Building a 21st Century Water Workforce focuses on attracting and retaining talent in the water industry. It emphasizes the importance of continuous self-improvement, developing pride in the essential work of water utilities, and creating an identity that conveys the value of water services to communities. The document recommends starting workforce development with young people, prioritizing safety, and allowing top talent to advance even if it means leaving the utility.

1. Building a 21st Century Water Workforce
Brian Gongol
DJ Gongol & Associates, Inc.
March 13, 2018
Nebraska Rural Water Association Annual Conference
Kearney, Nebraska

2. 1. Opportunities for growth and development

3. If you're standing still, you're falling behind

4. 2% improvement doubles quality in 35 years

5. 5% improvement doubles in 14 years

6. Continuous improvement really adds up
"Every signifcant advance
I or my company has ever made
has been evolutionary
rather than revolutionary:
small earned steps
-- not big lucky hits."
- Michael Bloomberg

7. Don't become Fred the Baker

8. Do you schedule development time weekly?

9. Do you have the tools for development?
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Books
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Laptop
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Kindle
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WiFi
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Cutaways

10. Fluidity between public and private sectors

11. 2. Social status

12. Public water: Essential and irreplaceable

13. You're as critical as the Weather Service

14. Public water utility is generally a monopoly

15. Other monopolies: Power company

16. Other monopolies: Police

17. Other monopolies: Fire department

18. Public water is the front line in public health

19. Public-health protection commands respect

20. Is it really OK to be invisible?

21. Are "turd herder" jokes really OK?

22. Status is earned: Insert yourself in conversation

23. When drinking water is in the news, share it

24. Specifcity can make a job sound better

25. Titles matter
Specialist
Director
Team Leader
Program Manager

26. Look to parallel titles in the military

27. 3. Pride in branding

28. "If you see something, say something"

29. Anything/anybody public-facing needs identity

30. Labeled vehicles

31. Embroidered shirts and uniforms
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Conveys
exclusivity
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Says "We value
your eforts"
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Signals
membership and
belonging

32. Nothing wrong with personalized choices
Most places charge a
one-time digitization fee
for embroidery, after which
each additional piece
is quite reasonable

33. Removable nametags vs embroidery

34. Participation in parades

35. Signs on property

36. If churches can have message signs, you can

37. Construction signage (Take credit!)

38. Are you the nicest monopoly in town?
"In the regulated
utility feld [...]
Berkshire hopes to
be the 'buyer of
choice' of
regulators."
Warren Bufett
FY2008 Letter to
Shareholders

39. 4. Start young

40. Labor force demographics

41. US population pyramid

42. Nebraska population pyramid

43. Iowa population pyramid

44. Sample urban population pyramid (Lincoln)

45. Sample rural population pyramid (Grant Co.)

46. Consider unemployment rates

47. Do you remember Y2K?

48. Your next hire may have been born after Y2K

49. What did you want to be when you grew up?

50. Do young people tour your plant?
So what if
it's not the
Vatican?

51. Do young people interact with you?

52. Do you wear your mission "on your sleeve"?

53. Which career is this for you? (Often it's #2/#3)

54. 5. Competitive working conditions

55. Is it clean?

56. Is it safe?

57. Is it sheltered?

58. Do you have the right tools?

59. Do the owners take pride in their assets?

60. Public facilities refect community values

61. If it looks like an afterthought, it probably is
Pretty courthouse, right?

62. Afterthoughts stick out

63. 6. You don't marry a spouse, you marry a family

64. Everyone wants to please their parents

65. What would a new hire tell Mom and Dad?

66. Would you bring kids to the workplace?

67. Would a spouse like to visit the workplace?

68. If it's not good enough to show a spouse,
is it really good enough?

69. Get community leaders inside the plant

70. Entice them with lunch if you have to

71. 7. Good uptime beats bad downtime

72. 25% of your hours are spent at work

73. Does it look like something's getting done?

74. Can you automate mindless parts of the job?

75. Can you outsource low-value parts of the job?

76. Are you maximizing time on fulflling work?

77. Does every day include problem-solving?

78. 8. Your competitive advantage as an employer

79. Probably isn't pay

80. Benefts aren't the only thing

81. Stability

82. Pride in community service

83. Status is an untapped human resource in water

84. It's not good enough to be invisible
Out of sight
is out of mind

85. Banish generic trucks & generic logos

86. Create an identity

87. Put the mission front and center
"Come fy the friendly skies"
"We bring good things to life"
"Better living through chemistry"

88. A slogans is free -- you just have to mean it
Delivering fre safety and
protecting public health
24/7/365

89. 9. Safety frst

90. Trained in frst response

91. Advertise frst aid/AED skills

92. Are you a designated child "safe space"?

93. A safety mindset always starts at the top

94. Don't waste mental energy on stupid dangers

95. Railings and life preservers

96. Belt guards and lockouts

97. Toxic gas detection

98. Corrosion is ever-present

99. Would your 22-year-old kid be safe on the job?

100. 10. Don't be afraid to let go

101. Be a launching pad to great future jobs
Even if you're
not the
perfect
destination,
you can make
good use of
great talent
on the way up

102. People play D1 football to get to the pros

103. Distinguish between seniority and expertise

104. High-performance workers vs. managers
"[W]hen a company rewards
the role of manager more
than the act of creating value,
employees strive to become
managers (and increase the
number of people they manage),
even when leading people
isn't their strength."
- Charles Koch

105. Summary
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Not everyone wants into this industry
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Those who do deserve status
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Don't hesitate to make your workforce better
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Make sure the community knows why you matter
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Never pass up an opportunity to infuence the young

106. Questions?
Thank you for your time and
attention!
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Brian Gongol
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DJ Gongol & Associates
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515-223-4144
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www.gongol.net
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info@gongol.net
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@djgongol on Facebook
and Twitter

107. Credits
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All photographs are original work of Brian Gongol
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US population pyramid is public-domain work from the Census Bureau:
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https://www.census.gov/newsroom/blogs/random-samplings/2016/06/americas-
age-profle-told-through-population-pyramids.html
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Population pyramids for City of Lincoln and Grant County taken from
CensusScope.org
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Used per published terms at http://www.censusscope.org/usepolicy.html
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Unemployment rate data and chart from the Federal Reserve bank of St. Louis:
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https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/UNRATE
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Photo of Bill Clinton from Library of Congress (public domain work):
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http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/95509403/
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Copyright reserved; use by others of any images is forbidden without written
permission