The retirement peak has passed. While baby boomers hold much of the wisdom and institutional knowledge in the energy industry, Generation X and millennials (sometimes called Generation Y) make up the dominant portion of today’s talented workforce. So, successful companies are adapting to the fact that these generations have different experiences as well as different expectations of the workplace.
Then there’s this: Since post-recession recovery began, a building boom has put pressure on utilities and contractors to staff up. Energy businesses are every bit as complex and sophisticated as any other corporation. Therefore, cybersecurity issues, federal and state regulations, and communication and data management technology all require skilled employees who can respond quickly to fastchanging requirements.
Utilities and contractors are also committed to diversifying their workforces. Reaching out to underrepresented ethnic and cultural groups—including females, veterans and people with disabilities—can help companies identify new pools of talented, motivated employees. It can also help ensure that a local company’s workforce better resembles the community it serves.
Missy Henriksen is executive director of CEWD: Center for Energy Workforce Development. Her organization helps members anticipate challenges to hiring and develop strategies and actions to attract, train and retain a skilled, diverse workforce.
Henriksen is a believer in the power of storytelling to engage prospective employees. “And we have an important story to tell,” she said. “There’s a breadth of opportunity and career growth—for those who have college degrees and for those who don’t.”
The story unfolds in other ways at the interpersonal level. Henriksen said companies are approaching internships in exciting and creative ways: “They want students to understand the profession, but they also want to connect with the interns as people.” So, today’s interns may be invited to pizza parties or to join a yoga class alongside getting on-the-job experience.
This approach continues with permanent employees. “Many industry companies have done an exemplary job of bringing their employees together in new and engaging ways through the pandemic—through a gardening club, a trivia night or cooking classes,” for example, she said. “Businesses that have prioritized these experiences will find more engagement and loyalty.”
Another fundamental of good management—one that applies more than ever to younger generations—is frank conversations between CEOs and employees about the energy business and its future. “It’s about strong leaders having open, transparent communication with their whole team,” she said.
Armed with the knowledge of what motivates and encourages the employees of today and tomorrow, utilities and contractors in the natural gas industry have adopted innovative methods to reach the post-baby boomer generations.
“A successful hire is someone who can be their authentic self within our organization. We tell the story of who we are as a company, so candidates can base their decisions on that.”
That’s according to Cameron McDonald, vice president of human resources transformation and employee development at Duke Energy Corporation. And her strategy is working: Duke Energy’s attrition rate is lower than 5%.
Younger generations tend to be mission-driven and collaborative, both at work and in their personal lives. “Some of the things that are important to new hires is having a sense of purpose,” said McDonald. “Duke Energy’s purpose is clear: We provide an invaluable service. We power the vitality of our communities.”
Duke Energy focuses on helping new hires understand how their daily work connects to that mission as well as helping all employees feel valued for the work they do. McDonald says a combination of recognition programs, competitive compensation and benefit plans, an emphasis on work-life balance and wellness, and volunteer opportunities aims to reinforce the importance that Duke places on its employees. “We help them get a sense of belonging to something bigger than themselves, within the company and the broader community,” she said.
Because many members of the younger generations care deeply about environmental sustainability, Duke Energy also talks about the importance that it places on its environmental goals. For example, a big part of Duke Energy’s story is its new carbon-reduction commitment—lowering carbon dioxide emissions by at least 50% by 2030 and reaching net zero emissions by 2050.
MJ Horner, Xcel Energy’s senior director of talent strategy and transformation, agrees. “When we announced our carbon-free goals, we got a lot of positive response from applicants,” she said. “We recently hired a millennial in talent management. He told us he was attracted to us because of our environmental position.”
Mears Group Inc., a nationwide engineering and construction firm, likewise highlights its commitment to the environment on its website. When visiting schools and reaching out to millennials and younger adults, the company explains the environmental benefits of natural gas, such as energy savings through the direct use of gas in home appliances.
The strong environmental messaging continues after hiring. Stephanie Metzler, Mears’ vice president of workforce development, said the company instills in its employees the need to do the right thing every day. “We exceed environmental protection standards, and we make sure our employees see themselves as stewards of the earth,” she said. “We leave the smallest footprint and disturb the environment as little as possible.”
There’s no lack of work ethic among younger generations, said Metzler: “It’s just that their thought processes may be different. Companies that embrace those differences will continue to be successful” in their ability to hire future generations.
Mears grabs the attention of new audiences at their first contact—typically the company’s website. It features tools common in popular culture that effectively convey information in short, succinct bursts. For example, Metzler said, the company films 30- to 40-second “day-in-the-life” videos of its employees, since millennials and Gen Z members like to learn visually. Mears also has increased the company’s presence on social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Younger generations also tend to prefer more immediate assessments about how they are doing at work and want to develop personal relationships with co-workers. At Xcel Energy, Horner said, “We made important changes to our performance management program, [knowing that] younger employees want more frequent feedback about their performance, not just a numerical rating on a standardized form.”
So, she said, “Now we have quarterly conversations about what they’ve accomplished, how they are doing it, and how they are impacting the team and the company results. We have more discussion and less documentation. It’s been working very well for us.”
Xcel also recently launched a new employee engagement platform using Glint. “Glint provides robust analytics, so we can work with leaders to identify and address any issues that may affect retention,” Horner said. It also provides guidance for developing effective action plans.
The energy industry today is as dependent on cutting-edge technology as the highest-profile Silicon Valley firms. From smart pigging to enterprise business systems, technology touches every employee. So, utilities and contractors have a great story to tell when it comes to attracting tech-savvy applicants.
McDonald said a part of the Duke Energy story is Optimist Hall, an innovation center built on collaboration and an agile work style. By bringing together employees from a variety of business functions, she said, “The center’s goal is to identify the pain points that can be solved with digital technology. … How best can we use drones to get efficient results? Can we create apps that help field employees collect the data we need? Is there a greater role for iPads? The more work mirrors the way you use technology in your life, the better.”
One of Duke’s Energy’s major goals is to prepare all employees for tomorrow’s technology, combining a desire to build skills with the assurance that all employees are proficient in current technology. “All employees should have an understanding of machine learning,” said McDonald. “We want a workforce of citizen data scientists. Everyone—not just IT professionals—needs to be able to leverage technology.”
Another important tool for attracting and retaining a new generation of employees is development potential. New hires may be looking at traditional compensation and benefits, but they’re more motivated by challenges and growth possibilities. So, utilities and energy contractors must maintain their focus on training and leadership development.
Duke Energy Leadership Academy offers professional development opportunities for employees at all levels of the company. As a result, McDonald said, Duke Energy fills 80% of its leadership positions internally.
Along with a new leadership development program, Xcel Energy has established a new Enterprise Learning Organization. According to Horner, the new department “will address gaps in existing skills within the company and create employee learning programs to fill the gaps from within.”
Metzler said that at Mears, “The career path starts as soon as a new employee walks through the door. We have built our Leadership Academy in-house to prepare them to move to the next level.”
Well aware of the need for knowledge transfer from the old guard, Metzler added, “Our senior workforce spends a lot of time teaching, mentoring and passing down what they know—even in retirement. Retirees will come back to teach in the Leadership Academy.”
The message, Metzler said, is, “You are starting a career. You have the chance to work for one company for the rest of your life, and you have the opportunity to go wherever you’d like within the organization.”
Generally, students leaving high school aren’t aware of the energy industry’s career potential.
The U.S. educational system develops curricula around 16 career clusters, from agriculture to transportation. While energy falls into several categories, it has none of its own. This means most schools have neither the resources nor the incentive to inform or prepare students for jobs related to energy.
As a result, utilities and contractors across the nation are reaching out to students, teachers and administrators in elementary, junior high and high schools, as well as colleges, adopting creative ways to gain the attention and interest of the next generation. By starting in the K-12 system, utilities and contractors can stimulate interest in energy careers among students from diverse backgrounds early in their educational paths.
Xcel Energy has developed a team called Energy Ambassadors, whose members receive special training in communicating with young people and those from a variety of cultures. The ambassadors are available to local schools for opportunities to tell students about the variety of career paths at energy utilities. Mears also starts its education efforts in elementary schools, with outreach teams that meet with young schoolchildren, “just to educate them about the fact that there is an energy industry and how essential it is for our society,” Metzler said.
Mears also participates in Virginia’s “Get Into Energy Innovation Challenge,” a Shark Tank-like competition that encourages high school students to apply their best thinking to real-world energy problems—an exciting introduction to the challenging potential of an energy career. And every summer, Xcel Energy partners with several programs across its service territory to place about 50 high school interns in Xcel office positions.
On the collegiate level, Duke Energy partners with historically Black colleges and universities to help students find energy jobs that fit their interests and education. Mears partners with technical schools and community colleges, and it also operates a gas technician training program in two of its facilities in partnership with Northwest Lineman College, a Quanta Services company. And up to 400 college interns—primarily engineering students—get hands-on experience with Xcel Energy during the summer months, with many continuing to work part-time during the school year.
Duke Energy, Xcel Energy and Mears are also all looking to the military as a source for motivated, enthusiastic and diverse employees. Metzler said of military personnel, “They have a lot of basic skills we need, and we can teach them the industryspecific aspects. They have leadership ability, ethics and are accustomed to being their brothers’ keeper, which is critical in our industry.”
A good way to connect in person with those leaving the armed forces is the U.S. Department of Labor’s Transition Assistance Program, which welcomes organizations looking for new employees. CEWD also offers a Troops to Energy Jobs initiative to help connect veterans to energy careers.
As with every aspect of life today, COVID-19 has forced companies to change tactics abruptly. Xcel Energy, for example, has been onboarding new employees and interns virtually since the pandemic hit. “Many of them received their laptops in the mail, and they were ready to begin their new jobs from their homes at 8 a.m. on their first day,” Horner said.
Regardless of what the post-COVID-19 workplace looks like, utilities and contractors will need to continue to appeal to the best and the brightest by connecting with their values, promoting the variety of career possibilities in energy, and creating work practices that are attractive to Gen X and beyond.
Lessons from 2020
In the wake of the head-spinning events that have occurred since March, change is happening so quickly that it’s hard to plan even a day in advance. But observers of business culture are already drawing some lessons from the wild ride that is 2020.
Missy Henriksen, CEWD’s executive director, said successful companies will look with new eyes at how the major events of 2020—the coronavirus pandemic and the enduring problem of systemic racism—are shaping the future of work.
COVID-19 will clearly impact what employees will need to feel safe as well as change perspectives on productivity. For example, she said, “Many [employees] will expect to telecommute. They will want virtual training and less travel.” As much as the energy industry has been safety-oriented, employees’ physical and mental health will need to become an even higher priority.
And, said Henriksen, “The industry must engage in real conversations about racism. Then we must learn how to turn these conversations into actions.
“Energy companies are competing against every other company in the nation for high-caliber performers. Taking actions in these two areas will go a long way toward winning the competition: attracting qualified and enthusiastic employees.”
You can read more of Henriksen’s lessons learned on the CEWD website, cewd.org/article-the-future-of-work-andthe-energy-industry-workforce.