Business View Magazine | Volume 9, Issue 1

28 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 1 to cultivate supervisory skills like how to hire, how to foster a successful team, and how to lead performance conversations. We train them on these capabilites and many more, so everyone has a chance to develop within the company,” says Reynolds. As cities reach peak connectivity, Congruex anticipates tremendous growth in rural broadband fiber. Part of positioning itself for this opportunity has the company working with rural co-ops and utilities to capitalize on the FCC’s $20.4 billion Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF). However, with significant opportunities comes big challenges, and one such challenge is finding qualified workers in these rural areas. “Getting qualified labor in these areas is a challenge for everyone in the industry,” affirms Reynolds. “Most of the people in rural areas have worked with electricity all their lives, so when it comes to fiber, it’s a whole new ball game for them.” Congruex is taking the rural connectivity bull by the horns despite these challenges. They are finding innovative ways to meet this challenge like compensating workers better to travel, acquiring companies that are geographically closer to rural areas, partnering with local vocational schools to find new talent, and investing in various technologies to deploy rural fiber solutions faster and more efficiently. Climate change is also a significant concern for the company, with recent adverse weather events like Hurricane Ida devastating large areas of Louisiana and Mississippi proving the importance of its restoration crews’ work. “When such events occur and knock out critical infrastructures like power, water, and communications, we often arrive there as first responders,” shares Reynolds. “In the wake of Ida, for instance, we mobilized 36 crews to help restore services, besides bringing along pallets of water to distribute to affected residents.” This deep connection to the community