Of the 194 private U.S. utilities, none of them landed on Fortune’s highly-referenced list of 100 Best Companies to Work For.
Nor did any utilities make Fortune’s addendum rankings such as the 25 Top Companies for Leaders and the World’s Most Admired Companies.
Utilities boast evolving business models, exciting new technology integration and global demand. Those factors translate into hot tech, engineering and accounting jobs.
So why then are utilities not making Fortune’s list? Are utility companies still great places to work?
By Google’s standards—Fortune ranked the firm No. 1—definitely not. In fact, I doubt any utility can match Google’s infamous perks including, 100,000 hours of subsidized massage and a seven-acre sports complex. And what utility can match the ranking oil and gas giant Hilcorp Energy Co. that offered each employee a $100,000 check if company productivity doubled. Then there was Spain’s BBVA bank which added acting classes to improve employee communication.
In the contest of most extravagant perks, utilities lose by technical default.
Because what utilities lack in the "creative anarchy" that got SAS data firm ranked No. 2, they make up for by providing key benefits such as a rich learning environment, great jobs, and diversity.
“There’s definitively a cool factor here,” David Scanzoni, a Duke Energy spokesman, told Utility Dive. “There’s a lot of intellectually stimulating activity and it’s changing constantly with environmental regulations, new technologies, competitive threats, renewables, and the electrification of the developing world.”
Computerworld agrees. The IT news portal ranked five utilities among its 2012 Best Places to Work in IT— including Detroit’s DTE Energy and NextEra Energy Inc. based in Florida.
Utilities also made a comeback on the Latina Style 50’s annual ranking with NYC’s Con Edison named one of the best places to work for Latinas. Looking for retirement benefits? The U.S. News & World Report recommends utilities.
For many great-career indicators, utilities are at the top of the class.
A standard bearer, Duke Energy offers mid-level execs b-school courses and job rotation to acquire new skills inside the company, Scanzoni said. The electricity conglomerate also reimburses grad school tuition up to $25,000.
As a result, the better question at hand may not be—are utilities great places to work, but rather—if a tree falls in the forest and there’s no one around to hear it, did it fall?
That is to say: if utilities are cool places to work and nobody’s writing about it, are they cool?
Going forward, the challenge for utilities won’t be to divvy up $100,000 bonuses and acting classes, but to emblazon the PR megaphone to get its career successes into popular media.
Because in the end, there’s an industry branding war going on. And landing Fortune’s rank could be the difference between a generation of talented workers wanting to move to Silicon Valley’s Palo Alto versus an energy hub in Texas.
Now here’s a tip. This year’s deadline for Fortune’s ‘Best’ ranking is July 1.
My bet is that with more aggressive career branding, utilities can easily make the rank.
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