New West Monroe Study: Utilities Have a Prime Opportunity to Elevate their Employee Experience

CHICAGO – Utilities urgently need more digital skills to realize benefits from the advanced sensors, analytics, and automation equipment they have been introducing into their power system operations for more than a decade. Yet just 6% of utility leaders believe their organization is doing an excellent job of attracting and retaining younger and/or technical talent. Nearly half – 48% – believe their current recruiting may not be enough to meet future skill needs.

These are among the key findings in a new report, “How Utilities Can Win the War for Talent,” released today by West Monroe, a national business and technology consultancy.

The challenge to recruit and retain top talent comes despite the fact that utility careers have a good reputation and the utility workforce has generally high satisfaction. More than 80 percent of younger, non-utility workers view utility careers positively, and nearly 70 percent said they would consider working for a utility. Further, 36% of utility workers are highly satisfied with their jobs. 

"The utility industry may have a bit of an undeserved inferiority complex about its ability to compete for digital talent. Utilities are already people-first organizations that prioritize safety and customers; now they need to focus on increasing employee engagement as part of their digital transformation,” said Tom Hulsebosch, senior managing director and leader of West Monroe’s Energy & Utilities practice. “But winning the war for talent is not a check-the-box issue. From implementing new workplace technologies to engaging and upskilling employees, it is an ongoing imperative that utilities must be prepared to tackle from top to bottom.”

West Monroe surveyed three groups critical to gaining an in-depth understanding of the utility workforce transformation challenge: utility leadership, utility workers, and professionals under the age of 40 who do not currently work at a utility.

Other key findings of the report include:

• Culture change is at the top of utility leaders’ list of current strategies for filling the looming talent gap: 53% said their utility is fostering a more flexible, inclusive organizational culture.
• Nearly three quarters of utility leaders – 72%– believe that “developing our culture and employee experience” would be especially helpful for recruiting younger/technical talent. 
• Nearly half, 42%, of younger, non-utility workers said that more flexible working arrangements would make a utility career more attractive. One-third of those surveyed feel that utilities should recruit young talent more actively. 
• While 45% of utility leaders reported that their workforce transformation strategy features workplace technology improvements, only 12% of utility employees said their organization offers access to the best technology. More than 60% of utility workers indicated that their workplace technology needs at least some updating. 

A full copy of the report is available here.

About West Monroe Partners
West Monroe is a national business and technology consulting firm that partners with dynamic organizations to reimagine, build, and operate their businesses at peak performance. Our team of more than 1,400 professionals is comprised of an uncommon blend of business consultants and deep technologists. This unique combination of expertise enables us to design, develop, implement, and run strategic business and technology solutions that yield a dramatic commercial impact on our clients’ profitability and performance. For more information, visit www.wmp.com.  

Media Contact
Christina Galoozis
cgaloozis@westmonroe.com 
312.447.6623