Success Stories

Dispensing with the Typical Public Works Mindset

If there is any industry that's known for being big, bureaucratic and historically not very employee- or customer-friendly, it is utilities. Worse, as consumers' ability to pay their utility bills has decreased in many cases due to the current economy, the capability for leaders of these companies to invest in their employees has also decreased.

This cycle is not playing out at Daphne Utilities, an independent non-profit that has provided water, wastewater and natural gas services to businesses and residents in the City of Daphne, AL, since 1953. Yes, the economy contributed to revenues that were down slightly for the company in 2009. But after a major management turnaround in 2005, Daphne achieved its first profitable year in its history in 2006, and has been profitable every year since then.

The organization is one of 20 winners of Winning Workplaces' 2010 Top Small Company Workplaces award. In their application for our award, their General Manager, Rob McElroy, attributed Daphne's ability to weather the economic storm and remain profitable to the input of an engaged workforce. Contributing to this engaged workforce are cross-training and a pay-for-performance system.

The experience of Jody James, Water Treatment Operator and a 20-year veteran of the company, demonstrates the importance cross-training has had on Daphne's success – particularly when its competitors invest little to nothing in similar measures.

"I worked at a utility company in (a nearby city), reading water meters," he says. "But the benefits weren't there. It was hard to convince (leadership) to let us get extended training. They figured you probably wouldn't be there long, so they were not paying for you to go."

"Daphne wants us to be trained and they set it up so people can cross-train into other departments or divisions," he continues. "When it comes down to it, when we're cross-trained we can step in and take over for someone who's out with an illness or whatever."

Leadership's laser-like focus on cross-training has served two important purposes for the company:

It allows several employees to be safely added to the "emergency on-call" staffing list to be mobilized in the event of an after-hours emergency. This reduces the burden on individual workers to constantly be available at night and on the weekend.
It also exposes employees to other areas of work within the utility they may find interesting and fulfilling as potential career advancement opportunities. Daphne has benefited from this by being able to fill a third of all open positions from within in 2009, and saving on recruiting costs that come with an average employee tenure of six years.

The company can similarly point to tangible results from its pay-for-performance system, most of which involve the creation and implementation of cost-cutting, eco-friendly measures. For example:

Daphne's Used Cooking Oil Program resulted in a 40 percent reduction in grease-related maintenance costs in wastewater collection system. In terms of what customers see, this has meant reduced sewer spills and line blockages.
The Biodiesel Fuel Program, which makes biofuels from collected cooking oil to burn in their trucks and heavy equipment, has saved the utility around $10,000.

"They have suggestion boxes at different locations (in the office) and if we put something in the box, they will read it and will comment back to us on what they think about it," says James. "If the idea can save money they're all for it."

"I've never seen anyone make a suggestion that wasn't tried or discussed," adds Janice Daniels, a Customer Service Representative whose story exemplifies another quality unique to Daphne's workplace, though common among many of our 2010 award winners: a focus on hiring for fit regardless of the factors that stop many other, presumably Equal Opportunity employers from extending an offer.

"They hired me when I was 57 years old," she exclaims. "I was looking for a job to relocate back to Alabama when my husband retired. It took me three years to find someplace willing to give me an opportunity at my age. I know there's not supposed to be age discrimination, but I think it's out there."

"They embraced me," she adds. "They want to take care of their employees and customers."

The latter part of Daniels' statement is certainly true, as Executive Assistant Lori Scharles, who's been with Daphne for three years, affirms.

"Some employees live in this community, so we try to be involved in it," Scharles says. "We hold events at schools, with children's activities. Last year on Earth Day our GM and Operations Manager set up a slingshot and we used our snow cone machine to make 'snowballs,' which were shot into the bay. Meanwhile, other employees talked to the parents about our grease recycling program and other programs to help the community."

Clearly, there's an evolution afoot at Daphne Utilities, an ongoing effort to draw the best talent from the city and surrounding area, to best serve it while leaving the least possible environmental footprint. In fact, McElroy used the word evolution in the company’s application for our award to describe the before-and-after journey of their employees after working elsewhere.

"Our employees are not willing to devolve back to where they were before for any
reason," he wrote. "We are David in a land of Goliaths and we routinely emerge victorious. It is truly a great feeling!"

The camaraderie and shared sense of competition McElroy implies, which have contributed to the impressive turnaround and business results mentioned above, not only led our panel of judges to select Daphne Utilities as a worthy winner of our 2010 Top Small Company Workplaces Award – they've set this non-profit up for much success moving forward.

Company: Daphne Utilities
Web site: www.daphneutilities.com
Industry: Public utility
Location: Daphne, AL
Number of Employees: 66
Sales: $14 million

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