Demand for energy is growing rapidly, including electricity, natural gas, renewables and more. Electricity demand growth is fueled by a combination of factors: increasing data center needs, the reshoring of manufacturing, widespread electrification and electric vehicle adoption.
The U.S. energy sector faces growing pressure from energy security, economic competitiveness, climate and environmental concerns, and rapid technological change. As AI, digitization, and modernization accelerate, organizations must address regulatory uncertainty, cyber risk, supply chain constraints, and skills gaps while strengthening leadership, employee engagement, and work culture to support innovation and long-term transformation.
Leadership, employee engagement, and work culture have a direct impact on how effectively organizations respond to these issues. Strong leadership helps set clear priorities, align investment decisions, and guide teams through complex operational and regulatory change. High employee engagement supports productivity, innovation, safety, and retention, which are especially important when organizations are facing skills shortages and adopting new technologies. A healthy work culture encourages collaboration, accountability, continuous learning, and openness to change, while a weak culture can slow transformation, increase resistance, and heighten operational risk.
Case Study
Power supplier to two of America’s major cities transforms culture and thrives during change.
This power supplier to two of America’s major cities had already experienced the National Regulatory Commission (NRC) shutdown of one of its three nuclear facilities, undergone a massive reorganization and survived a huge workforce reduction. Now it faced deregulation. The company needed a method for meeting the imminent requirements of higher quality, competitiveness and customer satisfaction. The management team chose Precision Leadership (PL) as the proactive method for correcting past mistakes and facing future challenges.
Situation
When the NRC shut down one of its nuclear power facilities, citing mismanagement and industry infractions, this power supplier with 10,000 employees performed a root-cause analysis. The analysis showed the company’s weaknesses were primarily those of poor employee retention, lack of accountability and failure to shape and motivate employee performance. At the same time, a rate case decision forced the utility to reduce cost and increase efficiency. The management team searched for a method to measure performance and to inspire employees to improve their own work behaviors as well as work processes. After visiting several facilities that used PL, the team chose that behavior-based process as the engine for their multifaceted new improvement efforts.
Solution Implemented
After training a core team in Precision Leadership (PL) methods, the facility began training 935 management and frontline teams in the technology. The organization quickly benefited from the results of 500+ active performance pinpoints in the areas of cross-training, turnaround time on management and budget reports, nuclear facility inspection, maintenance, internal and external customer service, quality, policy and procedure development, completion and implementation of business plans, billing, meter reading and productivity. Management soon realized that it had neglected a huge resource in its people. For example, by asking for operator input regarding a purchasing decision, the transportation department saved $220,000 in direct costs and $800,000 in equipment life-cycle costs. This giant utility that had once faced over $250 million in fiscal consequences plus $1.3 million in fines for its nuclear facility failure, now used PL to reopen and revitalize the plant, receiving comments from the NRC that the revised management methods had set a new and admirable standard for the industry.
Results of Intervention
- Reopened nuclear facility averting $250 million in lost annual revenues
- Completed high quality substation with less manpower, within less time and $1million under budget!
- Saved $220,000 in equipment purchasing costs; $800,000 in equipment life-cycle costs
- Reduced customer service backlog of 9000 to 2000 in less than a year
- Significantly reduced overtime due to higher productivity
- Accomplished a ten-fold increase in completed repair of substation breaker systems within one year (from average of 13 per month to 154 per month)
- Elevated capacity factor (percentage of time the nuclear station produces electricity) to 10 percent higher than industry average
- Attributed $48,000 in annual savings to less time spent preparing monthly reports in one department
We think that PL has transformed this company from a traditional utility to an energy services company ready to compete in the next century.
— Chairman and CEO, Electric Company and nuclear facility
Case Study
Large natural gas producer applies behavior-based solutions to mitigate employee risk and reduce overtime costs.
Situation
One of the largest natural gas producing operations in North America enjoyed a long-term positive safety record but site operations managers were aware of ongoing risk-taking actions. The organization operated over 700 producing wells with a full-time employee base of 55 people who also traveled long distances over rugged terrain to service the sites. Managers were concerned that lone workers were not consistently working safely. Also, the operation depended heavily on outside contractors to perform much of the fieldwork (hiring out more than 250,000 man hours per year, up to 60 percent of the workforce). Management and supervision had less control over contractor safety and also experienced a 300 percent turnover with contractor personnel—a factor they believed to further heighten risks.e of the largest natural gas producing operations in North America enjoyed a long-term positive safety record but site operations managers were aware of ongoing risk-taking actions.
Solution Implemented
Aubrey Daniels International (ADI) consultants performed an onsite study of high-risk behavior and standard safety procedures. One area of high concern involved a procedure that if done incorrectly could result in hazardous gas flash fires and natural gas explosions. During behavioral observations, ADI discovered that employees consistently deviated from procedures despite the possible hazards involved in doing so. The ADI team facilitated a communications session in which management learned that employees had purposely eliminated several safety steps deeming them redundant and unnecessarily time consuming. During a guided walk through, management and field worker teams realized that some of the steps were indeed unnecessary but that one of the steps employees had omitted was highly important for a reason workers had not previously understood. The new mutually agreeable procedure virtually eliminated this potentially dangerous problem. Also, ADI helped management establish an ongoing safety and communication intervention with contract workers that quickly increased use of safety equipment and demonstration of safe behavior. Contractors who volunteered to participate were then able to reduce worker’s compensation costs and offer more to employees, thus making a significant turnaround in retention.
Results of Intervention
- Client eliminated ongoing high risk behavior through positive intervention
- Contractor reduced turnover
- Safety equipment use and observable behavior rose from 50% to 75% within weeks
- Overtime costs substantially reduced
The cost of the process was roughly the average cost of one disabling accident. We see the process as a major success. It helps people think about what they are doing and gives them the tools they need to do something about it.
– Operations Center Foreman
