Salaries are rising, too, as competition forces utilities to craft compensation packages with stock options and bonuses tied to company performance. Such staffing changes sometimes cause strain. Old-line employees sometimes resent the newcomers. He notes that executive-search firms sometimes fill a new position at a utility several times before finding a candidate who fits. To be sure, utilities still need scads of engineers.
Systems have to run.
But clearly, a major cultural shift is under way at energy companies. With prices and customers no longer guaranteed, success depends on recognizing and preempting market trends. The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.