Workforce Challenges Persist
 By Rick Dacri, Dacri & Associates
LLC
Public utilities continue to face tough workforce challenges.
Recession, crippling health care costs, and labor shortages will
push not only manager’s ability to cope, but also their ability
to grow and thrive in 2008. Employers will need new, creative
solutions to address three critical challenges that will plague
every public utility:
1. Where Are All The Workers: Whether you’re
looking for linemen, engineers or customer service staff, the
availability of quality labor continues to dwindle—and relief is
no where to be found. We know that as the baby boomers begin
retiring, shortages of labor will become even more acute than it
is today. Employers are taking extraordinary steps to recruit
and retain workers. Those that are positioning themselves as
great places to work are finding ample applicants and are able
to keep them too. Employers who are having trouble attracting
good people better make some changes in the way they operate and
they better do it now or they will continue to suffer from
unfilled positions and constant turnover.
2. Not the Same Workforce: Today’s workforce
looks so different from the past. Employers are now faced with
the challenge of integrating and managing a multigenerational,
multicultural workforce. The Boomers are graying fast and their
needs and demands are growing. Younger, tech savvy workers are
muscling their way into the organization, hungry for opportunity
and recognition. At the same time mixing this aging employee
group with the younger upstarts can often result in clashes in
values and expectations. And when you add newer immigrants to
the mix, you’ll find unprepared managers scratching their head,
scurrying to find a user’s manual. Hiring right, assimilating
new workers into your workplace and culture, ongoing training of
supervisors, and lots of employee education can be the
difference that makes a diverse population a winning
combination. Absent that and you can have chaos.
As this older workforce begins to consider retirement, employers
must grapple with two other issues: replacing the talent and
their knowledge. The cost of replacing a skilled worker is very
expensive and time consuming. For the very key workers, the loss
can be debilitating to the organization. More and more
organizations understand that they must put in place succession
planning strategies to prepare for the inevitable losses.
Knowledge retention plans are being designed that identify
positions and people where potential knowledge loss is the
greatest and most imminent. These plans help to capture and
transfer critical institutional knowledge within the
organization. While it may be overwhelming for smaller utilities
to consider these options, having no plan will leave them
exposed and vulnerable.
3. Health Insurance Cost Explosion: Health
insurance costs continue to rise at an alarming rate. The Kaiser
Family Foundation reports that premiums for family health
coverage have risen 78% since 2001, while wages have gone up 19%
and inflation 17%. Employers are forced to adopt different
strategies to deal with the crisis. Many have tried passing a
greater share of the costs onto their employees, hiring more
part-time workers who are not eligible for benefits, or simply
dropping coverage for everyone. While these solutions may make
some financial sense, they will jeopardize your ability to
attract and retain quality employees. It appears that over the
long term, employers may find that focusing on employee health
and wellness may provide them the greatest relief.
The challenges before us are daunting. Yet these are the
realities we face. Employers who proactively address these
workforce issues will be successful.
Rick Dacri is an organizational development
consultant, coach and featured speaker at regional and national conferences.
Since 1995 his firm, Dacri & Associates has focused on improving the performance
of individuals and organizations. Rick can be reached at 1-800-892-9828,
or
rick@dacri.com |
