GETTING READY FOR THE NEXT HURRICANE : RESPONDING TO IMPENDING WORKFORCE PRESSURES IN JACKSONVILLE

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1 GETTING READY FOR THE NEXT HURRICANE : RESPONDING TO IMPENDING WORKFORCE PRESSURES IN JACKSONVILLE ABSTRACT Scott Kelly, P.E., Vice President Water and Wastewater Operations, JEA Alan Manning, P.E., Chairman, EMA, Inc. The Perfect Storm The fact should be well known by now that water and wastewater utilities are entering an era of unprecedented reduced human resource availability with the brain drain implications. If unaddressed, there is a time certain when the supply of workers will not keep up with the demand and service levels could significantly suffer. Water and wastewater utilities are particularly vulnerable to this supply trend because most workers have spent the majority of their work lives with the same utility and, thus, more can retire in a short period of time. Beliefs about values are also changing with post-baby boomer generation workers and they need to be understood. Once they retire, where will we find the people needed to fill jobs critical to the future of the business? When new people are hired, how will we effectively develop and place them in positions they can be most effective and most satisfied? Ultimately, what does it take for a utility to be prepared? JEA, a combined electric, water and wastewater utility located in Jacksonville, Florida, has been preparing and executing strategies to address these workforce challenges. A lot is on the line with a regular workforce of approximately 2,000 employees and more than 360,000 customers. JEA is the second-largest water and wastewater utility in Florida and is already experiencing difficulty hiring qualified employees in certain positions. Since recruiting and retaining quality employees will become even more difficult in the future, JEA has developed and implemented a workforce readiness plan to address this issue today. This paper characterizes the problems and risks at a national level and from a Florida perspective and how JEA is leveraging it as an opportunity. Identified are the key preparation steps to minimize the adverse effects of this otherwise looming crisis and the results JEA has achieved so far. Planning and Preparation are the Keys In 2006, JEA s Executive Management Team developed four focus areas necessary to achieve a balanced organization, known within the utility today as the Circle of Excellence. One of these focus areas, defined as Organizational Effectiveness, asks: Do we have the right skills and the right organizational design to accomplish the job? Within the Organizational Effectiveness focus area there are three determined focus areas: Business Alignment, Workforce Environment and Workforce Readiness. While they are interrelated, this paper s main emphasis is on the Workforce Readiness initiative strategies and accomplishments so far. 178

2 JEA s Workforce Readiness Initiatives Workforce Readiness at JEA has a two-fold purpose: To maintain a best-practices workforce through the investment of time and resources in right-sizing the workforce; succession planning; safety, health, technical and business training; and by providing competitive compensation and benefits. To ensure that JEA has the skilled and diverse workforce that is needed, equipped to perform in a dynamic and complex utility environment, both now and in the future. Organizational Design. Establish initial target staffing levels, determine allocation (FTE) recommendations, and develop philosophies for insourcing vs. outsourcing, and supplemental workforce. Completed: A benchmarking study was completed in the spring of 2007, which measured JEA water infrastructure, treatment, employees and customer data in comparison to other utility companies. The data collected is being used to support additional staffing requests. Knowledge Transfer. Define and determine vital person and vital work activities, evaluating bench strength and determining gaps, and recommending knowledge transfer methodologies. Completed: Interviewed all water and wastewater employees; a prioritized list of vital people/vital work activities and knowledge transfer recommendations was completed in April Training and Career Development. Develop qualified, knowledgeable candidates to help JEA meet our long-term business needs. Ongoing program: Co-ops are employed throughout JEA in all engineering disciplines, natural science, information technology, and finance. Completed: Obtained approval as a provider for coursework for upcoming state licensing requirements for JEA s skilled craft apprenticeship programs; included is a maintenance mechanic-utilities (pipe fitter/equipment operator) position. Ongoing program: Development of executive leadership and employee development succession planning programs, implementation of knowledge transfer methodologies (for vital people/work activities identified by the Knowledge Transfer team), career pathing and development, and mentoring initiatives. Policies, Procedures, and Systems. Develop a list of short-and-long-term objectives for improved organizational effectiveness. Underway: Implementation plan and timeline to be delivered in summer

3 Compensation/Benefits. Review JEA s total pay philosophy, compensation structure, pension options, and defined contribution plans Underway: currently under evaluation. Flexible Hiring. Define concerns with the current recruitment process, Underway: determine specialized recruitment needs for prioritized positions, and implement modifications to achieve target staffing levels. External Marketing of Utility Careers. Form partnerships with high schools in our service area offering programs that align with JEA s business needs and to give students an early glimpse at the opportunities utility careers can offer them.. Underway: JEA is building relationships with students, faculties and administrators of career academies and identifying external resources that support JEA s workforce planning needs. Overall Expected Benefits Successful initiatives have one thing in common: tangible benefits. JEA has only recently begun the path towards becoming sustainable employer of choice. Some of the expected and realized results of choosing this strategy include: Retaining key talented staff by offering meaningful work and a chance to make a tangible difference through effective placement Attract younger generations who are more socially and environmentally conscience than before by maintaining and growing a strong reputation. Better and easier outreach as successes are achieve. A better and higher quality talent pool for availability both externally and internally. This helps sustain operational efficiency and effectiveness. Conclusion - Abstract JEA s Workforce Readiness initiatives collectively must contribute to retaining and creating a steady pipeline of qualified, diverse candidates who understand the skills and abilities needed for successful careers in the utility industry. JEA must ensure that new employees have the basic skills they need to be productive employees. Working with and attracting young people in the community to stable, fairly compensated jobs provides a source of qualified and motivated future employees with real-world skills, and enable us to compete for the best candidates. Success is defined as every aspect of workforce planning-process improvement, recruitment, training, retention, leadership development and knowledge transfer is in concert and providing a first-rate, appropriately-sized workforce equipped to meet the service needs of the community both now and in the future. 180

4 KEYWORDS: Succession planning, knowledge transfer, retirements, recruiting, retaining SECTION 1: THE PERFECT LABOR STORM The organizational perfect labor storm presents a critical situation for utilities. An analogy for the present situation would be the book and the movie entitled The Perfect Storm, which showed three weather systems coming together to create a maximum amount of energy and destruction because of the synergy created by the converging weather patterns. In the case of utilities, the perfect labor storm is composed of three elements all converging at the same time: 1. Baby Boomer retirements 2. Institutional culture that exists in many of the public utilities today 3. New employee values and lack of employee engagement on the part of the next generation of workers that follow the Baby Boomers These elements represent the three weather patterns coming together that create the nucleus of the storm. The Significance of Baby Boomer Retirements The reality of Baby Boomer retirements and the missing generation of workers that follows this generation (often referred to the Bust Generation ) is the main cause of the impending labor shortage. As shown in Figure 1, the water and wastewater utility retirements drain the utility of knowledge. The percentage of the current utility workforce that is shown in the data illustrates what will likely happen based on eligibility to retire. Ultimately, within the next 10 years, the industry will lose potentially 35% of employees due to retirement an alarmingly significant percentage of the workforce. Figure 1 Source: AwwaRF/WERF Study 181

5 A large concern in this perfect storm within the workforce is the lack of workers in the generation that follows directly behind the retiring Baby Boomer generation. Referred to as the Missing Generation or the Bust Generation, these are the individuals who would replace the retiring Boomers. Figure 2 illustrates that the Baby Boomers represent the largest generation in history, comprising 29% of the population. Representing 16% of the population, the Missing Generation is significantly smaller. Figure 2 Source: Sizing up the Generations, by Martha Nolan McKenzie The bottom line is that there are not enough skilled workers to replace those who will be retiring within the next 10 years. Referencing Figure 3, the generation of individuals aged 34 to 44 takes a dramatic decrease, and the following generation of workers aged 25 to 34 is only about half of each of the Baby Boomer generations. Population numbers support an impending labor shortage. Figure 3 Source: Occupational Outlook Quarterly, Winter

6 The problem in the industry is that while some utilities in certain localities have felt the effect of the impending shortage, most utilities have not yet really begun to experience this shortage. The labor storm has yet to hit on a grand scale, yet population numbers assure us that it is coming. An additional critical element of concern for public utilities is that most people spend their entire career at the same utility. Figure 4 shows that on the average two-thirds of one s professional career is spent at one location. Data indicate that 63% of employees have spent 24 years or more at the same utility. Figure 4 Source AwwaRF Study Challenges of an Institutional Culture Generational statistics provide the foundation for the second element of the industry perfect labor storm: Institutional Cultures. When people stay with organizations as long as many of the Boomers have, an institutionalized culture emerges, which is often unsuited for future needs. Institutionalized cultures are cultures that evolve around the habits of the people who have been in that atmosphere for a period of time. Put in context, often times within the workplace the characteristic habits of Baby Boomers do not match the characteristics of the next generation, which creates significant problems. Existing institutional cultures have a negative effect on up and coming generations. Developed by longstanding employees these cultures often exhibit autocratic, top down characteristics and are most often risk averse, comprised of hard silos, and only a few people who are involved in the decision-making process. These factors lead to a very low trust level between management and the employees. For the generation that follows the Baby Boomers, this is intolerable. Generations that follow the Baby Boomers will not be attracted to the institutional culture, and if they do come on board they will leave that kind of culture relatively quickly. 183

7 The disparity between generations can, in part, be attributed to the notion that Baby Boomers are often out of touch. Figure 5 illustrates a study done in 2006 where 89% of managers attributed their employees were leaving because of money, while based on exit interview information the reality was these employees were leaving the organization because of the way they were treated in the organization. Contrary to what managers indicated, only 12% of employees left because of money. Figure 5 Source Success Performance Solutions, Sept. 20, 2006 In the long run, it is how the managers engage the next generation of employees that matters most in terms of whether they stay with the organization. Lack of engagement: the third element: The third significant element contributing to the perfect labor storm is lack of employee engagement. Engagement can be defined as when workers give of their heart, as they care for the organization for which they work, and they do not look at their position as just a job. Engagement most often comes from the way people are treated by their managers. This is a key factor, as an engaged employee is a great benefit to an organization, raising overall efficiency and productivity. Conversely, employees who are not engaged in their work, are disconnected, uncommitted and can actually can hurt the organization. Lack of engagement is a noteworthy challenge within the utilities industry. As referenced in Figure 6, the Gallup Research organization studied more than three million employees and found that 56% of those employees were not engaged in their work or doing the very minimum to retain one s position. In the public sector the numbers are even more alarming. In the category of actively disengaged employees those who are defined as undedicated and actively damaging to an organization s productivity - the average of those surveyed was 15%. However, that number is significantly higher for public sector employees, where the percentage is 22%. 184

8 Figure 6 Source: Gallup Management Journal Numbers indicate that there is a significant portion of the workforce that is disengaged and affecting the efficiency and productivity of utilities. The Impending Threat The three aforementioned factors: Baby Boomer retirements, existing institutionalized culture and the lack of employee engagement have converged on the utilities industry to form a tornado or hurricane effect and has the potential to seriously damage organizations in terms of effectiveness, efficiency, and quality. Research and development plans must be commenced immediately in order to contend with the Perfect Labor Storm. SECTION 2: WORKFORCE PLANNING RESEARCH PROJECT In light of the impending labor shortage, a project is underway to find strategies that utilities can use to meet impending workforce challenges and successfully address their future workforce needs. In order to successfully recruit GenX and GenY employees, drinking water utilities will first need to think systematically and strategically about work environment as well as recruiting, training, and retaining personnel. Funded by the American Water Works Association Research Foundation (AwwaRF), this Workforce Research Project integrates strategy with tactics for effective recruitment and employee retention. When it comes to employee recruitment and retention issues, tremendous progress has been made in both the public and private sector. Organizations such as 3M, Willbank, and Pfizer have already designed and implemented successful recruiting and retention programs. A 185

9 number of drinking water utilities have also been proactive in dealing with workforce issues. The project draws heavily on these experiences to minimize the amount of repetitive research. The project applies a six-step methodology to develop strategies and tactics for recruitment, training, and retaining operators, maintainers, engineers, and scientists for the water utility industry, as illustrated in Figure 7. Figure 7 - Approach Leverages All Stakeholders for Successful Workforce Planning The six-step methodology used within the project: 1. Defines projected workforce demographics and utilities needs for operators and engineers. 2. Identifies workplace culture, environment, and practices of utility organizations that attract and retain new employees. 3. Establishes strategies and tactics for utilities to meet the challenge posed by the recruiting, training, and retention of operators and engineers. 186

10 4. Recommends changes in the industry to better enable successful training and certification programs and to promote an employment of choice culture. Guidance Both Inside and Outside of the Water Industry The project utilizes key groups of stakeholders for guidance, feedback, and direction throughout the project. Stakeholders come from two distinct groups that represent both those organizations that need the employees (Utility Participants) and those that provide, train, or organize the employees (Research Advisory Panel). Participating Utilities: This group plays a vital role in the project by developing the initial survey to determine the needs of drinking water utilities. Participating utilities are helping in the design of a survey that emphasizes key areas, so that the industry receives the information it really needs once the research project is completed. For example, what are the key issues/items required in order to ensure GenX/GenY employees are satisfied with their work environment? The survey is designed to elicit answers to such questions in order to produce the most practical outcomes possible. Research Advisory Panel: This group is comprised of associations and organizations that have a stake in the training, recruiting, and retaining of workers specific to the water industry. A diverse set of organizations ranging from AWWA to AFSCME to EPA and others, this panel is intimately involved throughout the project at crucial stages to identify how the industry can collectively enable changes in education, training, certification, and related regulation. Both the Research Advisory Panel and Participating Utilities are lending their knowledge and experience in recruitment, training, and retention. The teams identify and explore the latest trends as well as research the barriers, needs, and drivers for water utilities. This information allows the project team to adapt the most effective strategies, tools, and techniques available for the specific needs of drinking water utilities. SECTION 3: CASE STUDY JACKSONVILLE ELECTRIC AUTHORITY (JEA) Where will we find the people we need to fill jobs critical to the future of our business? JEA, a combined electric, water and wastewater utility located in Jacksonville, Florida, is preparing for anticipated workforce challenges. With a regular workforce of approximately 2,000 employees, JEA serves more than 410,000 electric customers and is the largest municipal electric utility in Florida. JEA is also the second-largest water and wastewater utility in Florida, serving more than 305,000 and 235,000 customers respectively in its 850- square mile service area. Like most utilities, JEA is currently experiencing difficulty hiring qualified employees in certain positions. Since recruiting and retaining quality employees will become more difficult in the future, JEA has developed and implemented a workforce readiness plan to address this issue today. 187

11 Background The JEA workforce consists of employees working in management, professional, service, and skilled craft positions. With a defined benefit retirement plan option, civil service system, a no-layoff policy, and turnover of less than 6%, JEA employees generally are retained for a 30-year career span. For these reasons, over the past 20 years JEA has hired a minimal number of experienced workers and conducted very limited entry-level recruiting. In 1997, things started to change when an early retirement option was implemented, the first of several changes and incentives to the defined benefit retirement plan. By the end of the early retirement window in 2000, more than 300 employees had retired. As a counter to the attrition experienced with the early retirement programs, a backdrop plan which allows employees to extend their retirement date by up to five years, was introduced in October 2005, followed by a new ordinance passed in March 2007 that allows JEA to rehire retirees. JEA began workforce forecasting with data analysis in Craft and field positions were the first to be reviewed, and forecasting was later implemented throughout the organization. Today, reports are available for managers to view either by job, organization, or a series of jobs and/or organizations, and actual retirements versus projected retirements monitored on a semiannual basis. Our defined benefit retirement plan also allows us to forecast when an employee will be eligible to retire. The JEA Attrition Challenge Here are a few statistics about the JEA employees of today (See Figures 8-10): They are an average age of 46 years, down 4 percent from They retire at an average age of 56 years. About 60 percent of JEA s 6 percent turnover rate is due to retirement. Only 14 percent of eligible employees are retiring. About 300 employees, or 16 percent of JEA s workforce, are eligible to retire today In five years, 36 percent of JEA s workforce will be eligible to retire Figure 8 Current Age of JEA Workforce Current Age of JEA Workforce Number of Employees < >70 6/30/ Age 188

12 Figure 9 Average Age of JEA Retirees Average Age of Retirees Average Figure 10 JEA Employees Eligible for Retirement Employees Eligible for Retirement In 6 years, 623 employees (31%) will be eligible to retire Number of Employees employees (16%) are eligible to retire today 0 Now LP Now HP 2Yr LP 2Yr HP 5Yr LP 5Yr HP Retire Potential Low Potential (LP) = 20Yrs LOS & Age 55 or 10 Yrs LOS and Age 65. High Potential (HP) = 30 Yrs LOS or 20 Yrs LOS and Age 65. Results are cumulativ e and LPs may sw itch to HPs ov er time. Does not include potential losses for other reasons. Right People, Right Skills, Right Organization: Meeting the Attrition Challenge through Workforce Planning In 2006, JEA s Executive Management Team developed four focus areas necessary to achieve a balanced organization, known within the utility today as the Circle of Excellence. 189

13 One of these areas, defined as Organizational Effectiveness, begs the question: Do we have the right skills and the right organizational design to accomplish the job? Within Organizational Effectiveness there are three determined focus areas-business alignment, workforce environment, and workforce readiness, as shown in Figure 11. Figure 11 Circle of Excellence Workforce Readiness at JEA has a two-fold purpose: To maintain a best-practices workforce through the investment of time and resources in right-sizing our workforce; succession planning; safety, health, technical and business training; and by providing competitive compensation and benefits. To ensure that JEA has the skilled and diverse workforce that we need, equipped to perform in a dynamic and complex utility environment, both now and in the future. Municipal Utility Benchmarking Study Participants Prior to creation of a major workforce initiative, the Executive Management Team decided to conduct a benchmarking study to assess JEA s staffing levels compared to other municipal utilities. The total number of authorized positions within JEA had been constant for the past 10 years while experiencing a 45% increase in the number of accounts. Participants in the study were selected on a variety of criteria including size, business relationship with JEA (to solicit participation) and single and multi-utility service. The objective of the study was to compare JEA staffing levels to peer municipal utilities, obtain sufficient information to 190

14 provide comparisons at the functions level, and determine if JEA staffing is appropriate for its size and service level expectations. There were many challenges in accurately benchmarking staffing. For instance, there was an extensive time commitment from the participants as over 830 pieces of data were collected from each utility to establish comparable metrics for the multiple measures. JEA analyzed the dispersion of staff across the primary organization areas within JEA and found that JEA had one of the lowest percent of staff allocated to plants and systems compared to the other study participants while the JEA s back-office staffing was near the highest. JEA s shared services staffing was midlevel. JEA is also supporting at or near the highest number of water and wastewater customers, revenues and assets per staff of those utilities studied. JEA s external spend numbers indicated that there was not an inordinate amount of the work outsourced. Study results showed that JEA also used the highest percent of temporary staffing of any participant. With these results in hand, it became obvious that a major workforce readiness initiative would be required moving forward. JEA Workforce vs. Customer Account Figure 12 Water and Wastewater systems FTEs and Customer Accounts Water and Wastewater Systems FTEs and Customer Accounts FTEs Customer Accounts (1,000s) Year To focus on the strategic aspects of workforce readiness, JEA created a separate work group, Corporate Workforce Planning, in This function is separate from JEA Recruitment Services, which focuses on filling current open positions. Early in 2007, seven strategic initiative teams were launched to develop, implement, and enhance programs to satisfy staffing projections with the support, leadership, and sponsorship of JEA s Workforce Readiness Executive Committee. The teams and their functions are: Knowledge Transfer/Knowledge Retention. Executive Management Team designates from throughout the organization were tasked with defining and determining vital position and vital 191

15 work activities, evaluating bench strength and determining gaps, and recommending knowledge transfer methodologies. A prioritized list of vital positions/vital work activities and knowledge transfer recommendations was completed by the Knowledge Transfer team and handed off to the Knowledge Retention team for knowledge retention strategy implementation. A pilot group of critically skilled engineers was established in the fall of They began discussions related to the myriad of options for transferring knowledge and are actively engaged in documentation capture by an experienced and respected third party. A knowledge transfer process (manager s tool kit -- common process steps, various tools/templates, etc.) is currently in development with an expected completion date of June 1, This will enable the entire organization to implement appropriate strategies to retain the intellectual capital necessary to run the business efficiently. Training Advisory Council. In the spring of 2007, this team launched a redesigned co-op program to develop qualified, knowledgeable candidates to help JEA meet our long-term business needs. Co-ops are employed throughout JEA in all engineering disciplines, natural science, information technology, and finance. Another area of focus for this team is JEA s skilled craft apprenticeship programs. Recently, the four-year maintenance mechanic-utilities installer servicer (pipefitter/equipment operator) apprenticeship program was designated as an approved provider for coursework for upcoming state licensing requirements. The program was previously approved by the State of Florida Department of Education. The team is also responsible for the development of executive leadership and employee development succession planning programs, career pathing and development, and mentoring initiatives. Policies, Procedures, and Systems. What policies, procedures and systems hinder organizational effectiveness? This team is developing a list of short-and-long-term objectives for improved organizational effectiveness, with an implementation plan and timeline to be delivered by the end of Compensation/Benefits. JEA s total pay philosophy, compensation structure, pension options, and defined contribution plans are currently under evaluation by this team, which will develop and recommend an overall compensation plan by early Flexible Hiring. This team of human resources personnel and hiring managers will define concerns with the current recruitment process, determine specialized recruitment needs for prioritized positions, and implement modifications to achieve target staffing levels. External Marketing of Utility Careers. As JEA continues to search for highly qualified and skilled employees, JEA s Corporate Workforce Planning group has formed partnerships with high schools in our service area offering programs that align with our business needs. There are within JEA s service area several high school academies which are smaller schools organized around specific career or professional themes. Recently, JEA expanded down to the middle school arena with education and awareness outreach. Engaged rising ninth graders are key for the high school programs to be successful and sustainable. JEA is building relationships with 192

16 students, faculties and administrators with one goal to give the students an early glimpse at the opportunities utility careers can offer them and give us the chance to shape tomorrow s workforce today. The team has also identified external resources that support JEA s workforce planning needs. Among these groups are Florida s Water Future Workforce Subcommittee, the Florida Energy Workforce Consortium, The Center for Energy Workforce Development, and the Florida Banner Center for Energy. JEA is committed to leading a state effort to create a Florida Banner Center for Water in JEA s Workforce Readiness initiatives are united by one common goal-the need to create a steady pipeline of qualified, diverse candidates who understand the skills and abilities needed for successful careers in the utility industry. We must ensure that new employees have the basic skills they need to be productive employees. Working with and attracting young people in our community to our jobs will give us a source of qualified and motivated future employees with real-world skills, and enable us to compete for the best candidates. Our success in every aspect of workforce planning-process improvement, recruitment, training, retention, leadership development and knowledge transfer-will provide us with a first-rate, appropriately-sized workforce equipped to meet the service needs of the communities we serve both now and in the future. The challenges facing JEA will be experienced throughout the water sector in the coming years with increasing regulations, infrastructure growth, security and customer demands, while the pool of available, technically skilled workers is shrinking. Stricter regulatory standards will force utilities to deploy more equipment and workforce to meet higher environmental standards. Population growth, particularly in areas of new housing development requires the expansion of both water and wastewater services. Is the water sector ready to meet these challenges? It is apparent the answer to this question is an emphatic no. What changes will the water sector need to make to address these challenges? How will we know when we have succeeded? A significant part of the response to these questions is When the Water Sector has developed major national initiatives similar to those under development in the energy and construction sectors. The water sector will need to create programs similar to those created in these sectors. For instance, a very effective energy sector program is Get Into Energy which has been developed and is managed by the Center for Energy Workforce Development (CEWD). CEWD is a non-profit organization dedicated to decreasing the amount of time it takes to create educational programs and improve the skills levels of graduates. This organization is designed to build awareness among students, parents, teachers and guidance counselors, as well as working adults who are considering a career change. CEWD s goal is to increase the number of diverse, qualified applicants who want to come to work for utilities. The Gulf Coast Workforce Development Initiative is a partnership involving federal, state and local government agencies, businesses, community organizations and construction trade groups and associations with a goal of recruiting and training up to 20,000 new construction craft workers for the Gulf Coast region by the end of The initiative was started by Business Roundtable, an association of 160 CEOs of leading U.S. companies and involves 193

17 significant collaboration between businesses, construction trade groups and associations as well as local, state and federal government agencies. It should be noted that the water sector will not only have to compete internally for the highskilled workers but will also be competing with both the energy and construction sectors as well. Both of these sectors have a significant head start when it comes to deployment of local, state and national workforce initiatives. Not only is the water sector behind, but it has a number of institutional and cultural disadvantages to overcome moving forward. First, the water sector is highly fragmented compared to these other sectors. Barriers to cooperation have been caused by a lack of focus and alignment of the myriad of water, wastewater and reclaimed water associations within the water sector. Second, the water sector often suffers from a negative perception with both the general public and prospective employees. Our industry is not currently viewed as desirable to the younger generation. The water sector jobs require extensive math and science skills and physical labor that is performed outside in the elements. Today s generation of potential employees view inside, office or computer work that is not physically demanding as more desirable. Parents and guidance counselors are not aware of the great career opportunities in a stable industry. It will take a concerted effort to bring the various water sector associations together to work as one in creating the programs needed to coordinate and organize the national initiatives needed for the water sector to catch up with either the energy or construction sector. In order to be successful, individual utilities will need to develop workforce plans based on the utility s strategic plan with support from top management. The workforce plan should be based on the utility s strategic plan, reflecting the utility s mission, vision, values and goals. Analysis will need to be conducted within each utility which evaluates demographic and external impacts on the workforce plan. The analysis should incorporate projected attrition levels, retirement rates, position and organizational analysis. Benchmarking should be performed in areas such as staffing levels, skills and demographic trends. Target levels of employees by function, number and type for the next 5 to 10 years based on job competencies will need to be forecast. Gaps between current staffing levels and competencies will need to be analyzed. Strategies will have to be identified and plans developed to execute these strategies including identification of responsible individuals, due dates and resources required. Succession planning, knowledge management, compensation practices, recruitment and hiring, training and professional development are just some of the elements of a successful plan. The plan will have to be communicated to employees and stakeholders and continually monitored and refined to insure effectiveness. Integrated support will be needed from front line management, employees, human resources, budgets and information management. SECTION 4: RESULTS & CONCLUSIONS A utility job has long been considered a stable, secure career choice. The salary and benefits have been more than competitive. As a result, our industry has stagnated in its development 194

18 of recruiting and retention strategies and tactics. Ten years from now things will be very different as industries compete for a smaller pool of qualified employees. Water and wastewater utilities need to adopt the philosophy Compete for the talent puddle or work to create a talent pool. Without this strategy, utilities may not be able to meet the considerable challenges the water sector will face in the 21st Century. Utilities need to start today to quantify the magnitude of the problem and undertake knowledge retention efforts, quickly followed by work redesign, staff retention and leadership planning. In the longer term, utilities should look to technology investment and deployment and educational partnerships to sustain an effective workforce and a profitable, safe and reliable future for the company. The water sector must be united by one common goal: the need to create a steady pipeline of qualified, diverse candidates who understand the skills and abilities needed for successful careers in the utility industry. We must ensure that new employees have the basic skills they need to be productive employees. Working with and attracting young people in our communities to our jobs will give us a source of qualified and motivated future employees with real-world skills, and enable us to compete for the best candidates. Our success in every aspect of workforce planning-process improvement, recruitment, training, retention, leadership development and knowledge transfer-will provide us with a first-rate, appropriately-sized workforce equipped to meet the service needs of the communities we serve both now and in the future. In summary, both utility management and water association leadership will need to commit considerable resources in order to successfully answer the question.. Where will we find the people we need to fill jobs critical to the future of our business? It is time for the water sector to work together and respond to this looming crisis with a singular purpose and shared responsibility in meeting the workforce challenge. REFERENCES AwwaRF (Awwa Research Foundation) Succession Planning for a Vital Workforce in the Information Age Denver, Colorado: Awwa Research Foundation and American Water Works Association 195