The company used to have many officers who were promoted from within and understood the company culture. This is no longer the case. All of our current officers are from outside PGE, and their decisions seem to more and more frequently clash with cultural norms and expectations. I would like to see senior leadership take the time to understand our culture and consider that in their decision making, making informed decisions about how to manage change while considering employee expectations and needs. In addition to my technical background, I have a strong background in organizational development an change management and have seen cultural change managed extremely well earlier in my career. I participated in managing organizational change and culture during times of great change to maintain cultural alignment with strategic goals. I do not see understanding or level of effort here.
In an effort to reduce costs for our customers, we have been in a time of significant cost reductions. Layoffs last year were a shock to the organization, and it appeared that those impacted were not always treated with the respect they deserved. Communication around this reduction was scant, leaving employees to make their own assumptions about what happened.
Similarly, many decisions at the officer level are announced without enough information to help employees understand the strategy behind the change and how it will impact them.
Early in my tenure at PGE, I would see the officers almost daily. They would take the time to engage with employees, but I do not see this today. We rarely see officers. They rarely walk the halls or visit our satellite locations. There is far more telling than listening. Fortunately, our new direct officer has increased his efforts in this regard, is quite approachable, and I appreciate it.
In the past few years, benefits have been reduced. My out of pocket medical expenses frequently exceed the out-of-pocket maximum of $6k, and have been as high as $25k due to exceptions in our health policy. HR has not been interested in hearing feedback on this benefit option. There have been many benefit take-aways, or reductions as well. It adds up and makes the package less attractive than in the past.
Finally, I feel that I must mention that PGE is sometimes kind to a fault. We've had employees that management has long known to be significant poor performers, but no action is taken. The impact of these individuals on those who pick of the slack can be huge. Performance needs to be managed!
