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Mentoring keeps employees competitive and valuable within the company.
Then deregulation of the energy sector first hit about five years ago, utilities didn't know what it would be like to compete, forcing many of them to recruit senior executives from other industries. Now, utility executives are turning inward with an understanding that existing employees are not only more loyal but cheaper to maintain and to train than many high-flying outsiders.
"The prudent companies are combining internal and external talent," says Richard Preng, who heads the energy section of Spencer Stuart, an executive search firm in Houston. The employees most likely to be recognized internally are those with the most commercial acumen and the strongest analytical skills, he says.
Al Warnick, human resources manager for Houston-based Reliant Energy, says that after companies have filled key positions, they must find opinion leaders, preferably within the company. Those individuals are likely to adapt to changes implemented by the division heads and to encourage co-workers to acclimate as well, he says. If there are stragglers, "you have to do with them what you have to do," meaning anything from repositioning them to letting them go.
The company must respond in kind to those employees willing to embrace the mission, he says. Reliant, for example, provides training and development, tuition reimbursement and graduate-level courses taught on company premises....