Gainesville Regional Utilities Utility Academy

1. Gainesville Regional UtilitiesUtility Academy Seven Years - Eight Classes & Still Evolving!

2. 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

3. Problems We Face Aging Workforce Retirements Looming Recruitment Issues Diversity Issues Expanding Services Aging Infrastructure X-Box Generation

4. Solution Development Cycle

5. 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)

6. Find ‘em & Train ‘em(Develop Solution) • Local Recruitment • Aptitude Testing • Background Checks • Interviews • Focused Development: • Applied Mathematics • Practical Utility Skills & Abilities

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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)

10. 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)

11. 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)

12. 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)

13. How Did We Do in 2007?(Evaluate)

14. 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

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

16. 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

17. 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

18. Let’s get to WORK Practical Phase of the class – 7 weeks of mandatory class with 1 ‘Bonus’ Week Safety 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

19. 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

20. Job Requirements Matrix

21. 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’

22. Statistics • Attrition from those that completed the Interest & Willingness forms – 87% • Attrition from those that were eligible to begin the Academy – 77%

23. 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

24. 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

25. 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

26. 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

27. 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

28. 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)

29. 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

30. Questions? Geoff Warnock Gainesville Regional Utilities warnockge@gru.com (352) 538-5706