An Ethics Award for Rio Grande: One Employee’s Real-Life Tale

Here at Rio, we all strive to do business in ways that honor our customers, community, environment, and one another. Saul Bell founded the company back in 1944 as a small family-run business and, though it has grown to have more than 300 employees and is now a proud member of the Berkshire Hathaway family of companies, the company is still run by members of the Bell family, and it still feels like a family affair. Recently, we were surprised and elated to be recognized by The Samaritan Counseling Center as a recipient of one of its 15th Annual New Mexico Ethics in Business Awards. The award is based on "high standards and exemplary practices," something Rio Grande strives for every day of the year.

I manage Rio Grande’s social media marketing and customer interaction and I’d like you to know how this plays out in real life from a personal point of view. Join me on a quick tour of my daily experience at Rio.

• Source of Pride #1:
  We literally are powered by the sun. First thing every morning, I park my car, along with everyone else here, under the shelter created by Rio Grande’s five acres of solar panels—panels that provide 1.6 million kilowatt hours' worth of electricity each year, enough to run every corner of our business and then some.
• Source of Pride #2:
  When I enter the building, I see bulletin boards with health tips, challenges, and the schedule for health education classes here in the building. There’s even a gym. Healthy living is a big value here.
• Source of Pride #3:
  Walking past various departments to get to my desk, I see a wide variety of ethnicities represented. The immediate conclusion is that this is an environment of inclusion and fairness, a huge bonus in my book.
• Source of Pride #4:
  During the day, I have not only the responsibility but also the authority to make sure that customers are well served, first and foremost. I am empowered to resolve issues in order to improve our customers’ experience with us.
• Source of Pride #5:
  Since #4 applies to everyone in the company, I see others acting with the same dedication to serve the customer. I witness that every day, and it makes me feel good.
• Source of Pride #6:
  We offer quality products and services to jewelers who are counting on us, and we have policies that support the customer in receiving the product that he or she needs. I help to manage our product reviews, so I also see how often we are making improvements that customers bring to our attention.
• Source of Pride #7:
  We work and meet in teams here at Rio Grande, and that helps ensure that everyone’s input is sought and valued.
• Source of Pride #8:
  There’s a company-wide dedication to employee safety and environmental protection.
• Source of Pride #9:
  When necessary, the entire company pitches in to get things done, and that includes the Directors. I have seen them in the warehouse, helping stock shelves when the need arises.
• Source of Pride #8:
  On my way to a meeting, thank-you cards posted in our hallways remind me of contributions we’ve made to our community. I also see collection boxes for our charitable commitment, Jewelers for Children.

This is just a partial list of my favorite things about Rio. Let it speak volumes that these sources of pride are ones that I thought of with very little effort. I am fortunate to get to experience them each and every day.

We know that the Samaritan Counseling Center’s final selection committee analyzed more than 800 pages of reports to select the winners of this year’s New Mexico Ethics in Business Awards. "It is really an honor to receive this award, considering the investigative efforts put into this process! Everyone at Rio Grande is proud and humbled to have been recognized as a recipient of this award," says Molly Bell, executive vice president of Rio Grande.

For further reading, here’s the press release on the Rio Grande website. We are grateful for this honor and appreciate this recognition from our community. Thanks for reading, and see you online!

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