to assist families with their cemetery and funeral service needs — that is the essence of Stewart Enterprises. In fiscal 2001, more than 8,100 employees served over 192,000 families during one of the most difficult times in their lives. These employees, acting as individual professionals, team members and managers, played an integral role in satisfying families who expected and trusted us to meet their personal needs and observe their traditions with sensitivity, care and attention to detail.
In the words of our chief executive officer and president, William Rowe, “At the end of
the day, it is the human factor that counts — the thousands of dedicated employees who determine how successful we will be.”
Stewart Enterprises is the third largest U.S. provider of products and services in the death care industry. As of October 31, 2001, we owned and operated 516 funeral homes and 159 cemeteries in North America, South America and Europe. Our people are professionals trained in funeral and cemetery services, sales, marketing, information technology, records management, customer service and every other business discipline needed to serve families in the best way possible.
Since its founding in 1910, our company has grown and its business strategies have changed. Through all these changes, however, one thing remains constant: our strong commitment to the families we serve. During the 1990s, a time of consolidation and acquisitions in our industry, our company established itself as the third largest death care provider. Since 2000, we have ceased acquisition activity and focused on improving operations and cash flow, reducing and refinancing our debt and selling our foreign operations.
The progress and success of the business strategies discussed throughout this report could not have been possible without the hard work, commitment and teamwork of our people.
Employee satisfaction is an ongoing commitment at Stewart Enterprises. Why? Because we believe that well-informed employees who have a clear understanding of their jobs, a safe working environment, career development opportunities and a solid ability to provide for themselves and their families will dedicate themselves to their company and help it accomplish its mission. They will commit their time, energy and efforts to making a difference. We also believe that there is a direct correlation between employee satisfaction
and customer satisfaction. When employees feel good about what they do, customers will too. Being a desirable employer is simply good business.
We invest in our people and help them grow their careers by providing excellent training. Last year we centralized our training by establishing a corporate training department. During fiscal 2001, this department provided 750 employees with funeral arranger training, a program designed to help employees serve and communicate with families more effectively. In addition, the training department delivered a specialized program focusing on custom funeral planning to further enhance the customer’s experience. The department also developed and implemented sales, management and leadership training programs. These programs are designed to strengthen the skills of our employees in their respective disciplines and prepare our future executives for leadership.
Our company also invests in its employees by providing frequent communication. Our managers interact with their employees to exchange ideas and set objectives. A new intranet system and frequent company publications enable everyone — from senior managers to
front-line service professionals — to communicate more fully and have better access to strategic information. We believe that timely, meaningful communication helps employees perform their jobs more effectively.
