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Show The Salt Lake Tribune Sunday, February 12, 1984 F3 Business Portrait: Utahn Helps Relocate American Express The corporate ancestor probably was the personnel director the man w ho hired and fired, posted memos auout dress standards and vacation policies, and may have passed out the pay envelopes. Now, depending on the corporation and its size, and the individuals definition of ins assignment, the vice president of human resources has a far broader and more prestigious function. The role ranges from boosting employee morale to cultivating team work, from easing the stress of retirement or relocation, to helping those faced with the unlearn how to prepare pleasantry of outplacement resumes, be interviewed and find new jobs. In the case of Wesley (Wess) K. Roberts, 37, vice president of human resources at American Expresss Travelers Cheque Operations Center, Salt Lake City, duty has ranged from orchestrating the move of old employees from Manhattan to Zion, to the announcing of winners in the kiddies games contest at the first annual picnic at the Homestead. A native of Cedar City, Mr. Roberts had worked and resided at several locations across the country when he was assigned to Salt Lake City two years ago. Not all of the 1,400 employed at the Travelers Cheque Division in Manhattan wanted to move, or were invited to mov e to the unknown of Utah, two year ago. Internal Placement For some there was retirement or early retirement And for those who qualified for neither, American Express mounted outplacement or internal placement programs to jobs at other facilities in American Express. Some 222 made the transfer from New York, and were later joined by 44 from Canada, Denver, and Fort Lauderdale, Fla. American Express operations. There was no question about getting staff for the division in Salt Lake City. Twenty thousand applied for the first thousand openings, says Mr. Roberts. American Express winnowed down the resumes to five for each job, then used personal interviews to make final selection. How to uproot an organization that had been in Manhattan for nearly a century? Replant it in Salt Lake City with a mix of transferees and local hires, and then invest it with team spirit and purpose? Those employees who made the continental crossing from New York got small gold lapel pins of Conestcfga wagons. Some of those same former New Yorkers who had been American Express pioneers dressed up appropriately in pioneer togs to walk along with American Expresss real conestoga in last years Days of '47 parade. American Express sponsored baseball teams and participants in walkathons for the March of Dime and runners and marathoners for the Utah Heart Associations Run for Life campaign. Attendance Records While no employee is expected to ingore sickness, those who maintain perfect attendance records over a period of one year or more get acknowledgments ranging from bracelets to watches to diamonds. We cant cure illness. But we dont want sick leave used for skiing or hunting holidays. Birthday cards, signed by divison Senior Vice President James F. Welch, go to the employees home address with an invitation to a free meal in the cafeteria. The cafeteria itself is designed for corporate camaraderie in that there are no special tables for executives. Indeed, said Mr. Roberts, Mr. Welch will not m- - tional Guard to make sure that if he were called to active duty, he would at least bring some skills to the battlefield At USU to work on a doctorate, he ended up as commanding officer of the guard field artillery battalion. Graduated in 1974 with a doctorate, he went on active duty with the Combat Arms Training Board at Fort Benning, Ga. The board mission, with the Vietnam War winding down, was to come up with applied psychological and educational techniques to develop and maintain skills of the new all vounteer" Army. One of the problems, he said, was finding ranges with sufficient open space particularly in crowded Eufor troops to put in realistic target practice or rope field maneuvers. Marksmanship training was helped somewhat by putting ranges in barracks attics and having troopers practice by firing .22 bullets through inserts adapted rifles. for Like inserts were developed for tank guns. Lasers which would trigger an alarm in human targets during maneuvers replaced the arbitrary judgement of umpires in determining casualties." Lasers also were developed to simulate tank hits If there was a single truth in his practical psychological experience, it is simply: Behavior is a function of consequence. It is a truth as old as the Bible, of course, he says, but of necessity is constantly rediscovered and applied. He was married at 21 to SCSU coed Cheryl Barron. Shared Commitment Betrothal was accompanied C a shared commitment that he would complete his doctorate. Indeed, he arrivid at Fort Benning with a doctorate and a captaincy at the same time. He recalls this as a heady experience that left him wondering whether he should be addressed as Doctor or Captain until a wiley major took him aside and reminded him that titles and academic credentials were subordinate to what you wear on your collar. The majors gold leaves suddenly loomed very large. There were other truths learned in the Army that he carried over into civilian life. Among them: You can be only as good as are the people you surround yourself with. And finally: Nothing is certain. All is transitional. This was a lesson of which he became well aware considering the dozen locations he has been assigned to in as many years. He finds biography and autobiography of strong personalities as instructive. He is particularly fascinated by former president Richard M. Nixon. He also has read extensively in military biography and autobiograTribune Staff Photo bv Robert H Woody from Grant to Westmoreland, from MacArthur phy Salt Lake City. His duties range from to Rommel. He Recalls with amusement" an event in Field Marhelping employees move to announcing shal Erwin Rommels life when alone as a young winners at the companys annual picnic. officer in the German Army during World W'ar I. Rommel encountered an Italian unit. In his early years, he aspired to be a baseball player. To flee or to fight would have invited death, so the But by the end of his freshman year at the College of young officer simply approached the Italians authoritaSouthern Utah, he decided that athletes earned accotively, told them they were were surrounded by elelades only when they won and were totally ignored ments of the German Army, and were therefore now when they lost. prisoners of war. The Italians surrendered to the craft of the man who, Joined National Guard in another time and as a master of tank warfare on the He switched from study of physical education to psynorth African desert, would gain the begrudging admichology. ration of adversaries and the title The Desert Fox. Robert H. Woody And with the Vietnam War raging, he joined the Na M-1- 6 him Wesley K. Roberts is vice president of hu- man resources for American Express Travelers Cheque Operations Division in frequently join or be joined by workers for informal luncheon talks. An equal oppoprtunity employer, American Express baseball teams, where appropriate, are coed. Through its American Express Foundation, the division contributed to two dozen charities and cultural oganizations, basically supporting those perceived as making Utah a better place to live. Mr. Roberts was born Oct 8, 1946, in Cedar City, son of Lester and Laura Roberts. horse-mount- ONE CARD CARES. Most people think very little about their health insurance when they are healthy. But as soon as something goes wrong, they become very interested in their insurance coverage. It's perhaps a little ironic that many health insurance companies feel the same way about the people they insure. One company is different: Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Utah. When you carry the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Utah card, you carry the card that cares for you and wmrks for you even when you are healthy. For instance, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Utah is constantly working to reduce the cost of health care. How? 1. By negotiating with Utah hospitals over the past year, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Utah has established agreements which will result in equitable adjustments, or discounts, from all participating hospitals, reducing your hospital expenditures. And participating agreements with 88 of all Utah physicians helps keep your costs, and their costs, down. 2. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Utah has implemented innovative programs like Healthy Rebate, Money Finder and Qualifier 1, proven to keep costs down. sponsor of events like the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Half Marathon, ski races and public seminars, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Utah encourages fitness and better health, the best way to reduce health care costs. Of course, when accidents do happen, or illness strikes. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Utah is ready to help. With comprehensive health benefits and friendly customer representatives, our health insurance coverage is second to none. Whether you are in peak physical condition and perfect health, or in need of health care, the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Utah card is working and caring for you. 3. 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