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December marked the final month of our strategic plan. Over the past three years we have been reporting on the progress of the plan. I am proud of the District for the progress and impact the execution of the strategic plan has had on the District, the employees and the customers. The strategic initiatives in the 2022-2024 plan were Culture, Customer Experience, Operational Efficiency, and Safety. 

The key elements we set out to accomplish for the Culture initiative were 1) develop core values, 2) improve employee engagement, 3) implement performance development, and 4) refine policies & develop processes. In early 2022, the senior team worked with a leadership consultant to identify core values, these core values were then further defined by all employees. Wheat Belt’s core values are respect for individuals, produce quality work and value integrity. As for employee engagement, 2021 was the first year we measured employee engagement through Gallup. We then measured employee engagement in 2022 and 2023 – each year we saw meaningful improvement to employee engagement. Performance development is the process of setting employee expectations, developing the workforce and reviewing employee performance. Over the past three years we have developed job descriptions, identified areas of employee development (lineman apprenticeship program, substation apprenticeship program, line design and staking certification, leadership development) and implemented an annual performance review process. Thirteen of our twenty-five employees are actively on an employee development path, the others are working through continued education as a part of their normal responsibilities. The fourth body of work for the culture initiative was refine policies & develop processes, in the past four years we have developed an employee handbook, an emergency response plan and we have clarified many policies identifying responsibility and accountability for each board policy. Additionally, we have worked to define and document key processes across the company. We have seen the culture of Wheat Belt shift to a continuous improvement thought process to help ensure business continuity for the future.

The Customer Experience initiative, as defined, was a lofty body of work and we knew going into it that it wouldn’t be accomplished in the three-year plan…for that matter it will never be accomplished (you are all a valued part of the District and we would be doing you a disservice if we don’t spend efforts continuing to improve our customer experience). In 2022, we conducted a customer service survey, thank you to those who participated, to understand how you feel we are doing and how that compares to the industry. The outcomes of the survey crafted initiative accomplishments over the past couple of years: we heard “provide more convenient ways to pay our bills” – we delivered the Quick Pay option on the www.wheatbelt.com website, we heard “we want to know more about the qualified professional employees” – we are now featuring employee spotlights in the Nebraska Magazine and Facebook, and we heard “better communication of outages” – you will now find our outage map on our website. We have other items currently being worked on because of the invaluable feedback you provided to us, thank you!  

The key items in the Operational Efficiency initiative were 1) Finance, 2) Drive Data Integrity, 3) Aging to Resilient Infrastructure. The finance body of work included refining the investment strategy, finding a new rate consultant to conduct a cost-of-service study, initiating the use of a statement of cash flow, and working with one of the industry financial institutions to develop our long-term financial forecast. As for data integrity, over the years we spent the first part of the plan collecting field data, validating the data and importing the verified data into our systems of record. This process has given us confidence and helped define processes. Additionally, PCB (polychlorinated biphenyls) is an environmental hazard that was historically used in transformer oil.  In 2022 and 2023 the line crew worked diligently to finish sampling transformer oil to then test and report that all transformers had been tested and any transformers out of specification were disposed of as required. We are still working to digitize our electric plant records. Since 2022 we have started working with contractor line crews to help accomplish our work plan at an accelerated pace, and have restructured the line crews to be more flexible and cross train skills. In 2023 the new four-year work plan was developed and presented to the board for approval. The April 2024 storm was a good reminder that no matter what is done to improve the infrastructure for resiliency there are things out of our control......plan for the worst and hope for the best.

Safety was an initiative placed in the strategic plan to reinforce the continued importance of safety in our industry and in the workplace. The areas of focus were to 1) keep safety important and 2) embrace a safety improvement plan. Monthly our employees meet for a safety meeting.  We are contracted with the Nebraska Rural Electric Association to provide job and safety training, and at least six times a year their facilitators are onsite communicating and training employees on safety topics. Additionally, we have a safety committee that meets quarterly to plan the safety meetings, review incidents, and define the safety improvement plan for the year. Over the past few years, we have focused on OSHA 10-hour training, where nearly all employees have completed this course. Additionally, we have identified topics such marking circuits/phases coming out of the substations and conducting more crew observations. Safety must remain a key component of the business.

We have been busy over the past few years, and we have confidence that we have worked on the right things for the Board of Directors, for the customers, and for the employees. I am proud of the efforts the employees invested in the strategic plan and I’m looking forward to what the new strategic plan has for the District.