Learn About ¡Hola!: Cox’s Hispanic/Latinx ERG

At Cox, employee resource groups (ERGs) drive community and representation. Two leaders from Cox’s ¡Hola! ERG share how this group contributes to making Cox a more inclusive workplace.

Stephanie Dees has always been proud to be a salvadoreña on her mom’s side. So, when she started a new job at Cox in 2022, she was immediately interested in joining ¡Hola!, the company’s Hispanic/Latinx ERG. 

“My Hispanic heritage has always been important to me,” she said. “My mother came to this country from El Salvador when she was about 20 years old or so, and she always taught me to be proud and give back to the Latin American community. And I’ve tried to find different ways to do that, even in my job.” 

Becoming a member of the group and participating in events wasn’t enough for Stephanie. She took on more responsibilities within ERG, and now she’s stepping into a new leadership role as one of its co-chairs. 

“What I love most about ¡Hola! is the passion of everybody involved as we’re trying to find ways to connect and boost up the Latin American community,” she said.

I recently had a chance to speak with Stephanie, along with Monica Miles, one of the ERG’s founding members who has also served as co-chair for the group. Here’s a closer look at how ¡Hola! empowers Hispanic and Latinx employees.

Becoming a familia within Cox  

¡Hola! was created in 2018, and Monica remembers the excitement around building something new and spreading the word across the company.  

“From the get-go, our tagline has been, ‘Welcome to la familia,’ because Cox is a family-owned business, and Hispanics are very much about family,” said Monica, who is originally from Colombia. “We can we have our soccer rivalries, but beyond that, everybody’s very big on family.” 

¡Hola!, along with Cox’s other ERGs, is open to anyone who is interested in joining, whether you identify as a member of the Hispanic community or as an ally. Since its inception, the ERG has grown exponentially at the national level, with local ambassadors representing in different cities and states across the country. 

“I’m super excited to see how far we’ve come,” Monica said. 

A focus on supporting career progression 

In recent years, ¡Hola!’s leaders have made it a point to let members have a clear voice in the group’s events and initiatives. 

“We send out a survey to our members and ask them, ‘What do you want the ERG to do for you?’ Because at the end of the day, that’s what it’s for,” Monica explained. 

A key focus area that benefits members is programming around career growth and development. The goal is to plant the seeds of change to improve Hispanic representation in high-level positions. 

“Career progression is incredibly important, and something that’s near and dear to my heart,” Stephanie said. “I think it's relatively well known now that there’s a gap in Latin American representation in leadership roles and we focus on that.” 

Many of the group’s monthly speaker series, called “Cafecito Sessions,” have focused on topics around learning and development, from information on how to go back to school to get your degree (with Cox’s tuition reimbursement benefit) to hearing advice firsthand from Latinx leaders at the company. 

“The company has a lot of resources, so our goal is not to reinvent the wheel, but to give members that assurance that they can do it,” Monica said. 

Giving back to the broader community 

Another important pillar in the ERG’s programming is volunteering in the community. 

¡Hola! just launched a community partnership with Junior Achievement, a national organization dedicated to giving young people the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success through work readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy programming.

“It’s essentially encouraging professional development with kids within the Latin American community,” Stephanie said. “And hopefully that can bolster that overall mission that we have of getting more and more Latinos to higher and higher levels in their careers.” 

Monica added that this partnership is a “win-win” for the Latinx community at large, but also for the ERG members, who can volunteer and support the next generation. 

Making an impact across the business and employee experience 

The Latin American community has a huge presence in the US. In fact, Hispanics are the largest ethnic minority group in the United States, according to the US Census Bureau.

¡Hola! leaders see their own experiences and perspectives as an asset to not only make Cox a more inclusive place to work, but also a more inclusive place to do business. 

“We have so much opportunity as employees with a Hispanic background,” Monica said. “We can help our company win in the marketplace.” 

Some of the projects Stephanie has been working on for the ERG revolve around making improvements across the enterprise, including championing additional compensation for bilingual skills in customer-facing roles and creating additional Spanish-language resources in the recruitment and talent acquisition process. 

¡Hola!’s story is only just beginning, and the group has already come a long way in making Cox a better place to work. Stephanie and Monica both appreciate that they have found a place to grow their careers while building a community that’s near and dear to them.

“We’re trying to make this place a little bit more inclusive for everybody,” Stephanie said.

Learn more about Cox’s commitment to diversity, inclusion and equity and explore career opportunities at Cox!