Insight from the Trenches: Mike D’Auria

Ensuring the company can respond to an event proficiently while utilizing all available employees is essential. For me, this became clear after a few back-to-back major events impacted our service territory, a situation exasperated by the difficulty we were having staffing for second shifts.

After the dust settled, I contacted HR and asked them to identify management employees that could be used outside of their job classification. The HR Lead sought employees that had multiple roles during their tenure, because diverse experience could be beneficial during a response effort. We put together a presentation to pitch to senior management and get their blessing to move forward. We then began meeting with employees, asking for their support, and assigning second roles outside their normal duties. The employees were open and receptive because they appreciated feeling like they were part of the process.