Utility Week - authoritative, impartial and essential reading for senior people within utilities, regulators and government
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UTILITY WEEK | 29TH JANUARY - 4TH FEBRUARY 2016 | 11 Event BIG BANG AWARD FOR INNOVATION As utilities grapple with changing approaches to regulation, rising customer expectations, rapid technology develop- ments and increasingly urgent environmental pressures, the need for innovation is acute. This award recognises innova- tion in all business functions within a utility company, from service and customer engagement ideas to new business processes and operational technology developments. CONSTELLATION AWARD FOR COLLABORATIVE WORK WITH A CUSTOMER COMMUNITY The services utilities provide to domestic and non-domestic customers are fundamental to our health, comfort and national prosperity. Yet in providing these services, utilities must oen intrude into communities, causing temporary disruption and inconveniences. It is also well-known the utilities industry as a whole is struggling to li its levels of public trust. It is therefore vital we recognise and applaud the hard work that many teams put in to building bridges with customer communities, to minimise the disruption, improve trust and create customer engagement which goes beyond the transactional. CONSTELLATION AWARD FOR COLLABORATIVE WORK WITH EDUCATION With rapidly developing technology and customer expec- tations, the utilities sector faces some of the biggest challenges of all engineering-based industries. The current workforce is ageing; meaning many thousands of skilled individuals will exit the workplace within the decade, while there are too few young people choosing STEM subjects. Knowing this, it is essential utility companies continue to build relationships with schools and education, highlighting opportunities in the sector to the next generation and giving input to curriculum development and delivery. CUSTOMER CULTURE AWARD This award will recognise a team that has worked together to deliver outstanding results through unstinting customer focus. Whether in the HR team that keeps the workforce running, the emergency callout team that reconnects customers, or the call centre team that handles those tricky contacts, the importance of putting customers at the heart of operations should be the driving force behind utility company performance. DATA DEMON AWARD This award celebrates the contribution of data scientists and analysts to empowering modern utilities in the information age. This is a team award which recognises the impact a particular data initiative has had to busi- ness efficiency, effectiveness and customer experience. HEALTH & SAFETY CHAMPION – INITIATIVE AND INDIVIDUAL These awards recognise a health and safety initiative and an individual who has helped to strengthen a company's performance against key metrics in an ingenious or especially perceptive way. Building and maintaining a strong health and safety culture can be tough, and companies must continue to be inventive in finding ways to avoid complacency and motivate employees to be mindful of the hazards in their workplace for themselves, and colleagues. HERO AWARD – INDIVIDUAL AND TEAM These awards celebrate the dedication of an individual and a team who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to make a difference to customers/colleagues/the business/ the industry. The impressive commitment of utility employ- ees in putting others first at times of need constantly leads to incredible stories of daring-do, charity and compassion. RISING STAR AWARD This award celebrates the talent and ambition of a junior employee or apprentice. With the utilities industry fac- ing significant skills gaps, the importance of celebrat- ing outstanding talent and encouraging rising stars to become tomorrow's industry leaders has never been more important. SHOOTING STAR AWARD This award highlights those who have recently made remarkable strides in their career through demonstrating outstanding work and understanding of business needs. In order to retain talented individuals within the utilities sector, it is vital we give recognition to individuals who are excelling and growing professionally within the industry. SUPERNOVA AWARD FOR LONG SERVICE This award celebrates the long service and of an employee who has dedicated their career to utilities and who has con- tinued, over the years, to give back to their company, their industry and the communities it serves. With a significant proportion of the UK's utility workforce set to retire in the next few years, it is time to recognise and thank long-serving individuals for their efforts and to hold up their achieve- ments and work ethics as exemplars for the next generation. This year's event