Workforce Planning for Successful Organization Change

The culture of a regulated monopoly must change to a culture of an efficient business. Everyone involved must contribute to the success of this business. A water utility must commit to a systematic approach and a sustained, continuous improvement effort. Failure to do this makes the public utility less competitive and opens the door to private alternatives. Improved Human Resources business services generate two kinds of returns. The first is higher quality and/or lower cost service delivery to internal customers. Second, because the utility workforce supports or enables core services to be delivered efficiently, as utility personnel improve their skills, so does delivery of core services to external customers, i.e., utility ratepayers. Based on our research, 11 categories of best practices for successful organization change were identified and each one is described in detail: Establish and Maintain a Sense of Urgency Provide and Build Leadership Create and Maintain Organization Alignment Create Commitment by Continuous Participation Delegate Decision-Making and Create Accountability Effectively Communicate Continuously (Internal and External) Establish and Track Meaningful Measures Develop Workforce Flexibility Provide Appropriate Compensation and Rewards Use Supporting Tools and Techniques Build and Maintain Effective Relations (with governance, labor, regulators)