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News

At the Utilities Service Alliance (USA) Board of Directors (BOD) Meeting held November 10, 2011 in Atlanta, the Directors approved a policy that would make USA team participation expectations part of an individual’s job and documented in performance reviews and incentive plans. Previously, team participation was considered by many team members to be an “extracurricular activity” outside of their core duties. Expectations such as attending team conference calls and meetings, completing assigned action items and initiatives, and completing business plan goals was expected by station leadership, but there were no clear rewards or consequences for USA team engagement. “The USA BOD and SLT have made it very clear that participation in team work toward excellence is no longer an option,” observed John Christensen, USA Director of Operational Performance. “It has been shown time after time that the more engaged an individual is the more that station will benefit from the Alliance and team activities. This is simply the use of an existing process to recognize the contribution that individuals make in improving station performance through Alliance collaboration.” The provision will also have the positive effect of rewarding good Alliance participation. “Those individuals who are currently working very hard on Alliance initiatives will now be able to walk away with more than just personal satisfaction,” states Christensen.

This change affects those individuals who are serving on the Site Leadership Team (SLT), the Management Council (MC), Core Peer teams, Project teams and Service and Support teams such as the Supply Chain Management team and the Personnel Sharing team. In a nutshell, this change will affect teams whose participation is tracked and who have specific deliverables and expected results outlined in either the USA business plan or the team charter. This change will not affect networking teams or those teams who meet informally to share ideas. Performance items to be measured include the individual team member maintaining a White or Green status, the individual contributing to the on-time completion of business plan items and the individual being actively engaged in and supporting the USA Performance Improvement Process. SLT and MC members are responsible for their own performance as well as the performance of the individuals from their stations and the teams they are sponsoring. SLT and MC members must also make sure the station achieves a ≥18 ROI (Return On Investment) as documented in the USA Annual Workbook.

“We see this as a logical next step as we work toward the Alliance taking on ‘fleet-like’ behaviors and improved performance,” states John Christensen. “Certain stations have made Alliance participation a part of their performance and incentive structures in the past, and those stations saw strong participation in Alliance activities as a result. Now all stations will have the opportunity to benefit from this approach.” The performance and incentive structure changes will go into effect in 2012.

If you have any questions about this new provision, please contact your site Management Council or Site Leadership Team (SLT) representative.