Creating a workforce based on equality and fairness at EnergyAustralia

The gauntlet has been thrown and a challenge has been issued.
If you have not heard, one of Australia’s biggest energy companies, EnergyAustralia, has closed the gender pay gap that exists between men and women working in the organisation. Around 350 women received increases that deliver parity with their male colleagues, based on their level of responsibility, experience and performance.
Is your organisation deliberating going down the same path? What do you have to look out for?
I chat with Sheryn Grant, Head of Workforce Planning at EnergyAustralia, to find out more about the thinking behind this initiative and how it affects workforce planning and Talent Acquisition.

BK:
Hello Sheryn! So EnergyAustralia has closed the gender pay gap, what does this mean?
Sheryn:
So what we have done is look at the job grades with associated salary ranges for all non-EBA roles. If there is a significant number of both male and female employees in a particular salary range, the average pay shouldn’t be different for males and females and we have now made an active move to close the gap.
BK:
So how does this affect what you do in terms of workforce planning and how you engage your Talent?
Sheryn:
It doesn’t really change the way we do things here. Our approach has always been one of equality and diversity in all forms and we want people to join EnergyAustralia to do the best work of their careers and be involved in a challenging, ever changing industry, not just be motivated by dollars.

BK:
I see, then why are you only doing this now?
Sheryn:
It has been an ongoing process for us really. In recent years, we’ve improved the pathway for women in our business to move into senior roles with our women’s network and mentoring opportunities, as well as looking at issues like unconscious bias. We also made good on our commitment to get women into good, well-paid roles at our power stations where women are currently under-represented.
Last year we welcomed our first intake of female trainees at Yallourn since the site was privatised two decades ago.
This year we have acted to close a two percent parity gap that we had identified between women and men working in equivalent roles. This gap has been steadily closing year to year through our normal remuneration review process and turnover of staff with new people coming into the business. That progress, while steady, has taken longer than we wanted which is why this year we decided to take decisive action to eliminate the gap that remained.
BK:
Are there any challenges you faced?
Sheryn:
We have the same challenges most organisations have, with the large volume of organisation transformations that are currently happening in our sector and others everyone is competing for the same Talent.
It is too early to tell but we are hopeful that we will be viewed well post the announcement and would be seen as not only trail blazers but a company that lives its values one of them being “do the right thing”.
BK:
How do you overcome these challenges? What initiatives do you have in place to help EnergyAustralia attract the best Talent?
Sheryn:
The approach varies from role to role and we look to identify talent through various channels. We are currently piloting a programme to tap into the refugee population, many who have extensive backgrounds but haven’t been able to break into the Australian market. We utilise an in-house sourcing team as well as an external organisation to market map and identify key talent for us.
We accept we can’t be all things to all people but we can always be authentic and true to our core values and hope these resonate with candidates and help us secure the best Talent in the market.
BK:
How do you measure success then? Are there any KPIs?
Sheryn:
Success is measured in various forms, not just the usual KPIs common to TA (such as time to fill). To us, the quality of hire and succession of Talent are more important than filling a role quickly and that is what we look at.
Success to us is a balanced motivated workforce that understand our organisational purpose and buy into it.
BK:
Are there any preventive measures put in place to ensure the gender gap will not reappear at EnergyAustralia?
Sheryn:
Yes. As part of our standard remuneration review process, we analyse recommendations to ensure there is no unconscious bias in performance ratings, salary increases or bonus allocations.  We are just beginning a piece of work to review the setting of pay for new hires to identify and rectify any areas of unconscious bias.
BK:
It’s been great chatting, thank you Sheryn for sharing!
Sheryn:
My pleasure, thank you too!

---

Talent Acquisition (TA) is on the cusp of a new wave of innovation and the 12th Australasian Talent Conference will be shining the light on it – say hi to Artificial Intelligence (A.I.). Find out more here.