American Home Shield Is a Pillar of Carroll County

Look no further than American Home Shield (AHS) to see what community spirit in Carroll County is all about. AHS, a nationally known home-warranty brand and an anchor in Carroll’s eastern business corridor, was recognized as “The Best Place to Work” in the Carroll Times Herald Readers’ Choice 2019 Best of Carroll County annual awards.

“We are very proud to be in the Carroll community and to provide a great work environment for our employees,” Dave Quandt, AHS vice president of field operations, said about the award.

The company’s immediate response to the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic shows why AHS earned their exemplary spot in the community’s hearts and minds. According to the Carroll Times Herald, in March, the company took just eight days to move 453 employees in the Carroll call center to a work-from-home schedule, in an effort that prioritized the health and safety of them and all of the county. An effort this swift and comprehensive is an unusual and impressive feat. 

Quandt said the fiber-optic network in the Carroll community was crucial for quickly transitioning employees to working from home.   

“From our experience and the upgrades done several years ago with the help of CADC [Carroll Area Development Corporation], we knew the connections to the internet/web would not be a concern for our employees to work from home,” Quandt said. “The speed and connections have worked as expected with no major issues. AHS utilizes ZOOM every day for meetings and we have had no issues in the Carroll area with connectivity.”  

Quandt has lived in Carroll County for the majority of his life and has worked for AHS for 32 years. For him, some of the best things about living in western Iowa are “the people I work with every day.” He also finds the local government, Chamber of Commerce, and CADC very supportive of businesses through their programs and assistance.

 “The Carroll community is a great place to live and work,” said Quandt.  

AHS does its part to enrich Carroll County. Through the work of its volunteer committee and its “We Care/Serve Day” each year, AHS employees donate many service hours to organizations like New Hope Village, American Cancer Society, Elderbridge Agency on Aging, Family Resource Center, Food Bank/Community of Concern, Adopt-A-Highway, numerous nursing homes, and many others. They organize mitten trees, coat drives, bingo, painting parties, and  Thanksgiving food drives. They fill backpacks with school supplies, sort toys in December for New Opportunities/Family Resource Center, and so much more. At the beginning of the year, AHS donated and installed a dryer at Carroll Area Child Care Center.

Service is what AHS does. As a brand of Frontdoor, a public-traded company, they “are obsessed with taking the hassle out of owning a home.” Frontdoor is the largest provider of home service plans in the United States. Through AHS and their other three brands, they respond to more than four million service requests annually from homeowners who require assistance with technical home repair issues utilizing their nationwide network of over 15,000 pre-qualified professional contractor firms that employ more than 45,000 technicians. Nationally, AHS was named to Forbes 2019 List of America's Best Midsize Employers.

When asked about future goals, Quandt said, “We will continue to grow our home warranty business, taking the hassle out of home repairs.” 

Even as AHS continues with the work-at-home model, they are growing and expanding. As reported in Carroll TImes Herald, the company continues to hire from the Carroll area with no plans of slowing down, according to Amy Platt, AHS senior manager of employee relations. She said online hiring and connections are working well.

Western Iowa, with its committed workforce, strong sense of community, and quality of life,  should be high on the list for companies looking to grow and improve. Contact Western Iowa Advantage to learn more about the region, workforce, and available sites.