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ALBERTA’S TOP EMPLOYERS (2025)
Direct Energy prioritizes customers and employees
N
ow senior director for
strategic objectives
at Direct Energy
Canada, Lori
Armstrong tells how,
early in her 21-year career with
the Calgary-based energy retailer,
her family needed to move from
Calgary to Edmonton. “I thought
I would have to quit,” Armstrong
recalls, “but the company created
an opportunity for me in a
totally different position in the
Edmonton office.” Direct Energy
did the same again when her
family later returned to Calgary.
“We are talking about an organization that saw me through that,
as well as three maternity leaves
– all with good opportunities
on my return – and through my
cancer diagnosis and treatment,”
Armstrong says. “There is a lot of
trust and mutual loyalty here.”
Not to mention empathy, collaboration and communication, says
customer experience manager
Martina Park. “I can go to any
director of any team at any time to
discuss customer issues and talk
about how we can make things
better, or even say, ‘We have ideas
– can we make them happen?’”
says Park, who received the 2024
CX Award for Most Empathetic
employee from Direct Energy’s
parent company, NRG Energy.
“Empathy is a Direct Energy
goal,” she says. “If there’s any way
at all we can make things better
for our customers and employees,
everyone in our company really
stands behind that.”
Employee and customer experience are two closely tied priorities
for the company. “If we identify a
customer that's going through a
hard time, our call centre agents
have the ability to help make their
day depending on the situation,
by offering a bill credit.” That’s
good news for employees, as well
as clients, in tough circumstances,
she adds.
“It’s our customer experience
teammates who have the honour
of calling those customers to
share that good news,” says
Park. “Sometimes those calls get
emotional. I’ve had some agents
cry along with the customers –
this task is definitely one of their
favourite jobs.”
Through its numerous
business resource groups, which
include RISE (Reconciliation
with Indigenous Peoples and
Supporting Equity) and the
visABILITY Group, Direct Energy
fosters diversity, inclusion and a
safe workplace. “The visABILITY
Group is for people who have different challenges, physical, mental
or whatever,” says Park, who is a
member. “Sometimes it’s just good
to talk to each other, and we all
meet to discuss our challenges and
how they can be accommodated.”
Empathy is a Direct Energy
goal. If there’s any way
at all we can make things
better for our customers
and employees, everyone in
our company really stands
behind that.
— Martina Park
Customer Experience
Manager
Direct Energy gives back to the local community by supporting food banks, providing essential nourishment
to those in need.
Diversity and inclusion are also
strategic aims for Direct Energy.
“Our customers are a broad range
of people, and we need a diverse
workforce within our company,
to ensure that our products and
services meet everybody’s needs,”
says Armstrong.
Customers have a right to
safety as well, she adds, when
discussing the company’s Safer
Spaces program. “It helps people
