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New employees at Golden Spread Electric Cooperative quickly learn who they're working for—and not just their direct supervisor or management chain.
As part of the Amarillo, Texas-based generation and transmission co-op's onboarding process, new hires attend the annual meeting of one of Golden Spread's 16 distribution members within their first year.
“The purpose is to meet and interact with the member-consumers served by our distribution cooperatives," says Lacy Diaz, director of organizational development and services at Golden Spread.
Golden Spread's headquarters is located within the service area of an investor-owned utility, and most employees are not cooperative members. Attending an annual meeting exposes them to the cooperative process and allows them to meet the individuals who ultimately receive the service provided.
“Our priority is connecting our employees with the members that are impacted by every decision we make," says Diaz. “Our employees love opportunities to interact with our members."
The onboarding program is just one of the ways Golden Spread strengthens ties with its members. This year, for the first time, the G&T has opened its annual leadership conference to staff from each of its distribution co-ops. While space is limited, the G&T is excited to have the opportunity to share this experience.
“Inviting our members' employees to participate in our annual leadership conference strengthens leadership at every level of the cooperative system. It creates shared language, builds stronger relationships across organizations and equips emerging leaders with the skills and perspective they need to lead confidently back home," says Diaz.
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Other opportunities at Golden Spread include small conferences or workshops for distribution co-op staff. These events provide educational opportunities while also fostering stronger relationships between G&T staff and member cooperative employees.
The G&T's HR team hosts two HR summits annually, along with job-shadowing opportunities and a playbook of best practices on topics including legal and regulatory updates impacting the human resources function. Co-ops can also request extensive HR assistance at an hourly rate.
“The HR summit creates a trusted forum for member HR leaders to connect, share experiences and gain practical tools that elevate workplace culture and employee well-being across our cooperative system," Diaz says.
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Golden Spread's member services team holds a quarterly member forum, and staff makes time to visit distribution co-ops as needed.
“While the member forum includes discussions on industry topics, it also creates space for conversations around member relations, communications and best practices that can help cooperatives better serve their members," says Claire Ekas, communications, media and marketing director at Golden Spread.
The annual IT community group meeting allows the G&T's IT staff to share timely information, updates and best practices with the distribution staff.
“The meeting helps ensure members are informed on key initiatives, changes and technologies that may impact their IT environments, while also creating space for discussion and shared learning," says Jon Hedtke, manager of end user computing and IT member services. “The meeting supports stronger alignment between IT teams and member needs."
One of the outcomes from the forum was the Mobile Education Trailer. The group came together to design an interactive display for all ages that is available to the member co-ops for their annual meetings, job fairs, school visits or other events.
“The trailer was a collaborative solution to a need identified by the members," says Stacy Sanning, director of corporate strategy at Golden Spread.
Key features include an interactive 3D game console dubbed “Power to Restore" that mimics a homeowner's experience of getting power restored after an outage. There are also safety games and a grounded bucket for visitors to get in and gain a sense of a bucket truck experience.
“The education trailer has been an incredible resource for elementary students in our territory, giving them a hands-on way to learn how electricity works and how to stay safe around it" says Brailey Ramirez, member services representative at Lyntegar Electric Cooperative, a Golden Spread member distribution co-op.
“We are incredibly fortunate to have such a unique and valued relationship with our members," Ekas says. “These interactions serve as meaningful reminders to our staff of our organization's core purpose and why we do what we do."
