Utility Week - authoritative, impartial and essential reading for senior people within utilities, regulators and government
Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/529950
People & Opinion Utility Week community UTILITY WEEK | 19TH -25TH JUNE 2015 | 7 Kathryn Betts, head of internal communications at Affinity Water, will present at Utility Week's HR Forum 2015 on 9 September in Birmingham. What's the most important message you want people to take away from your presen- tation? The most important message that I would like people to take away is that in today's fast-paced socially connected world, as internal communica- tions professionals, it can be a challenge to get a company's message across effectively. The key difference we can make is tion that the career was not for me was quite painful. It was a scary decision to break free and even scarier to think about what I would do next. I'm glad I made that choice, though, and I've been in the water industry ever since. Name five people you would invite to your ideal network- ing dinner and why The author of The Chimp Para- dox, Steve Peters. I really buy into his theories on behaviour. Lewis Hamilton. I would be really interested to hear how he has pursued his dream and become so successful. Hilary Clinton. I think she would have some good conver- sation! Marc Bolland. I did my final university dissertation on Marks & Spencer and love the history of the brand. Richard Branson. He's a great innovator. I'd like to discuss a few ideas with him. Speaker's corner Kathryn Betts, head of internal communications and engagement, Affinity Water to create high levels of under- standing among teams, using traditional overt and social channels but most importantly by listening and matching what is being pushed out at a corpo- rate level to those casual coffee machine conversations. What do you feel is the most challenging thing for HR lead- ers in today's utility environ- ment? Expectations are changing. In your personal life you have access to technology that makes your life easier, can get informa- tion really quickly and expect fast responses. The challenge is to make our processes, systems and ways of doing business as easy and social as they are The main event Utility Week's HR forum takes place on 9 September at the Holiday Inn, Birmingham City Centre. The conference tackles the challenges face by HR leaders in utility companies in recruiting the right talent to take their organisa- tions forward in a time of radical change for the sector. To find out more go to: www.uw-hr.net Frontline staff get the Utility Week Star treatment becoming in our personal life. What have been the best and worst moments of your pro- fessional life? I have worked in some great teams and still do. My best moments include reducing written complaints by over 40 per cent at Affinity Water. I was working as the customer experi- ence improvement manager at the time in one of the best team environments I've been part of. I am currently enjoying shaping the social business strategy for Affinity Water. My worst career moment was probably while I was in teacher training. Having invested a lot of time and energy, the realisa- On Friday 12 June, Utility Week hosted its second annual Stars Awards in Manchester, celebrat- ing the unstinting contributions of teams and individuals working in utility companies to increasing efficiency, caring for customers and putting safety first. There was a jubilant atmos- phere at the event, which was presided over by comedienne Lucy Porter at the Lancashire County Cricket Club and attended by a multitude of high-spirited delegates from across the energy distribution and supply sectors, and the water sector. The tales of hard gra, pas- sionate dedication and selfless- ness showed that the sector is brimming with stars worthy of recognition. The ceremony culminated in the Long Service Award, which was scooped by Ray Morris of UK Power Networks (pictured). Morris has completed an incredible 50 years working in the electricity industry and now dedicates his time to developing UKPN's apprentices. A full list of winners is avail- able online at www.utilityweek- stars.co.uk and will also be published in the next print issue of Utility Week alongside a review of the event. Special thanks go to sup- porters of the event: Energy UK, Water UK, the Institute of Water, the Energy Networks Association and Energy & Utility Skills, and to our judges. Lucy Porter, UKPN's Ray Morris and Utility Week editor Ellen Bennett