The employees working in the energy and utilities sector are the people are responsible for ensuring that all of the things that other companies rely on are always operating smoothly. Unsurprisingly, this is a major operation that requires a lot of employees, which is why the energy sector employs over two million people.
With such a big operation, you might assume that they would already have their communication systems well-established and operating efficiently. However, there are many major communications challenges that the energy and utilities sectors currently face. Here are a few solutions to solving some of these massive communication challenges.
Develop Engaging Training Materials for New Technologies
New technologies are constantly being introduced into the workplace. This is especially true in the energy sector. With the rise of renewable sources such as solar power, there have been many groundbreaking technologies that have entered the marketplace in the last few years. This is forcing all energy and utility companies to educate their employees on how to use these latest technologies in order to best do their job. Many of these employees began their careers when other energy sources were primarily utilized, and the change can be quite drastic, so re-skilling employees can become a huge endeavor.
This training needs to be done in an efficient manner that allows the employees to retain the information that they read or hear. There is a current lack of effective training methods being used at these companies. By developing engaging training materials that are short, simple, and involve relatable content, business owners can go a long way in helping employees to stay up to date on how to use the latest and greatest technologies in their field.
Embrace Transparency During Mergers and Acquisitions
The energy and utilities sectors are some of the most susceptible in the world to mergers and acquisitions. This frequent change in ownership can cause some feelings of distrust and uncertainty to form within the company. Rather than being a direct result of the merger or acquisition, it is far more likely a result of poor communication during these events.
When a company goes through a major change like this, the executive staff needs to ensure that they are maintaining a channel of transparency and open communication with all of its employees. The idea that no news is good news is not something that works well during mergers and acquisitions.
Stay Connected to Front Line Employees
A large portion of the people who work in the energy sector have roles that involve them going out into the field for the vast majority of their workday. This can make it incredibly hard to maintain a constant communication network with them, which can often make them feel out of the loop or become disconnected from the company.
A good way to avoid this is to remain connected to these frontline employees through something like a messaging app. By regularly hosting corporate communications through a centralized location, it helps to ensure that everyone can remain part of the conversation no matter if they are in the office or out in the field, as long as they have a phone.
Get help with solving these and even more challenges in the energy and utilities sectors by contacting us today.
