How Hargray Improves Network Deployment Project Productivity By 50 Percent With Calix Education Services

Network teams face a host of challenges. With only so much staff, it’s critical to train and upskill a larger set of technicians so operations teams can handle tasks that in many cases needed an engineering skill set to typically do. As technology changes and the network gets continual upgrades, how can you better position your team so they’re better trained and more confident to jump in and solve problems? 

The key is building a strong knowledge base within your operations.  

By investing upfront in your network team’s training, you can see big payoffs.  

Hargray Trims Two-Person Jobs to One-Person Jobs With Online Training 

Calix customer Hargray was facing a dilemma. They were expanding their network but were still using siloed approaches to configure and deploy new network nodes. Engineers had an expansive role not only designing but also overseeing the actual implementation of the network. Many jobs required engineers to provide direct step-by-step guidance because the field operations did not have the training to handle many tasks without the help of the engineer. This tied up multiple resources, causing additional pressure on already resource constrained teams. 

To more quickly service the network and trim down the personnel hours on jobs, Hargray invested in the Intelligent Access EDGE eLearning Enterprise subscription. These online courses cover the latest on the IAE platforms, as well as fundamental courses that technical teams need to be proficient in their role of deploying and maintaining the access network.  

Because the subscription allows technicians to access courses on their own time and without a transaction each time, Hargray was able to bring technicians up to speed much faster—leading to a 50 percent improvement in productivity for common deployment projects. The subscription was incredibly cost-effective for the team, as the value was easy to see, and it was simpler to budget for than ad hoc courses.  

Dan Thompson, manager of regional operations at Hargray points out the big benefits: “The savings is really incredible—from so many perspectives. I’ve had people take classes, and it was $250 here and there. And then you had to do it again two months later for another class. It’s much easier to manage in a subscriber service, where you pay in bulk. Less worrisome year-to-year from an accounting perspective, plus investing in your team pays dividends.” 

Education as a Subscription Is a Long-Term Investment in Team Growth and Development 

A standout benefit for Hargray was that they weren’t just investing in the here-and-now. With their subscription to Calix Education Services courses, they were preparing and training their technicians to help with their career development.  

As Thompson states, "The training not only bolsters the confidence of the individual technicians, but it makes them feel valued. They know we're investing in them as individuals.” 

Education is about the long-term development of a team. With a subscription to Calix Education Services, Hargray was able to invest deeply into their team—bringing everyone up to speed and prepared to tackle any challenge. Every job was done quicker, more accurately, and with fewer people in the field. This investment empowers the team, giving them confidence to head into the field and take care of any issues that might arise. 

Are you ready to be next? 

Take a closer look at our Education Services and education subscription programs to prepare your team for future technology—and their professional growth and development.