On March 25th., Renee Fearn and Lise Egan-Bales from Central Highlands Water gave club members an interesting overview of the experiences of the organization during the Covid period. They explained that CHW used the "Respond-Recover-Thrive" method to deal with the crisis, and at this point in time they are very happy with the outcomes. See "Read more..." for more details.
Central Highlands Water services 152,000 residences from 15 different water supply sytems - a far more complex arrangement than most water suppliers. The company ran 220 staff during lockdown, and they managed to move the company into remote operations in the space of just three weeks - something they estimated would normally have taken them ten years to accomplish. And they were delighted that this change took place almost seamlessly. They added that they did try very hard to keep a "human-centred" approach throughout the process and adapted their operations to suit different cohorts. Both Renee and Lise spent a lot of time out in the workforce finding out what individual people wanted. They admitted that some leaders in the organization were resistant to change, but they encouraged them not to slide back into their old ways of thinking.At this point, CHW has 75% of its staff force back at work and they still have hybrid arrangements (both office and home) in place which they expect to last into the future. Renee and Lise were pleased to announce that a new Central Highlands Water office has opened in Maryborough at 154 High Street - next to Townsings Bakery.