Finding the right fit when hiring is essential to creating a strong organizational culture. However, many new hires, and even employees with years of service, often struggle to find where they fit within the company culture, pecking order and operations plans beyond knowing which tasks are to be completed.
In the previous blog post, we discussed the company’s mergers and acquisition strategy and some of the struggles they’ve gone through. In this interview, Brian Bentz, CEO of PowerStream Inc., builds on this and discusses aligning goals to company objectives and positions within the company to help people understand where they fit within the organization.
Organizations often times will write a job description, and they will say, “Well, here’s what you do,” and what it frankly is a collection of tasks. When you do this, people become very inward focused, and they are just worried about what they do and not overall company objectives. They don’t see where they fit.
To fix this, companies need to start at the top and cascade down. Brian explains how PowerStream works to ensure everyone understands how they fit:
“We really try to operationalize our strategic plan. We put a lot of emphasis around that and talk about that—what do we have to be good at? This year, what do we need to accomplish to move us forward to achieve our strategic goal? We end up with a set of metrics.”
“The Board and the Executive Management Team work collaboratively. We have planning sessions, joint planning sessions. We actually get some of our shareholder staff involved into this as well, so they understand what the plan is. Then, we set a set of tasks—corporate objectives for the year. Some of them are key performance indicators, and some of them are actual objectives and tasks with performance measures associated with them. In all, it’s translated into the customer value proposition. Everyone on those KPIs or tasks has to be seen through the lens of the customer,” he adds.
Tweet ThisOnce this is in place, the company then begins to establish overall corporate goals by working through HR and Governance Committee and then through the Board of Directors.
“Once we have those high-level goals, we develop operational plans. Developing the operational plans with the management group and working collaboratively with our operational staff as well to get feedback as to what’s possible,” says Bentz.
To ensure there is cohesiveness, the company tries to use stretched goals and smart goals that are aligned with their corporate strategy. This kind of a process can be applied to any organization. Once the goals are communicated with all levels of the company, they need to come back up to management so they can be fleshed out in terms of what’s doable and what’s required. There may be some additional resources that are required, but then you can make decisions based on this information.
“Once we do the vertical analysis, then we perform the horizontal analysis to make sure the resources are allocated properly, then we start to establish the individual and departmental performance incentive goals for the year. Everyone shares in those corporate goals. They filter down to the organization. Then as we move down, you start to introduce departmental goals and individual goals. They all have to be aligned. Then there is [an] incentive system associated with the achievement of those,” says Bentz.
When this is done, these goals and objectives also become part of performance management plans. The nice thing about this is that if I’m in a position where I’ve been given some very specific objectives to hit, number one, I see how those objectives contribute to the bigger one, so I know my place now. I see the role I play, which gives me a sense of empowerment and engagement in my organization.
Equally importantly, I have a higher level of confidence that the resources necessary for me to accomplish my goals have been well thought through and will be there for me, because there is nothing worse than being someone who has been told, “We need you to do this,” but not being given the tools to get it done.
Bentz adds:
“We want to put people in a position to succeed. We want to give you the tools and the training and the feedback. That’s the third part of it. Once we establish these goals, then at a minimum, every other month, we’re monitoring the progress against the goal. We’ll take corrective action if we need to, because the situation can change, the resources change. We can adjust. Generally, we try to stay on course. To monitor it on an ongoing basis and provide feedback on an ongoing basis to help people learn, and maintain focus. You want them to learn, and you want them to maintain focus. That increases the chances that you’ll be successful in achieving those goals.”
The key insight here is that it really starts at the top; it’s transparent, there is accountability shared through the organization. It’s not just legislated down, but it’s cascaded down with opportunity to provide feedback back up.
When done right, you have everybody in the organization crystal clear on their expectations and clear on what the outcomes will be if they don’t hit their expectations. This is key to creating a high performing work environment.
Part 4 of our interview will continue our conversation with Brian Bentz. We are going to talk about reward and recognition.
Watch the interview video on YouTube
About Brian Bentz
Brian Bentz is President and Chief Executive Officer of PowerStream Inc. Originally from Thunder Bay, he has an MBA from McMaster and an honorary Bachelor of Applied Arts Degree from Georgian College. He’s also a chartered accountant as well as a certified engineering technologist. Brian played a pivotal role in the growth of PowerStream from its creation following the merger of three local electricity distribution companies in 2004, to the acquisition of Aurora Hydro in 2005 and the 2009 merger with Barrie Hydro.
About PowerStream Inc.
PowerStream was formed in 2004 when the hydro companies from Vaughan, Richmond Hill and Markham combined under the single umbrella of PowerStream Inc. Headquartered in Vaughan, and with an operation center in Markham, PowerStream has grown through mergers and organic growth to become the second largest municipally owned electricity distribution company in Ontario.
PowerStream is committed to providing its customers with safe, reliable and efficient service. In 2012, PowerStream was recognized as one of Greater Toronto’s top employers as well as 50 most engaged workplaces. You can find out more about PowerStream at www.powerstream.ca.
