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Organisational health
Taking the time to look at Country Energy through
the eyes of employees has provided valuable insight
into the direction we are heading. Our third employee
survey, which was completed in December, revealed
that our organisational health has improved from 2.93
to 2.96 (out of four), with more than 40 per cent of
business units bettering their ‘health’ score.
Comments were far more positive, with the most
notable improvements being in the leadership,
training and development areas. Safety, customer
service, team culture and teamwork continued to
be the highest scoring areas, while opportunities for
improvements relate to resourcing, local leadership and
communication between business units.
The survey covers areas such as: skills development;
safety; freedom from harassment and discrimination;
environmental responsibility; change management;
internal recruitment processes; exposure to senior
executives; consistency of team leadership; and the
level of positive feedback.
Future goals – maintain momentum of divisional focus
groups to implement local action plans addressing
identified issues, and reach closer to the ‘best result’
survey benchmark of 3.4.
Investing in our people
As part of our culture change program known as
Powerful Staff, all employees were invited to participate
in a two-day leadership development workshop during
2004. Eighty four per cent of employees took part in
the program, which has now progressed to stage two
– developing rewards and recognition guidelines.
One of the best ways to gauge Powerful Staff’s success
is employee feedback. Bulahdelah technical officer
Steve Howell encapsulated the majority of comments
when he described the initiative as one of the “biggest
steps forward for Country Energy”. “I feel that the
program has finally created one organisation, breaking
down the barriers of the three former distributors
and proving that there is strength in unity. It also
showed that it’s the little extras that make the ordinary
extraordinary.”
During the workshops at Coonabarabran, in north
western New South Wales, employees designed a
range of posters that reflected the messages and
experiences they took away. These posters have now
been professionally designed and printed to remind us
what it means to be ‘Powerful Staff’.
Our investment in Powerful Staff also benefited the
Coonabarabran community, as all produce was sourced
locally and the venue owners employed two hospitality
trainees as a direct result.
Posters designd by emplyees - What it means to be ‘Powerful Staff’
COUNTRY ENERGY ANNUAL REPORT 2004–2005