AWWA Intermountain Section

1. AWWA Intermountain Section Leadership Forum “Management, leadership and the 10 Attributes of an Effectively Managed Utility”

2. Introductions Name Title Entity Introduce the supervisor who recommended you to the forum – if present What have you heard about the forum or what do you expect to gain from your participation in the forum.

3. Outline of the Forum Session 1 – Utility Financial Management (November 10, 2015) Session 2 – Utility Management and Leadership (January 14, 2016) Session 3 – Legal and Regulatory Affairs (February 8, 2016) Session 4 – Customer Service/Information Systems (March 2016) Session 5 – Public Relations (May 2016) Session 6– O&M, Engineering and Construction (June 2016)

4. Expectations Attend all sessions Participate in class Take notes Provide feedback to your manager Be ready to share results at the next forum meeting

5. Forum Alumni Mike Whimpey Alan Domonoske Louie Fuell

6. Why are we doing this? The “Dog Poop Initiative” “They” get all the credit and all of the blame. Who are “they”? “We have always done it that way” Let’s jump!!!

7. Management vs. Leadership • Exposure to management and leadership principles • Which is better?

8. Management vs. Leadership • The bottom line: • Leadership and management must go hand in hand. They are not the same thing but they are necessarily linked and complimentary. • Any effort to separate the two is likely to cause problems. • Leadership forum will expose you to differences between the two. • You can be a leader – despite what your business card says.

9. Management vs. Leadership Resulting synergy from merging management and leadership principles:

10. Management vs. Leadership • If we can put them together, what is the result? • Innovation and self motivation • Accomplishment, dependability, reliability • Empowerment, delegation • Effectiveness & efficiency • Teamwork • Optimism • Good communication

11. The 10 Attributes of an Effectively Managed Utility

12. Three Areas of Focus • Focus Message #2: Dedicated to the Future • Infrastructure Stability • Operational Resiliency • Employee & Leadership Development • Financial Viability* • Focus Message #3: Committed to the Community • Customer Satisfaction • Community Sustainability • Stakeholder Understanding and Support • Focus Message #1: Trusted Stewards focused on Quality • Product Quality • Operational Optimization • Resource Adequacy*

13. Why talk about the 10 attributes?

14. Key Takeaway • PREPAREDNESS! We need to be ready for the future. Media Employee Expectations Rates Knowledge Retention Conservation Resources Customer Expectations Technology Aging Infrastructure Succession Planning Regulations Transparency Legal Challenges $$$ Legislation Water Reuse Safety & Security Emergency Response Water Quality Nutrient Removal

15. Keys to Success

16. Product Quality Characteristics Regulatory Compliance Customer, public health and ecological needs Potential Measures Regulatory compliance Service delivery quality Complaints

17. Operational Optimization Characteristics • Ongoing performance improvements • Optimizes resource use and minimizes loss from day-to-day operations Potential Measures • Resource optimization • Efficiency

18. Infrastructure Stability Characteristics Understanding the condition of and costs associated with critical infrastructure assets Maintain and enhance assets Coordination of repair efforts across all asset types and throughout the District Potential Measures Asset inventory Renewal and replacement projects Distribution and collection system problems Planned vs. reactive maintenance

19. Financial Viability Characteristics Understanding the full life-cycle cost of the utility assets Maintaining effective balance between long-term debt, asset values, O&M expenditures, and operating revenues Predictable and adequate rates Potential Measures Budget management Financial integrity and solvency – fund balances and reserves Bond ratings Rate adequacy and comparability

20. Operational Resiliency Characteristics • Staff work together to anticipate and avoid problems • Proactively establish tolerance levels and effectively manage risk Potential Measures • Accidents, injuries and illnesses • Insurance claims • Risk assessment and preparedness • Routine operations reliability • Expected emergency responsiveness

21. Resource Adequacy Characteristics • Ensures resource availability through supply and demand analysis, conservation programs and public education. • Manage operations to provide for long-term aquifer and surface water sustainability and replenishment • Ensures service availability through capacity analysis • Manages operations to provide for long-term sustainability Potential Measures • Water supply adequacy – conservation • Supply and demand management • Water right proofing

22. Customer Satisfaction Characteristics • Provide reliable, responsive and affordable services (crosses over several attributes) • Receive timely customer feedback • Responsive to customer needs and emergencies • Spans entire organization Potential Measures • Complaints • Customer service delivery • Level of satisfaction

23. Community Sustainability Characteristics • Impact on community health and welfare • Enhance natural environment • Efficiently uses resources, promotes economic vitality and engender overall community improvement • Maintains and enhances ecological and community sustainability Potential Measures • Environmental impact of infrastructure • Green Infrastructure • Greenhouse gas emissions • Service affordability

24. Employee & Leadership Development Characteristics • Competent Workforce • Collaborative organization with continual learning and improvement • Employee institutional knowledge retained and improved • Professional and leadership development • Integrated and well-coordinated senior leadership team Potential Measures • Retention • Employee satisfaction • Mentoring and succession planning

25. Stakeholder Understanding & Support Characteristics • Engenders understanding and support from oversight bodies, community, regulatory bodies and other interested parties • Actively involves stakeholders in the decisions that will affect them Potential Measures • Level of consultation and interaction with others • Stakeholder satisfaction • Comparative rate ranking • Media/press coverage

26. Final Thoughts • To a certain extent, if we are performing well in all of the 10 attributes, positive customer satisfaction will be a natural by-product. • Customers have high expectations of us – we need to respond • Our goal is to provide high quality, uninterrupted service, fairly priced – but we need to do a better job of telling the story. • Pressure needs to be adequate – not just minimum standard. Sewer back-ups non-existent. • Move away from “gut-feel” decisions to data-driven decisions • Must be able to move to data analyzing rather than data searching

27. Final Thoughts (cont) Keys to Success • Must start at the top of the organization…then let it spread throughout • Set the tone • Provide the resources • Be the executive champion • Make the tough decisions when others can’t • Mid-managers and staff need to be enlisted. But, beware of “bobble heads” – you are not helping if you do not provide input, even if it is different. • Clarify accountabilities and hold to them • Know that customers perceptions form their reality • Engage the entire organization

28. OK, More final thoughts Keys to Success (cont.) • Serve the customer so they understand and appreciate the value of our services • Control costs by focusing on high performance from employees • To improve performance, develop employees to be truly great at their jobs • Teamwork • Build public image so we are not “invisible” to our customer • Work on protecting the 1st mile and developing the 2nd mile (Chick-fil-A, customer appreciation events) • This is our story to tell…don’t let others tell it for you.