Utility companies are first in line for bad publicity these days. High prices, complaints, long wait times to speak with them and large profits have all combined to create a feeding frenzy for the media.

I have had the pleasure of working with and knowing a great number of people across the Water and Energy industries and they are some of the most caring, customer centred, passionate and motivated people. They want to help customers and feel frustrated by the way they are perceived to the outside world. 

So if this is all true why are some better than others? Why do some Water and Energy companies have less complaints or seem more engaged with their customers.  And ultimately these companies are in better financial shape.

I think this comes down to a few things:

• Flexibility of your technology 
• Strength of your strategy
• Quality of your recruitment, culture, and training

Lets talk about these 3 things in more detail…..

Flexibility of your technology

Having flexibility with your technology starts with a long term view on the technology that supports your business from onboarding your customers to when they leave.  Equally having a great relationship with your technology team is vital. You should be involved in all technology conversations linked to improvements and purchases…..even better if the strategy changes so collections technology can sit within the collections team. 

However technology alone without a good understanding of the customer landscape and how/when and where your customers want to engage with you. Digital is preferred by so many customers, but an omni channel approach would be more suitable if you support a broad customer demographic.

Equally, you need to help your teams align with the technology. They are the frontline when it comes to testing, breaking and improving new technology as well as helping your customers navigate and utilise your channels.

Strength of your strategy

Now, let’s get into the strategy and how you can test its strength. For me there are two measures to consider:

• Can your front-line teams explain your strategy easily including technology used, and how what they do helps it?
• How often do you need to change it – if you are changing the strategic approach weekly or even monthly then you are missing something 

As a leader spending time with your teams and asking open questions will always pay dividends when you are evaluating your strategy.

Quality of your recruitment, culture, and training

The final piece of the jigsaw to consider in how you move from trying your best to being great is your recruitment, culture and training. 

In short this is how you attract, look after and develop your people. 

Stating the absolutely obvious this is not about using recruitment teams and having fruit or pizza Fridays. 

Keeping it simple, this starts with making sure your job adverts are matched to your values. Do they encourage people to apply with exciting, inclusive and collaborative language or are they put off with a long list of demands.  Oh and put the salary range on the advert…as so many others before me have said “if the salary is that competitive why not display it on the advert”?

Equally if you are not offering a minimum of hybrid working you will be missing out on the best talent and will restrict yourself to your geography.  Having people work where they want and when they want is easier than first thought and the very best in the industry are succeeding because of it.

Your culture is what will get your people to stay, whilst exceeding their potential.  I think the  fundamental building blocks of a great culture are:

• being open and transparent always – trust your teams 
• recognising performance both good and bad 
• oversharing and over communicating the company plans

I know these words are far easier to say than do ….

Another quote I love is,