![[RE-RELEASE] Leading transformation in a regulated environment](https://cdn-images-3.listennotes.com/podcasts/designing-next/re-release-leading-2L5abJmWQw6-paEdY9uHCNO.1400x1400.jpg "[RE-RELEASE] Leading transformation in a regulated environment")
speaker-0: Yeah.
speaker-1: Welcome to episode number 16 of Designing Next, achieving growth through transformation and innovation. I am your host, Steve Koch, and with me today as always is Chad Bruff. And Chad, today we are talking transformation, and this is something that aligns with what you do in your day job when you're not hosting podcasts.
speaker-2: Yes, it does, Steve. when people ask me what I do, I describe my team's work as two sides of the same coin. On one side of the coin, we watch the changing landscape of our business. In my case, that's home care. How do we remain relevant to the changing needs of our customers and the changing trends that potentially disrupt how we operate today? On the other side of the coin, we have to hold the mirror up to the organization. How must our culture and capabilities evolve? To meet the changing needs of our customers and those disruptive trends. It just so happens that our guest and I started our roles at the same time in our respective companies. Jodi and I began our roles in transformation about three to four months before the pandemic. And both of us had to pivot somewhat in our transformational efforts. So, Steve, I'm really looking forward to you introducing Jodi to our audience today.
speaker-1: Yeah, absolutely. And and I'm excited to speak with her as well. And our guest today is Jodi Allison. She is the Vice President of Transformation at Algonquin Power and Utilities. And Algonquin operates a number of renewable energy and regulated utility services across the United States and Canada. Chad, as you mentioned, Jodi has been with Algonquin for just about a year and a half. So as you might imagine, she has had an interesting experience as COVID nineteen really changed everything for her and for all of us just a few months into her tenure. And her path to leading transformation has come through the finance world. She started as an accountant and spent almost 20 years at the organization Paychecks, working in risk management and service strategy before transitioning into the utility industry, first with National Grid and now with Algonquin. So, you know, many of us might not always think about the utilities industry when it comes to transformation, but as Jody will share with us, it's a space that's ripe for innovation in a number of areas. Chad, what can our listeners look forward to in this interview?
speaker-2: Well, like a lot of our guests, we like to explore j the journey that they have been on to get where they're at today and leading transformation. And in Jody's case, we hope to talk to Jody about that journey from accounting and risk management to leading transformation at a large utilities organization. We'll also dig into what transformation looks like in the utilities industry and how it compares to other industries.
speaker-1: Yeah, absolutely. It's gonna be interesting. I'm looking forward to this conversation with Jody and we will welcome her right after the break.
speaker-0: Hi, this is Whitney Driscoll and I'm the Director of Strategy.
speaker-1: for cast and hue.
speaker-0: Cass and Hugh is an experienced design consultancy and a sponsor of Designing Next. Today I'm with our senior strategist, Jonathan Pateis. We've
speaker-1: Jonathan, tell me how you
speaker-0: shifted to virtual workshops since the pandemic.
speaker-1: We used to run most of our research in person, but with new virtual tools like digital whiteboards, we easily organize
speaker-0: We're able to easily
speaker-1: data, create fast and detailed prototypes, and get people more comfortable their opinions. This can all be done from anywhere in the world without having to travel.
speaker-0: How do you ensure people stay engaged when they aren't in person?
speaker-1: We utilize breakout rooms a lot depending on the level of engagement we need and encourage
speaker-0: And we also incre
speaker-1: people to own their ideas and explain them in their own words when sharing with the larger group.
speaker-0: Where can people learn more?
speaker-1: You can learn more at castinhew.com slash virtual or see the link in the show notes. Welcome Jody, how are you doing today?
speaker-0: I'm doing well. How are you?
speaker-1: I am doing great, thank you, and really looking forward to our conversation. And we'd love to start these conversations by learning a bit about our guest background. So can you tell us a bit about your journey to leading transformation in the utilities world today?
speaker-0: Yeah, so it's it's been quite a journey. I I'll start at the very beginning. I started out in the financial capacity. So my background is really accounting. And I have worked across a lot of different industries. So retail, manufacturing, financial services, and then most re recently joined the utility space. So that's been interesting and it's been from from different perspectives. I started out in, like I said, finance, but worked my way into operations and then spent a lot of time working through different capacities, whether it was customer or financial services, and then working through as well, building a lot of different types of functions, but then focused on customer operations and customer strategy. And then moving to the utility space where I worked for a large Northeast utility and took care of the meter to cash operations. So the the back office customer operations for the US operations and as well as driving some change around you know how they operated. And then that led me to Algonquin, which was actually a great opportunity to be the vice president of transformation and looking to do a lot of great work with a great group of people.
speaker-2: Jody, what does transformation look like in the utilities industry? Could you say a little more about that?
speaker-0: Yeah, so transformation in the utility space is absolutely fascinating. I came from the financial services industry before that and had a lot of different experiences. But when you looked at the utility industry, it was really interesting because it's not just it's not just one facet of the business that's evolving. It's across the board. So when you look at it, it's really about not just the The experience that the customer has while you're interacting with the business, but also it's it's about sustainability and how we continue to look at different ways to take care of our environment while we take care of ourselves. So it's really interesting when you look at the business as a whole, how much it has evolved and continues to evolve and change. And when you look at it, it's it's really fascinating to think about all the opportunity that. We've kind of started on this journey, but is there's so much ahead. So when you think about choices that customers have, they look for choice in how they interact with us, but they also look for choice in how they are served from an energy and water perspective. So where those resources come from. So it's it's it's it's really just a fascinating business that has really changed, you know, when you think about it a decade ago. When you really talked about it, it was all about assets and pipes and wires. And the customer was not really part of as much as part of the conversation. and that's really changed and and continues to evolve. So I give the industry a lot of credit for how far it's moved, as fast as it's moved, especially being a regulated industry.
speaker-1: Yeah, absolutely. And there are so many challenges in regulated industries. And Jody, when you look at your role today, you're leading transformation for multiple utilities across multiple states and provinces. I imagine complex doesn't even begin to describe that challenge. So how do you approach such a daunting challenge like this?
speaker-0: Yeah, so it's it's you know, it's it's a great business. If you look at that's our regulated business, if you look at it step back and look at it as a whole, you know, we're in twenty-four province and states. So it's it's very broad and people coming from a lot of different perspectives. And we've we've acquired a lot of businesses over time. We started out as a renewable company when renewable wasn't really, you know, the thing to do. So many years ago. And it's really been interesting as you know we've acquired utilities into the family. It's been interesting to watch, you know, how we bring that discipline around the renewable space to the utilities and look at the long legacy of great things that those utilities have accomplished and how do you bring that together. So when you talk about leading transformation and you're talking about, you know looking at it across the company with the the the depth and the breadth, it's it's really about you know, how do you leverage some of that great work that's been done, great people that have built it, you know, to this point, and then continue on that work and really focus on the people. So really keeping, you know, it's really easy to get caught up in new technology and different aspects of change, but it's it's really about how do you focus on the people and make sure that all of that great work that's gotten them to the point of where they are today, how do you leverage that and make sure that people are grounded in the same guiding principles, the same purpose, the same mission, so that they really understand you know, their work may look different and it may be done in different ways in different places, but they have that common grounding. And then most importantly too, that it's embedded in in how they're graded on their performance. So it's it's really it's about the culture and making sure that you know, I had a lot of really good leaders that focused on that before I arrived at Algonquin and really wanted to make sure that that was, you know, well grounded before we started making a lot of change through transformation. So very helpful.
speaker-2: I love you y you lead with that people aspect of the work and you arrived at Algonquin just a few months before COVID nineteen arrived in North America. Can you talk a little bit about how the pandemic has impacted your approach and and your business at Algonquin?
speaker-0: Yeah, so I had the opportunity to start Al at Algonquin in November of nineteen. So I had about three and a half months underneath my belt when things changed quite drastically. So we had put together this complete body of work we call customer first. And it's about moving towards that customer centric approach and you know enabling our employees to be able to deliver on the the needs of our customers. And so we had this whole plan put together, how the work was going to be done. you know, and everything changed. You know, the business was facing drastic changes in the needs of the customer. All of a sudden, for an industry that wasn't probably had the most what I call leading edge digital capabilities, all of a sudden the customers had needs to be able to operate that way. And you know, a lot of our work was set up and staged to be done in person. So we had a lot of people moving around, working on projects, undertaking different activities in different locations. All of that we had to change on, you know, a dime, so to speak. So it was really you know, quite a quite quite an effort to just make sure that everybody understood we had immediate changing customer demands, how do we meet those? And how do we make sure that people understood how we were going to get the work done when you know we were moved virtually? So we had people that were working on different projects in Dallas, Chicago. All of a sudden all of that in person work was went virtual. So it was it was really interesting to watch the teams shift, but they did so very, very gracefully, I might add, and continue the work. So very It was very interesting to watch.
speaker-1: Yeah, it it's I'm sure it's been almost a year and a half now of of interesting challenges as you you embark on this journey of transformation. but tell us tell us about some of your successes that you've had thus far or maybe an initiative that you're particularly proud of.
speaker-0: Yeah, so I think I think, you know, we're we're all at Algonquin Liberty to serve the customer. And when it at the end of the day, their expectations and their needs don't, you know, didn't stop because of the pandemic. So what I'm really proud of is the way that the teams came together and continued to deliver on projects as planned. And we have delivered, we're currently working through a large initiative to deliver SAP capabilities. across the business. But before that, we decided we're going to set out on a journey to launch Success Factors and Ariba, which was going to give us capabilities for our employees and as well as for our supply chain. So we delivered both those projects in October on time, on schedule. We have put in over 160,000 smart meters in our central location. to continue the work to give our customers the ability to control their usage and understand what you know that looks like so they can you know have participate in the process of deciding you know how they operate and how much energy they use, which you know is something we all would appreciate, choice and and flexibility. So I I just really think that what I'm most proud of is watching people continue to focus on what the customers' needs are. in shifting because we've we're facing the pandemic, but still executing on all of those programs and delivering as expected. So I think for us that that was a huge accomplishment.
speaker-1: Yeah, I c I can imagine. And I'm curious about what are the ways that you're you know, you talked about the customers' needs, which are so important. And so how how do you listen to the customers and how do they, you know, what what are some of the themes that you're hearing that's driving this transformation?
speaker-0: Yeah, so I th I think un you know, it's like any experience you have, whether it's anything you can experience in your daily life, you have a certain expectation around your customer experience. And you know, one of the things that we you know we take for granted is being able to see information on a personalized page. So You you log into something and you you're able to see information about yourself and it anticipates what your next need might be. You know, the utility industry has n does not necessarily have those capabilities across the board, and it's really been an opportunity to provide them with a better experience. I won't say a lot of people think Amazon like, I won't say Amazon like, but you know, being able to have a better experience, that personalized experience. And you know, it's really understanding what it is that they're looking for. We have to serve the you know, we have we have to provide capabilities to serve all customers. So if someone wants to pay by a check, they have to be able to do that. If someone wants to be able to pay electronically, offering them as many opportunities to do so. It doesn't mean that the industry has always had the capabilities to do that. So it's how are we going to transform to provide them with the experience that you you just ac encounter in your daily life. So you ex you carry that expectation with you that when you get to the next business that they should be able to do the same thing. And so it's been really important that we listen to those customers that really want more electronic options to pay. They want more control over their experience as far as how much energy they use, where it comes from. So it's really understanding how that connection works between the customer and the utility and making sure that you know they have the opportunity to make those choices and get that very personalized approach.
speaker-2: When our when our guests come on our podcast, Jody, we love it when they share some learnings. And maybe think about you you've been there now fifteen months or so and through listening to the customers or the employees, were there any assumptions you made going into the role that that were changed through your listening techniques and through what you've learned over the first fifteen months or so in this role?
speaker-0: Yeah, I I I think it's you know, it's interesting when you're dealing with an environment where there is a lot of of change taking place. the world's moving faster, right? Like the the world's moving faster, the expectations on people continues to rise. I really look at transformation as a way to work with people across the board, whether it's your customers, whether it's the regulators who are key stakeholders, whether It's your employees. It's really about understanding what their needs are and enabling them in a way that they are able to get what they need. And so when you think about that, you know, transformation to me meant looking at more so the skills, the capabilities, the the culture. A lot of people go straight to technology or straight to to process. I mean, it it that all has its place. But it's really understanding, you know, what the the needs are across the board from those people and making sure that you have the opportunity to to to really listen and understand. And the biggest thing is don't make any assumptions. And we all carry a lot of experience with us. And when we carry that experience, it comes with a lot of assumptions that people know things and people only know what their experiences have been up to that point. So it's really important to to communicate. over communicate, I guess I would say, just because I think people come with different experiences and we sometimes we forget that you know not everybody has had the same experiences we've had. And I think for to use an example specifically, I think it's just understanding when you have several, we have six very large projects all going on at the same time. And there's for some of us who have been involved in different types of efforts, you know there's certain things that happen at certain junctures in those projects that not everybody comes with that or understands what is happening behind that, you know, think of Oz behind the curtain, like what's going on. So really making sure that you know, you you you start at the beginning and explain and make sure that people all come together from the same place to kind of work together to get to the end the outcome.
speaker-1: Yeah, I imagine that that that's a that's a big challenge and and especially with the breadth of of the organization. you know, something I was thinking about, Jody, i is just the idea of transformation in this space, this utility space. And, you know, I I think of my experience, I have I have one choice, right, of my utility here in Arizona, and that's the case for many folks. And so do Do you run into challenges because it's there there's a lot of and I know not the whole organization is is along those lines, but but several times you you don't face the same challenges of consumer choice in many areas of your business that other businesses do. And so does that change in terms of how you can get leadership on board around the transformation challenges, or how does that change how you approach things compared to some of your past experiences in other industries?
speaker-0: Yes, I think I think it is different, but it there is a lot of similarities. So I think w you know, in other industries, certainly there, you know, customers have choices and in you know, and revenue drives a lot of decisions. And I think when you look at the utility space, you can't underestimate the changes. If you look at some of the the different markets, people have what they call retail choice where they can choose where their energy comes from. These are all the st the it's all the start of having different types of options and with distributed generation, meaning, you know, that people have options for renewable and what does that look like and how can that be facilitated in different ways? The utility industry needs to continue to transform and change and keep up with that. and and understanding and listening to your customer, I I love someone told me this once and I I love this. If you ask people back in the eighteen hundreds what they needed, they would have told you a faster horse when probably what they needed was a car. So we have a responsibility as an industry to really look at listen to the customer, understand what their needs are, but we also have a responsibility to keep innovating and keep looking for those new types of opportunities, especially with the consideration of our environment. So while you don't always think of the utility industry and customers having choice, they do have choice in how sometimes they get their energy as far as who they get it from. And it's definitely, you know, an evolving industry that's going to continue to change. And you want your customers to be your advocates and take that journey with you to s for sustainability. So I think it's you know, one of those things where it's it's not the most apparent when you look at these space, but it there is a lot of change that's taking place that does drive people to consider different choices. And you know, it it it is a they do have a strong voice in how they're served through the regulatory channels and they do have a strong voice in, you know, our our policies, our political policies. So I think it's, you know, there's there's a lot there to to look at when you think about the the customers and how they interact and what that sh The choice may look different, but it you know, there is a component to it that's that's present and needs to be addressed when we look at how we're continuing to evolve as an industry.
speaker-1: Yeah, absolutely. Several perspectives you just shared that that I hadn't considered, but obviously a lot to think about, especially as you look towards the future. And that's why planning and and approaching these transformation initiatives are are so important. so along those lines, as you know, as we've talked about, you're 15 months in. there's a lot of our listeners, I'm sure, that are thinking about how do we start moving our business forward and how do we think about the future and start transformation efforts and What advice would you give to leaders who are embarking on building these transformation, transformative experiences?
speaker-0: I I think the one thing that I would like to, you know, really get people to focus on is it's, you know, when you think about transformation, I think I talked a little bit about this before. It's really about the people, it's about the stakeholders, it's it's about the employees, the customers, it's about the key stakeholders externally. It's it's trying to understand, you know, how you're going to enable those people to do what is needed. And so I think It's more so about, you know, the tools and the process, all that comes later. But like I I look at a lot of transformation efforts get centered on the shiny ball, the technology, or you know, there's a whole component of change management where people talk a lot about training and communication. Well, that's just that that's not really what change management's about, right? It's about the broader understanding of, you know, do people have the skills and capabilities to to get from point A to B. and I think I think it's it's really about understanding all those aspects of of how are you going to, you know, what's the the strategy, what are the what's the operating model, what's gonna allow you to get there? It's it's all of the components that need work. What's the culture? How how has the how has the environment been set up from purpose, mission, the guiding principles, the performance measures? How how has it all been structured and set up to make sure that where you're trying to get to, you've enabled people the throughout the the the the process. I think I think that's what, you know, I would ask people to step back and just look at, you know, what what is it that they're trying to to accomplish and like the outcome and and how have they enabled it by doing all of those things to get there? Because a lot of times that's the challenge is we become overly focused on solutions or different types of aspects of, you know, significant projects in and companies and it's it's really about the people, the customers, and trying to make sure that you stay focused on what their needs are. The other the hardest thing for me is going around the company and listening to an employee that wants so badly to deliver for a customer and just doesn't have what they need to make it happen. They know what the need is and they know what they need to do. They just don't have what they need and that that's Sometimes those things get don't get brought to the surface to be able to be delivered on and it's a shame. So I hope people really focus on the on those things and I think they'll be successful if they do.
speaker-2: I couldn't agree more. You know, we just we spend so much time focusing, like you said, on that shiny ball of technology or one facet. And you know, the system we're in today or the culture we're in today is set up to get exactly what we have today. And you thinking about the different levers and aspects of it all that you have to shift. It's difficult work. So we're we're grateful for you to share all your wisdom, Jody. I would just maybe ask, what's next? For Algonquin, the transformation in the utilities industry, what what would you like to share there?
speaker-0: Yeah, so I I think Algonquin and Liberty is a an exciting company to watch. So I think because of our renewables background, I think when you look at a lot of the different types of work that's going on in in the utility space, you know, we see a lot of opportunity and you look at sustainability. I I would say look to see a lot of traditional utilities looking to new ways to deliver you know, sustainable energy to their customers. And Algonquin's certainly been at the forefront of that and will continue to be. look for us to continue to grow. You'll see us adding a lot of of new members to the family and certainly leveraging those opportunities to continue to bring all the knowledge that we've gained, plus all you know, the knowledge that that those companies and opportunities bring. So I think you're gonna see a lot of change in our customer experience. we're we're doing We're doing a lot of good things. Our we have a lot of big projects rolling out over the next couple of years to help continue to drive that personalized experience for the customer so that they can not only choose how they interact with us, but also make sure that they understand what choice they do have. To to your point earlier, you know, what what choices do I have? Can I control my usage? Like, how do I know? You know, I always use the analogy like you don't walk in a restaurant and order lobster and have no idea what it costs. Well, for some customers in the utility space, they do that every day. They turn lights on. It like they they have no idea how much money they're spending. so it's how do we give them the right tools to be able to to you know to make conscious decisions and choices around those things and and feel good about how they've consumed energy when they're concerned about the environment. So I think you'll you can look for us to to make a lot of Continued change in that space and excited to be part of it.
speaker-1: That's great, very exciting. And and we really appreciate you giving this giving us this inside look in terms of transformation and really the the role that the experience plays in the utility space because I know I speak for myself and I bet I speak for Chad that we both learned a lot here and I bet our listeners did as well. So thanks for sharing so much today, Jody.
speaker-2: Thank you, Jody. We really appreciate your your time you spent with us and we wish you well in your new role.
speaker-0: Thank you very much. Greatly appreciate it.
speaker-1: So chat, that was a really interesting conversation with Jody. Definitely opened my eyes to several things around the utility space. What did you learn?
speaker-2: I really learned how you manage transformation with the change that must occur across the board, the customer experience, in Jody's case, sustainability and operations and all the opportunities and a lot of challenges in doing that. I also appreciate this common theme that we often hear in our podcast, and it's an important one, that transformation doesn't start with technology. It starts with listening and understanding the needs of customers and employees.
speaker-1: Yeah, I really liked how she hit home that point about needs, which which of course you and I appreciate so much. And a lot of what she spoke about reminded me of healthcare, in terms of just, you know, being a bit behind, but recognizing that expectations are changing and really focusing on needs as you transform and design new experiences. So great conversation with Jody. And to make sure our new episodes are delivered to you every two weeks, please subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
speaker-2: And we're designers, so of course we want your feedback. Please leave us a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify or contact us directly at podcast at castinhew dot com.
speaker-1: Thanks everybody, and we'll look forward to speaking with you soon.
speaker-1: Welcome to episode number 16 of Designing Next, achieving growth through transformation and innovation. I am your host, Steve Koch, and with me today as always is Chad Bruff. And Chad, today we are talking transformation, and this is something that aligns with what you do in your day job when you're not hosting podcasts.
speaker-2: Yes, it does, Steve. when people ask me what I do, I describe my team's work as two sides of the same coin. On one side of the coin, we watch the changing landscape of our business. In my case, that's home care. How do we remain relevant to the changing needs of our customers and the changing trends that potentially disrupt how we operate today? On the other side of the coin, we have to hold the mirror up to the organization. How must our culture and capabilities evolve? To meet the changing needs of our customers and those disruptive trends. It just so happens that our guest and I started our roles at the same time in our respective companies. Jodi and I began our roles in transformation about three to four months before the pandemic. And both of us had to pivot somewhat in our transformational efforts. So, Steve, I'm really looking forward to you introducing Jodi to our audience today.
speaker-1: Yeah, absolutely. And and I'm excited to speak with her as well. And our guest today is Jodi Allison. She is the Vice President of Transformation at Algonquin Power and Utilities. And Algonquin operates a number of renewable energy and regulated utility services across the United States and Canada. Chad, as you mentioned, Jodi has been with Algonquin for just about a year and a half. So as you might imagine, she has had an interesting experience as COVID nineteen really changed everything for her and for all of us just a few months into her tenure. And her path to leading transformation has come through the finance world. She started as an accountant and spent almost 20 years at the organization Paychecks, working in risk management and service strategy before transitioning into the utility industry, first with National Grid and now with Algonquin. So, you know, many of us might not always think about the utilities industry when it comes to transformation, but as Jody will share with us, it's a space that's ripe for innovation in a number of areas. Chad, what can our listeners look forward to in this interview?
speaker-2: Well, like a lot of our guests, we like to explore j the journey that they have been on to get where they're at today and leading transformation. And in Jody's case, we hope to talk to Jody about that journey from accounting and risk management to leading transformation at a large utilities organization. We'll also dig into what transformation looks like in the utilities industry and how it compares to other industries.
speaker-1: Yeah, absolutely. It's gonna be interesting. I'm looking forward to this conversation with Jody and we will welcome her right after the break.
speaker-0: Hi, this is Whitney Driscoll and I'm the Director of Strategy.
speaker-1: for cast and hue.
speaker-0: Cass and Hugh is an experienced design consultancy and a sponsor of Designing Next. Today I'm with our senior strategist, Jonathan Pateis. We've
speaker-1: Jonathan, tell me how you
speaker-0: shifted to virtual workshops since the pandemic.
speaker-1: We used to run most of our research in person, but with new virtual tools like digital whiteboards, we easily organize
speaker-0: We're able to easily
speaker-1: data, create fast and detailed prototypes, and get people more comfortable their opinions. This can all be done from anywhere in the world without having to travel.
speaker-0: How do you ensure people stay engaged when they aren't in person?
speaker-1: We utilize breakout rooms a lot depending on the level of engagement we need and encourage
speaker-0: And we also incre
speaker-1: people to own their ideas and explain them in their own words when sharing with the larger group.
speaker-0: Where can people learn more?
speaker-1: You can learn more at castinhew.com slash virtual or see the link in the show notes. Welcome Jody, how are you doing today?
speaker-0: I'm doing well. How are you?
speaker-1: I am doing great, thank you, and really looking forward to our conversation. And we'd love to start these conversations by learning a bit about our guest background. So can you tell us a bit about your journey to leading transformation in the utilities world today?
speaker-0: Yeah, so it's it's been quite a journey. I I'll start at the very beginning. I started out in the financial capacity. So my background is really accounting. And I have worked across a lot of different industries. So retail, manufacturing, financial services, and then most re recently joined the utility space. So that's been interesting and it's been from from different perspectives. I started out in, like I said, finance, but worked my way into operations and then spent a lot of time working through different capacities, whether it was customer or financial services, and then working through as well, building a lot of different types of functions, but then focused on customer operations and customer strategy. And then moving to the utility space where I worked for a large Northeast utility and took care of the meter to cash operations. So the the back office customer operations for the US operations and as well as driving some change around you know how they operated. And then that led me to Algonquin, which was actually a great opportunity to be the vice president of transformation and looking to do a lot of great work with a great group of people.
speaker-2: Jody, what does transformation look like in the utilities industry? Could you say a little more about that?
speaker-0: Yeah, so transformation in the utility space is absolutely fascinating. I came from the financial services industry before that and had a lot of different experiences. But when you looked at the utility industry, it was really interesting because it's not just it's not just one facet of the business that's evolving. It's across the board. So when you look at it, it's really about not just the The experience that the customer has while you're interacting with the business, but also it's it's about sustainability and how we continue to look at different ways to take care of our environment while we take care of ourselves. So it's really interesting when you look at the business as a whole, how much it has evolved and continues to evolve and change. And when you look at it, it's it's really fascinating to think about all the opportunity that. We've kind of started on this journey, but is there's so much ahead. So when you think about choices that customers have, they look for choice in how they interact with us, but they also look for choice in how they are served from an energy and water perspective. So where those resources come from. So it's it's it's it's really just a fascinating business that has really changed, you know, when you think about it a decade ago. When you really talked about it, it was all about assets and pipes and wires. And the customer was not really part of as much as part of the conversation. and that's really changed and and continues to evolve. So I give the industry a lot of credit for how far it's moved, as fast as it's moved, especially being a regulated industry.
speaker-1: Yeah, absolutely. And there are so many challenges in regulated industries. And Jody, when you look at your role today, you're leading transformation for multiple utilities across multiple states and provinces. I imagine complex doesn't even begin to describe that challenge. So how do you approach such a daunting challenge like this?
speaker-0: Yeah, so it's it's you know, it's it's a great business. If you look at that's our regulated business, if you look at it step back and look at it as a whole, you know, we're in twenty-four province and states. So it's it's very broad and people coming from a lot of different perspectives. And we've we've acquired a lot of businesses over time. We started out as a renewable company when renewable wasn't really, you know, the thing to do. So many years ago. And it's really been interesting as you know we've acquired utilities into the family. It's been interesting to watch, you know, how we bring that discipline around the renewable space to the utilities and look at the long legacy of great things that those utilities have accomplished and how do you bring that together. So when you talk about leading transformation and you're talking about, you know looking at it across the company with the the the depth and the breadth, it's it's really about you know, how do you leverage some of that great work that's been done, great people that have built it, you know, to this point, and then continue on that work and really focus on the people. So really keeping, you know, it's really easy to get caught up in new technology and different aspects of change, but it's it's really about how do you focus on the people and make sure that all of that great work that's gotten them to the point of where they are today, how do you leverage that and make sure that people are grounded in the same guiding principles, the same purpose, the same mission, so that they really understand you know, their work may look different and it may be done in different ways in different places, but they have that common grounding. And then most importantly too, that it's embedded in in how they're graded on their performance. So it's it's really it's about the culture and making sure that you know, I had a lot of really good leaders that focused on that before I arrived at Algonquin and really wanted to make sure that that was, you know, well grounded before we started making a lot of change through transformation. So very helpful.
speaker-2: I love you y you lead with that people aspect of the work and you arrived at Algonquin just a few months before COVID nineteen arrived in North America. Can you talk a little bit about how the pandemic has impacted your approach and and your business at Algonquin?
speaker-0: Yeah, so I had the opportunity to start Al at Algonquin in November of nineteen. So I had about three and a half months underneath my belt when things changed quite drastically. So we had put together this complete body of work we call customer first. And it's about moving towards that customer centric approach and you know enabling our employees to be able to deliver on the the needs of our customers. And so we had this whole plan put together, how the work was going to be done. you know, and everything changed. You know, the business was facing drastic changes in the needs of the customer. All of a sudden, for an industry that wasn't probably had the most what I call leading edge digital capabilities, all of a sudden the customers had needs to be able to operate that way. And you know, a lot of our work was set up and staged to be done in person. So we had a lot of people moving around, working on projects, undertaking different activities in different locations. All of that we had to change on, you know, a dime, so to speak. So it was really you know, quite a quite quite an effort to just make sure that everybody understood we had immediate changing customer demands, how do we meet those? And how do we make sure that people understood how we were going to get the work done when you know we were moved virtually? So we had people that were working on different projects in Dallas, Chicago. All of a sudden all of that in person work was went virtual. So it was it was really interesting to watch the teams shift, but they did so very, very gracefully, I might add, and continue the work. So very It was very interesting to watch.
speaker-1: Yeah, it it's I'm sure it's been almost a year and a half now of of interesting challenges as you you embark on this journey of transformation. but tell us tell us about some of your successes that you've had thus far or maybe an initiative that you're particularly proud of.
speaker-0: Yeah, so I think I think, you know, we're we're all at Algonquin Liberty to serve the customer. And when it at the end of the day, their expectations and their needs don't, you know, didn't stop because of the pandemic. So what I'm really proud of is the way that the teams came together and continued to deliver on projects as planned. And we have delivered, we're currently working through a large initiative to deliver SAP capabilities. across the business. But before that, we decided we're going to set out on a journey to launch Success Factors and Ariba, which was going to give us capabilities for our employees and as well as for our supply chain. So we delivered both those projects in October on time, on schedule. We have put in over 160,000 smart meters in our central location. to continue the work to give our customers the ability to control their usage and understand what you know that looks like so they can you know have participate in the process of deciding you know how they operate and how much energy they use, which you know is something we all would appreciate, choice and and flexibility. So I I just really think that what I'm most proud of is watching people continue to focus on what the customers' needs are. in shifting because we've we're facing the pandemic, but still executing on all of those programs and delivering as expected. So I think for us that that was a huge accomplishment.
speaker-1: Yeah, I c I can imagine. And I'm curious about what are the ways that you're you know, you talked about the customers' needs, which are so important. And so how how do you listen to the customers and how do they, you know, what what are some of the themes that you're hearing that's driving this transformation?
speaker-0: Yeah, so I th I think un you know, it's like any experience you have, whether it's anything you can experience in your daily life, you have a certain expectation around your customer experience. And you know, one of the things that we you know we take for granted is being able to see information on a personalized page. So You you log into something and you you're able to see information about yourself and it anticipates what your next need might be. You know, the utility industry has n does not necessarily have those capabilities across the board, and it's really been an opportunity to provide them with a better experience. I won't say a lot of people think Amazon like, I won't say Amazon like, but you know, being able to have a better experience, that personalized experience. And you know, it's really understanding what it is that they're looking for. We have to serve the you know, we have we have to provide capabilities to serve all customers. So if someone wants to pay by a check, they have to be able to do that. If someone wants to be able to pay electronically, offering them as many opportunities to do so. It doesn't mean that the industry has always had the capabilities to do that. So it's how are we going to transform to provide them with the experience that you you just ac encounter in your daily life. So you ex you carry that expectation with you that when you get to the next business that they should be able to do the same thing. And so it's been really important that we listen to those customers that really want more electronic options to pay. They want more control over their experience as far as how much energy they use, where it comes from. So it's really understanding how that connection works between the customer and the utility and making sure that you know they have the opportunity to make those choices and get that very personalized approach.
speaker-2: When our when our guests come on our podcast, Jody, we love it when they share some learnings. And maybe think about you you've been there now fifteen months or so and through listening to the customers or the employees, were there any assumptions you made going into the role that that were changed through your listening techniques and through what you've learned over the first fifteen months or so in this role?
speaker-0: Yeah, I I I think it's you know, it's interesting when you're dealing with an environment where there is a lot of of change taking place. the world's moving faster, right? Like the the world's moving faster, the expectations on people continues to rise. I really look at transformation as a way to work with people across the board, whether it's your customers, whether it's the regulators who are key stakeholders, whether It's your employees. It's really about understanding what their needs are and enabling them in a way that they are able to get what they need. And so when you think about that, you know, transformation to me meant looking at more so the skills, the capabilities, the the culture. A lot of people go straight to technology or straight to to process. I mean, it it that all has its place. But it's really understanding, you know, what the the needs are across the board from those people and making sure that you have the opportunity to to to really listen and understand. And the biggest thing is don't make any assumptions. And we all carry a lot of experience with us. And when we carry that experience, it comes with a lot of assumptions that people know things and people only know what their experiences have been up to that point. So it's really important to to communicate. over communicate, I guess I would say, just because I think people come with different experiences and we sometimes we forget that you know not everybody has had the same experiences we've had. And I think for to use an example specifically, I think it's just understanding when you have several, we have six very large projects all going on at the same time. And there's for some of us who have been involved in different types of efforts, you know there's certain things that happen at certain junctures in those projects that not everybody comes with that or understands what is happening behind that, you know, think of Oz behind the curtain, like what's going on. So really making sure that you know, you you you start at the beginning and explain and make sure that people all come together from the same place to kind of work together to get to the end the outcome.
speaker-1: Yeah, I imagine that that that's a that's a big challenge and and especially with the breadth of of the organization. you know, something I was thinking about, Jody, i is just the idea of transformation in this space, this utility space. And, you know, I I think of my experience, I have I have one choice, right, of my utility here in Arizona, and that's the case for many folks. And so do Do you run into challenges because it's there there's a lot of and I know not the whole organization is is along those lines, but but several times you you don't face the same challenges of consumer choice in many areas of your business that other businesses do. And so does that change in terms of how you can get leadership on board around the transformation challenges, or how does that change how you approach things compared to some of your past experiences in other industries?
speaker-0: Yes, I think I think it is different, but it there is a lot of similarities. So I think w you know, in other industries, certainly there, you know, customers have choices and in you know, and revenue drives a lot of decisions. And I think when you look at the utility space, you can't underestimate the changes. If you look at some of the the different markets, people have what they call retail choice where they can choose where their energy comes from. These are all the st the it's all the start of having different types of options and with distributed generation, meaning, you know, that people have options for renewable and what does that look like and how can that be facilitated in different ways? The utility industry needs to continue to transform and change and keep up with that. and and understanding and listening to your customer, I I love someone told me this once and I I love this. If you ask people back in the eighteen hundreds what they needed, they would have told you a faster horse when probably what they needed was a car. So we have a responsibility as an industry to really look at listen to the customer, understand what their needs are, but we also have a responsibility to keep innovating and keep looking for those new types of opportunities, especially with the consideration of our environment. So while you don't always think of the utility industry and customers having choice, they do have choice in how sometimes they get their energy as far as who they get it from. And it's definitely, you know, an evolving industry that's going to continue to change. And you want your customers to be your advocates and take that journey with you to s for sustainability. So I think it's you know, one of those things where it's it's not the most apparent when you look at these space, but it there is a lot of change that's taking place that does drive people to consider different choices. And you know, it it it is a they do have a strong voice in how they're served through the regulatory channels and they do have a strong voice in, you know, our our policies, our political policies. So I think it's, you know, there's there's a lot there to to look at when you think about the the customers and how they interact and what that sh The choice may look different, but it you know, there is a component to it that's that's present and needs to be addressed when we look at how we're continuing to evolve as an industry.
speaker-1: Yeah, absolutely. Several perspectives you just shared that that I hadn't considered, but obviously a lot to think about, especially as you look towards the future. And that's why planning and and approaching these transformation initiatives are are so important. so along those lines, as you know, as we've talked about, you're 15 months in. there's a lot of our listeners, I'm sure, that are thinking about how do we start moving our business forward and how do we think about the future and start transformation efforts and What advice would you give to leaders who are embarking on building these transformation, transformative experiences?
speaker-0: I I think the one thing that I would like to, you know, really get people to focus on is it's, you know, when you think about transformation, I think I talked a little bit about this before. It's really about the people, it's about the stakeholders, it's it's about the employees, the customers, it's about the key stakeholders externally. It's it's trying to understand, you know, how you're going to enable those people to do what is needed. And so I think It's more so about, you know, the tools and the process, all that comes later. But like I I look at a lot of transformation efforts get centered on the shiny ball, the technology, or you know, there's a whole component of change management where people talk a lot about training and communication. Well, that's just that that's not really what change management's about, right? It's about the broader understanding of, you know, do people have the skills and capabilities to to get from point A to B. and I think I think it's it's really about understanding all those aspects of of how are you going to, you know, what's the the strategy, what are the what's the operating model, what's gonna allow you to get there? It's it's all of the components that need work. What's the culture? How how has the how has the environment been set up from purpose, mission, the guiding principles, the performance measures? How how has it all been structured and set up to make sure that where you're trying to get to, you've enabled people the throughout the the the the process. I think I think that's what, you know, I would ask people to step back and just look at, you know, what what is it that they're trying to to accomplish and like the outcome and and how have they enabled it by doing all of those things to get there? Because a lot of times that's the challenge is we become overly focused on solutions or different types of aspects of, you know, significant projects in and companies and it's it's really about the people, the customers, and trying to make sure that you stay focused on what their needs are. The other the hardest thing for me is going around the company and listening to an employee that wants so badly to deliver for a customer and just doesn't have what they need to make it happen. They know what the need is and they know what they need to do. They just don't have what they need and that that's Sometimes those things get don't get brought to the surface to be able to be delivered on and it's a shame. So I hope people really focus on the on those things and I think they'll be successful if they do.
speaker-2: I couldn't agree more. You know, we just we spend so much time focusing, like you said, on that shiny ball of technology or one facet. And you know, the system we're in today or the culture we're in today is set up to get exactly what we have today. And you thinking about the different levers and aspects of it all that you have to shift. It's difficult work. So we're we're grateful for you to share all your wisdom, Jody. I would just maybe ask, what's next? For Algonquin, the transformation in the utilities industry, what what would you like to share there?
speaker-0: Yeah, so I I think Algonquin and Liberty is a an exciting company to watch. So I think because of our renewables background, I think when you look at a lot of the different types of work that's going on in in the utility space, you know, we see a lot of opportunity and you look at sustainability. I I would say look to see a lot of traditional utilities looking to new ways to deliver you know, sustainable energy to their customers. And Algonquin's certainly been at the forefront of that and will continue to be. look for us to continue to grow. You'll see us adding a lot of of new members to the family and certainly leveraging those opportunities to continue to bring all the knowledge that we've gained, plus all you know, the knowledge that that those companies and opportunities bring. So I think you're gonna see a lot of change in our customer experience. we're we're doing We're doing a lot of good things. Our we have a lot of big projects rolling out over the next couple of years to help continue to drive that personalized experience for the customer so that they can not only choose how they interact with us, but also make sure that they understand what choice they do have. To to your point earlier, you know, what what choices do I have? Can I control my usage? Like, how do I know? You know, I always use the analogy like you don't walk in a restaurant and order lobster and have no idea what it costs. Well, for some customers in the utility space, they do that every day. They turn lights on. It like they they have no idea how much money they're spending. so it's how do we give them the right tools to be able to to you know to make conscious decisions and choices around those things and and feel good about how they've consumed energy when they're concerned about the environment. So I think you'll you can look for us to to make a lot of Continued change in that space and excited to be part of it.
speaker-1: That's great, very exciting. And and we really appreciate you giving this giving us this inside look in terms of transformation and really the the role that the experience plays in the utility space because I know I speak for myself and I bet I speak for Chad that we both learned a lot here and I bet our listeners did as well. So thanks for sharing so much today, Jody.
speaker-2: Thank you, Jody. We really appreciate your your time you spent with us and we wish you well in your new role.
speaker-0: Thank you very much. Greatly appreciate it.
speaker-1: So chat, that was a really interesting conversation with Jody. Definitely opened my eyes to several things around the utility space. What did you learn?
speaker-2: I really learned how you manage transformation with the change that must occur across the board, the customer experience, in Jody's case, sustainability and operations and all the opportunities and a lot of challenges in doing that. I also appreciate this common theme that we often hear in our podcast, and it's an important one, that transformation doesn't start with technology. It starts with listening and understanding the needs of customers and employees.
speaker-1: Yeah, I really liked how she hit home that point about needs, which which of course you and I appreciate so much. And a lot of what she spoke about reminded me of healthcare, in terms of just, you know, being a bit behind, but recognizing that expectations are changing and really focusing on needs as you transform and design new experiences. So great conversation with Jody. And to make sure our new episodes are delivered to you every two weeks, please subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
speaker-2: And we're designers, so of course we want your feedback. Please leave us a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify or contact us directly at podcast at castinhew dot com.
speaker-1: Thanks everybody, and we'll look forward to speaking with you soon.
