The Management Committee held a special all-day meeting in San Ramon
last Friday that focused on one topic - communications. This is such
an important subject for all of us right now that I'm writing to convey
to you a sense of what we discussed and what you can expect as a result
of that meeting.
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Our concerns focused primarily on two things: (1) every employee needs
to understand the huge challenges the company faces in dealing
simultaneously with many complex and serious issues (which are listed
below), and (2) every employee's help is needed to create a stronger
trust in PG&E as a competent, responsible utility. As you may remember
from my last e-mail, I think we need to speak up more often about the
good work we're doing for our customers and communities in order to
counteract the negative and often incorrect coverage we're getting in
the media.
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To do this, every single employee needs to have correct, timely information
about the company's programs, initiatives and practices, and each of us needs
to communicate that information to our customers at every opportunity.
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Some of the messages I received in response to my last e-mail were
critical of the way certain issues have been handled in the past, and
one person in particular noted that employees need to be able to have
confidence in the way we manage our business before they can express
that confidence to their family and friends. To this I say, "Amen."
I'm committed to making decisions and taking actions that will earn and
keep your confidence as we move fully into a dynamic new marketplace.
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Here are the major issues facing the company in the next four to six
months:
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If we are to successfully manage all these issues, we will need to have a
common understanding of what they are, how they interact, and what the
company's position is on each one. To help achieve this level of
understanding, we will be developing a series of brief key messages on each of
these topics (and others as they arise) to keep all employees informed and to
coordinate our external communications.
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As a basis for understanding and communicating about these issues, we must all
share a common vision of what we are doing as a business. At last Friday's
meeting, the general managers of all three of the business units presented a
brief overview of their plans for the next several years. These plans provide
the overall direction the utility will follow and define what businesses we
will be in for the foreseeable future. The General Managers and leadership
teams of the business units will be providing more details on these business
plans in the coming days and weeks. These plans will shared across all
business units and corporate services departments so that everybody in the
company is "on the same page."
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In this context, I want to state management's commitment to partnership with
all our employees, both union and non-union:
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We promise to fight for our business at the legislature, before the regulatory
agencies, and in the marketplace, so that we can continue to offer the services
our customers value and succeed in the regulated utility business.
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We promise to engage your participation in as much decision making as we can,
to listen to your ideas, and to communicate thoroughly and consistently with
you about the direction of the company.
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In return, we need all PG&Eers to work flexibly, efficiently and safely to meet
the challenges and constraints the marketplace is pressing on us, both in cost
measures and work practices. Over the coming weeks you'll be hearing more
about the details of the business plans and the company's position on the major
issues we're facing.
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Your ideas and support are needed and welcomed as we find ways to provide good
customer service while maintaining cost and resource efficiencies.
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I look forward to hearing back from you. Thanks, and work safely.