There can be no denying that utilities face a number of reputational challenges. Consumers get frustrated by pricing complexity and service issues, which are rarely far from headlines in the media. The infrastructure behind UK utilities is old and requires updating and there is much ongoing political debate about sustainability, cost and overall policy.
Water companies fare slightly better than our energy counterparts, who tend to bear the brunt of public discontent, but there remain issues of trust across the industry. People that work in the utility sector are working extremely hard to address these issues, but what is the best way to rebuild trust with consumers?
There is no silver bullet, of course, and the best course of action relies on collaboration and taking on board a range of perspectives. With so many different and disparate groups holding an interest in utilities, there can be a tendency to take direction and consultancy from the many external stakeholders in our industry. Steering committees, focus groups, all-party groups – these are all commonplace in utilities and certainly serve a purpose.
They are not a bad thing. We ourselves have launched Water Innovation Network (WIN), a crowdsourcing initiative with our external supply chain. It runs events and an idea submission process for supply chain companies to get their ideas into the heart of our business, with the intention of improving the way we operate.
So external engagement and opinion can be of huge importance. But we believe that looking internally can be equally rewarding and strong employee engagement can be a truly productive route. After all, who knows an organisation better (and is better placed to improve it) than those who work there every day?
That’s why we’ve launched Think Space, a platform that enables our staff to submit and discuss ideas and innovations. This is an initiative that will be a key part of our strategy to introduce open innovation practices to Anglian Water. We have almost 4,000 staff and believe them to be among our greatest assets as an organisation and until this point, very much an untapped resource.
Open innovation is a proven way to generate low-cost innovation solutions and Think Space will provide us with a stream of good ideas that can be used to improve operations and help address some of the reputational issues mentioned earlier.
With consumer trust so high on the agenda, we believe Think Space will be a critical part in our approach to that challenge. We feel that not only can it provide ideas to help, but that it is also a really inclusive way of engaging staff and increasing collaboration across the business.
People feel trusted and empowered by the process of engaging with Think Space and they appreciate that we are seeking their input on how we can improve as a company. We hope that giving our employees a say in the future direction of Anglian Water will encourage loyalty, improve staff retention, help us attract the best talent for the future and, crucially, provide a firm and fertile ground for building trust.
Think Space is a cloud-based platform, powered by Wazoku, so it is easily scalable and we can expand it to involve our supply chain partners and customers too, if we so choose. The early results from Think Space have been highly encouraging.
Seventy per cent of our initial users are active, with a number of successful ideas put forward, including: the use of biodegradable tree shields when we plant new trees after landscaping sites for new processing plants; and turning waste by-products into something productive, such as using excess heat to power greenhouses and landscaping waste as compost.
We are delighted that our colleagues have shown such strong interest in Think Space, as we have some stringent targets to meet. Its success will be measured by return on investment, levels of engagement, benefits to the reputation of Anglian Water and other non-financial benefits, such as serviceability.
After one year we want at least four key outcomes to have originated from Think Space and to have an engaged and committed workforce, with at least 10 per cent of staff contributing ideas. If we reach this, then we expect to have made strong progress in establishing increased trust with our customers.
There are so many good ideas held by the people that work for us, but part of building a culture of innovation is not only providing the platform for people to suggest those ideas, but also ensuring staff know their contributions are valued, will be listened to and considered on their own merits. We are on the way to achieving this and would counsel our industry counterparts to also look inwards as much as outwards when it comes to rebuilding trust with consumers.
Steve Kaye, head of innovation, Anglian Water