Meet our Organizational Development team
Five employees oversee corporate culture, employee training and leadership development to ensure a successful future
Working at an electric cooperative means so much more than just keeping the lights on, and our Organizational Development team knows that first hand. With a director, three organizational development specialists and a technical training manager, this team is the heartbeat of PEC’s manpower and oversees three key areas:
- Organizational performance — PEC’s lineworker apprenticeship program, monthly training and new employee onboarding
- Leadership expertise — PEC’s Leadership Academy, employee engagement and company culture
- Strategic capability — student internships, change management and the cooperative’s succession planning
“This is why we’re here,” PEC Organizational Development Specialist Dawn Wendel said, “to develop the company’s future and find the tools to help educate and train our people. Simply put, it’s about helping others, which directly benefits our membership.”
Staff development and training are woven into the fabric of all cooperatives as a matter of principle, and maintaining employee satisfaction is directly tied to the success of our organization, PEC Organizational Development Specialist Aline Milam said.
“You want your employees to grow, and we give them that avenue,” she said.
While Milam and Wendel focus on corporate learning programs and change management, PEC Organizational Development Specialist Lynn Rutledge and PEC Technical Training Manager James Vasquez work to support our apprenticeship program. Vasquez oversees 70 lineworker apprentices to ensure they’re properly trained to deliver safe, reliable electricity, and Rutledge coordinates our program with external entities like the Northwest Lineman’s College and the U.S. Department of Labor.
“When I took this job a year and nine months ago, I thought I could be a great resource in training our guys the proper way,” said Vasquez, whose mom became the first woman inducted into the International Lineman’s Hall of Fame. “We’re building a state-of-the-art program here.”
In addition to her duties with the apprenticeship program, Rutledge leads our student internship program and works with local high schools and area colleges to educate Hill Country and Texas youth about careers in energy.
“It’s really all about how we’re participating in the community if we want to recruit individuals from our service area,” Rutledge explained. “We are diligent in marketing what we do and the benefits of working here. We encourage others to be a part of our cooperative and the culture at PEC.”
At the end of the day, this team can all agree their busy workload motivates them as they develop a successful workforce for present and future generations of PEC employees.
“We’re basically a loyal partner to all of the cooperative’s departments,” PEC Director of Organizational Development Amanda Hoefling said, “and our sole job is to make every employee’s work experience the best it can be. It’s the best job in the whole co-op: I truly believe that.”