Despite the need for the energy and utility sector to increase its workforce by over 205,000 additional workers in order to support the UK government’s clean energy target by 2030, many UK organisations are already struggling to hire.

This pressure to attract and retain talent in utilities, is made particularly acute due to its aging workforce, with over 106,000 workers expected to enter retirement in the next 5 years – which is equivalent to 17% of the current workforce - adding to the overall number of new workers needed to join the sector. With the high demand for new workers in the utilities sector, organisations will need to analyse their recruitment and onboarding processes so that they have the resources to focus on delivering key projects.

7 ways to attract and retain talent in the utilities sector

Promote values

Publicising values when advertising vacancies in the sector is one way many organisations can increase a pipeline of young workers entering the utilities sector. Younger workers are becoming increasingly conscious of the environment and about working in an industry and for a company that aligns with their values, making it an important aspect of attracting new talent.

Traditionally, companies in the utilities sector distributed electricity, water and gas solely from fossil fuels and non-renewable sources. However, as energy is being increasingly sourced from renewable options, this can make working in the utilities sector more attractive to environmentally conscious individuals. Companies in the utilities sector should capitalise on this by promoting their involvement in renewable energy, mixed with their core principles and moral standards.

Implement fair recruitment processes

Currently, diversity within the utilities sector in general is low; only 30% of utilities workers are women and 7% are from an ethnic minority background, compared to 13% average nationally. In order to attract talent in the utilities sector at the rate that it is needed, more needs to be done to ensure that all candidates, regardless of their background, have equal opportunities in the recruitment process.

Fair recruitment processes can play its part in improving diversity in the sector in a number of ways, including:

• Anonymous CVs can help to remove unconscious bias with hiring managers focusing on skills and ability and not make assumptions on who the person behind the CV is
• Skills-based hiring for highly skilled and technical jobs whereby the top candidates are chosen based on results from assessments and their competencies can also help to remove unconscious bias
• Standardise questions at interview to ensure all candidates receive the same set of questions and can be easily compared and judged against each other
• Audit job adverts to remove gendered language. A study into job adverts by Totaljobs found that many adverts had male or female-coded language which could reduce the chances of individuals from the opposite gender from applying

Offer apprenticeship and graduate opportunities

In order to counteract the large number of retirees within the industry, it is crucial to prioritise new workers coming into the workforce.

Only 8% of the sector are under the age of 24, this is 4% below the national average of 18-24 year olds in employment across all sectors. This may suggest that the sector is not effectively attracting young workers and students into a career in utilities.

By reaching out to schools and colleges to offer placements to students while they’re in education and graduate programmes for those who have just left, it can help can create a pipeline for students interested in utilities and reduce the pressure of the aging workforce.

Analyse onboarding processes

Effective onboarding is vital to retaining talent in the utilities sector. In fact, studies show that it can improve retention by 82%! Poor onboarding procedures can create confusion and overwhelm new employees. Up to 20% of employee turnover happens within the first 45 days, making the analysis of onboarding processes vital for organisations struggling with retention.

Before a new employee starts employment

Hiring managers need to make sure that they are keeping in contact with the new hire from the moment they accept a job offer. It is not unheard of for a new starter to ghost their employer before they start. By keeping in consistent contact, any potential issues that crop up during their notice period, such as a counteroffer or a new job offer from a different company, can be addressed quickly.

If there’s a significant period of time between the job offer and the start date, it is advisable to invite the new hire to work social events to help them feel more part of the team. This way they can get to know their colleagues before their first day, which can help reduce new job anxiety.

From day one of employment

The key elements of an effective process:

• Targeted training specific to the role and the new employee’s skills and experience
• Goals set around how the new employee will progress over defined periods
• Clear communication with regular check-ins can help the new starter feel informed and allow management to catch any issues early on
• Effective mentorship to add support and integrate the new starter into the team

Explore upskilling opportunities

In order to retain talent in the utilities sector, many organisations should consider upskilling current employees as a way of offering new career opportunities. The sector is embracing new technologies and with the transition to clean energy, new skills and jobs will be created. Upskilling current workers not only helps to retain talent and increase job satisfaction but also allows organisations to fill skills gaps easier.  

Undertake employee feedback surveys

A key way to retain talent in the utilities sector is by making use of employee feedback surveys. Anonymous feedback surveys offer opportunities to identify pain points in workforces. If an organisation has a particular issue with high employee turnover, it is important to understand what could be causing these issues and then address them.

Employee surveys can help to pinpoint not just urgent issues as to why people are currently leaving, but also what is contributing to unhappiness in the organisation that can add to why people may leave in the future. It can also be particularly useful for newly onboarded staff to evaluate the onboarding process and catch any issues early on.

Tackle gender bias

The utility sector has a reputation of being male dominated. The Women Utilities Network states that, while increasing, only 30% of workers in the Utilities sector are women, with the highest levels found in the water industry (35%) and one of the lowest in the heating industry (2%). Their report into “Unconscious Bias in the Utilities Sector” found that 31.2% of female utility worker respondents were either ‘Quite’ or ‘Very Likely’ to leave the sector in the next 1-3 years, which will only exacerbate the demand of utility workers needed in the sector. Additionally, 50.1% believe they are treated differently compared to male colleagues because of their gender.

By understanding what is causing female employees to leave and then addressing them, organisations can retain talent in utilities and work to attract more great talent in the future.

For more information on how to effectively attract and retain talent in your utilities business, please get in touch with our team here.