Gainesville Regional Utilities Utility Academy

Gainesville Regional UtilitiesUtility Academy

Seven Years - Eight Classes&

Still Evolving!

Who is ‘GRU’?• 1860 – Gainesville is incorporated• 1891 – offer of ‘Free Water’ to lure business• 1912 – Didn’t pay the Electric Bill• Over 115 years later

– 92,000 Electric Customers @600MW 130 Sq. Mi.– 65,000 Water Customers @54MGD– Wastewater Collection & Reclamation– 45,000 Gas Customers– Business & Residential Internet Services– Alachua County Trunking Radio System

Problems We Face

Aging WorkforceRetirements LoomingRecruitment IssuesDiversity IssuesExpanding ServicesAging InfrastructureX-Box Generation

Solution Development Cycle

Identify Problem Develop Solutions

Implement Solutions

Evaluate Results

SYMPTOMS

• Pre-employment assessment failures• Deficiencies:

– New, inexperienced employees– Hiring diverse individuals from our community– Experienced employees

• Higher overall costs associated with advertising, hiring and training due to:– Turnover of probationary employees– Experienced employees (advertising and recruiting)

Find ‘em & Train ‘em(Develop Solution)

• Local Recruitment• Aptitude Testing• Background Checks• Interviews• Focused Development:

– Applied Mathematics– Practical Utility Skills & Abilities

Utility “Academy”

• Field-instructor led classes• Knowledge evaluations• Performance evaluations• Constant feedback• Familiarization with GRU• Voluntary “Up or Out” environment similar to

secondary education institutions

Utility Academy Points

• We are seeking “Professionals” desiring a career not people who “Want a Job”

• Establish and Work to STANDARDS– Performance– Conduct– Personal

• We don’t work for GRU, we ARE GRU

The PROCESS – Local Recruitment (Implement Solutions)

• Advertisement– Flyers– Newspaper Ads– Word of Mouth

• Information Sessions– GRU Administration Building– Local Churches

(GATHER AND ANALYZE THE RESULTS)

The PROCESSAptitude Testing

• Designed by a contracted Industrial Psychologist

• Not a “knowledge” examination– Reading and comprehending instructions– Map Reading– Match materials to a materials requirement list– Mathematics

(GATHER AND ANALYZE THE RESULTS)

The PROCESSInterviews

• Specific questions designed by our contracted Industrial Psychologist

• Objective / identical questions asked of ALL applicants

• Answers are graded against a ‘suggested’ answer sheet with scoring above / below the normal responses

(GATHER AND ANALYZE THE RESULTS)

The PROCESSBackground Checks

• Local and state police checks• Compare results against the Information &

Willingness forms collected at the I&W sessions

(GATHER AND ANALYZE THE RESULTS)

How Did We Do in 2007?(Evaluate)

170 Information Session Attendance135 Interest & Willingness Forms

Submitted70 Aptitude Tests Administered

13 Passed with “Cut-Score” of 8090.3% Attrition of those interested

33 Passed with “Cut-Score” 7075.5% Attrition of those interested

How Did We Do in 2007?

• Interviews– 32 of the 33 eligible candidates were interviewed

and passed– 30 passed background checks

• 30 applicants eligible to begin the Utility Academy

• 78% attrition rate before Academy begins

Safeguards• Interest & Willingness Forms• City Policy #18 – Nepotism rule• Residential Boundary policy• Medical Release• “Hold-Harmless” agreement

Figgurin’(Southern Mathematics)

• 10-week mathematics course– Independent of the “Practical” phase of the

Academy

• Twice weekly / 2 hours = 40 hours of mathematics (does not include 3 tutoring sessions)

• BASIC math to establish a foundation and build toward introduction to Algebra (to be able to solve a2 + b2 = c2

Who Showed Up?

• 29 Candidates showed up the first night of class of the 30 eligible

• 3 stopped attending class• 1 failed the course to the point of failing overall

(70%)• 3 failed the final examination to the point of

failing overall (70%)• 22 Candidates eligible for the practical phase• 27% Attrition Rate from the mathematics course

– 84% Attrition from those interested

Let’s get to WORKPractical Phase of the class – 7 weeks of

mandatory class with 1 ‘Bonus’ WeekSafety

Lower Back Injury Prevention

Hand Tools & Their Uses

Power Tools & Their Uses

Job Site Protection

Personal Protective Equipment

Valve Construction

Trenching / Excavating

Wire Use & Handling

Pipe & Material Handling

Confined Space

Instrumentation & Measurement

The “Rubber Meets the Road”

• Trainee’s were exposed to physically demanding tasks– Digging evaluations– Use of tools in simulated field construction scenarios– Exposure to working at elevation and in simulated

confined space environments• Seven weeks of exposure to Safety / Training and

Crew personnel including past academy graduates

Division Performance Evaluations

Mathematics Confined Space

Working at Elevations

Digging Exercise

Electric T&D X 70% X X X

Water DistributionX 70% X X

Wastewater CollectionX 70% X X

Gas OperationsX 70% X

Power Plant X 70% Grade X Grade

Water Treatment PlantX 80% X Grade

Wastewater Reclamation Facility X 80% X Grade

Line TechniciansX 70% X X

Job Requirements Matrix

Statistics

• Two individuals could not get medical authorization to participate in the practical phase

• One person demonstrated a bad attitude toward safety and supervision and was excused

• One person excused himself from the program because GRU didn’t seem like ‘a good fit’

Statistics

• Attrition from those that completed the Interest & Willingness forms – 87%

• Attrition from those that were eligible to begin the Academy – 77%

One MORE “Opportunity”

• Academy Graduates were not getting to the interviews

• Academy Graduates were not getting the entry level craft skill positions!!

• Investigation revealed:– They weren’t making it past the HR Screeners

because the applications were not filled out completely / correctly

– They were performing miserably during the interviews

Corrective Action

• 1 evening session of “How to fill out an application”

• 1 evening session of “How to Interview”– How to ‘sell yourself’ during the interview– 30 Second “Tell me about yourself”

• 1 evening session of actual interviewing– Interviewers conduct an interview and then

critique it with the trainee

Is Our Academy Working?(Identify the Problem – Again)

• Pre-employment Assessment Failures– Addressed for entry-level craft skill positions

• Deficit in new, inexperienced employees– We run a surplus of academy graduates each year

placing 80% of our graduates

Is Our Academy Working?

• Deficit in hiring diversity from local area– The Academy has not solved the diversity problem but we

are working with local school boards, educational facilities, youth groups and church groups to better define what we are dealing with

• Deficit in experienced employees– An opportunity to supply personnel for new hires

to replace our rapidly aging workforce

Is Our Academy Working?• Higher overall costs to advertise / hire / train due

to probationary employee turnover– Academy trainees not only stay with GRU but most of

them surpass expectations

• Higher overall costs to advertise / recruit / train experienced employees– As our reliance on finding ‘experienced’ employees

decreases, so does our costs associated with recruiting / employing them

Additional Benefits• Intangibles such as ‘Buy-In’ from the managers and

crews because they have a vested interest in the Academy

• Getting a much better entry-level craft skill employee – a PROFFESSIONAL

• Retention – in the seven years of the academy, we have terminated one employee and another employee returned to his prior position.

• We’ve lost others to area competitors (Telephone / CATV / Competing utilities)

Where to now?

• Refine the Academy process• Address Progression Through Training Program

Opportunities• GRUSelect

– A series of aptitude examinations to better determine a new employee’s suitability for specific types of work for our “Progression- Through-Training Program’s”

– Win-win situation -This premise is based on “The Best Employee for the Job” concept that should make a better fit for the employee and the utility

Geoff Warnock

Gainesville Regional Utilities

[email protected]

(352) 538-5706