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[1. Call General Session to Order]
TO THE DECEMBER 18TH, 2023 HUMAN RESOURCES AND GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE MEETING.THIS IS PEGGY HEGG, COMMITTEE CHAIR, AND I CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER.
THIS MEETING IS BEING WEBCAST LIVE TO THE PUBLIC ON ERCOT WEBSITE AND, UH, PUC CHAIR, UH, KATHLEEN JACKSON IS WITH US, AND I UNDERSTAND ONLY, ONLY COMMISSIONER, SO WE DON'T NEED TO CALL A MEETING.
BEFORE WE PROCEED, I'D LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT TO THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS THAT THE ANTITRUST AD ADMONITION AND SECURITY MAP ARE INCLUDED WITH THE POST OF MATERIALS.
THE FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS ON
[2. Notice of Public Comment, if Any]
TODAY'S AGENDA IS ITEM NUMBER TWO.NOTICE OF PUBLIC CON COMMENT, IF ANY.
TODAY'S MEETING AGENDA WAS POSTED PUBLICLY ON DECEMBER 11TH AND PROVIDED INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE PUBLIC FOR COMMENTING AND PURPOSE.
PERSON TODAY, NO ONE HAS EXPRESSED INTEREST IN COMMENTING.
IS THAT STILL CORRECT, CHAD? THAT IS CORRECT.
[3. October 16, 2023 General Session Meeting Minutes]
AGENDA ITEM THREE, OCTOBER 16TH, 2023.GENERAL SESSION, ME MEETING MINUTES.
THERE'S A DRAFT OF THE ME THE MINUTES IN YOUR, UH, MATERIALS, DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY COMMENTS OR WANT TO DISCUSS ANY OF THE ISSUES IN THE MINUTES OR WISH TO MAKE A MOTION? I MOVE FURTHER.
DO I HAVE A SECOND? THANK YOU.
ANY OPPOSED OR ASSISTANCE? THE MOTION WAS UNANIMOUSLY PASSED.
[4. Human Resources Operations Report]
PRESENT AGENDA ITEM FOUR, THE HUMAN RESOURCES OPERATIONS REPORT.IT HAS BEEN SINCE JUNE SINCE I WAS HERE TO REPORT ON OUR HR OPERATIONS.
SO I'D LIKE TO SPEND SOME TIME THIS MORNING WITH YOU JUST REVIEWING SOME KEY HR STATISTICS THROUGH 2023, AS WELL AS TALK ABOUT A LOT OF REALLY KEY INITIATIVES THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON WITHIN THE HR FUNCTION.
AS I LOOK AHEAD TO THE STRATEGIC PLAN IN THE COMING, COMING IN THE COMING YEARS, HR WILL PLAY A CRITICAL ROLE TO MAKE SURE, ONE, THAT WE HAVE THE RESOURCES TO BE STAFFED APPROPRIATELY TO EXECUTE ACCORDING TO THAT STRATEGIC PLAN.
AND THEN ALSO THERE'S THE THIRD PILLAR, WHICH REALLY PERTAINS TO THE EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE UNDER THAT THIRD PILLAR.
AND SO THERE'S A LOT OF WORK THAT IS GONNA BE HAPPENING IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS.
SO WE WANTED TO SPEND SOME TIME THIS YEAR TO POSITION OURSELVES SO THAT WE'RE REALLY SETTING OURSELVES UP FOR SUCCESS IN THE COMING YEARS.
AS OF THE END OF NOVEMBER, WE HAD 888 EMPLOYEES AND 43 CONTINGENT WORKERS.
AND THIS IS AN INCREASE OF 155 EMPLOYEES OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS.
SO WE'RE SEEING SIGNIFICANT GROWTH JUST IN 2023.
YEAR TO DATE THROUGH NOVEMBER, WE ONBOARDED 147 EMPLOYEES, SO WE WERE EXTREMELY BUSY WITH OUR ONBOARDING ACTIVITIES AND MAKING SURE THAT OUR EMPLOYEES WERE GETTING ASSIMILATED INTO THE ERCOT CULTURE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
WE ALSO HAD AN INTERNSHIP CLASS THIS YEAR OF 12 INDIVIDUALS, AND WE WERE SO IMPRESSED BY THOSE INDIVIDUALS THAT INTERNSHIP CLASS THAT WE'LL BE LOOKING TO EXPAND OUR INTERNSHIP CLASS FOR NEXT YEAR TO 17 TO 20 INDIVIDUALS.
WHEN I LOOK AT EMPLOYEE ATTRITION, WE'RE ACTUALLY POSITIONED TO WHERE WE WERE AT THE END OF 2020 OR EARLY 2021.
SO SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS ON ATTRITION.
WE'VE REALLY BEEN LOOKING AT DIFFERENT PROGRAMS THAT WE CAN ROLL OUT, JUST ENHANCING THE NEW HIRE EXPERIENCE, THE EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE, AND OF COURSE, YOUR SUPPORT OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR COMPENSATION WITH INCENTIVES IS COMPARABLE TO THE BENCHMARKS TO POSITION US SO THAT WE CAN REALLY RETAIN OUR EMPLOYEES.
WE'VE HAD 49 TERMINATIONS YEAR TO DATE IN 2023, AND THIS BRINGS OUR TOTAL ATTRITION DOWN TO 6.4 AND OUR VOLUNTARY ATTRITION DOWN TO 4.5 NOW ON, UH, YOUR INTRODUCTORY SLIDE THAT'S BELOW THE ATTRITION RATE, SIGNIFICANTLY BELOW THE ATTRITION RATE OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
AND WE ALSO BENCHMARKED TO THE HIGH TECH ATTRITION AND JUST THE LOCAL ATTRITION AND THE TEXAS ATTRITION.
SO WE'VE, WE'VE BEEN SIGNIFICANTLY UNDER THOSE LEVELS.
SO NEXT IS I START LOOKING AT THE DIFFERENT INITIATIVES THAT WE REALLY UNDERTOOK.
AND AGAIN, YOU KNOW, WE'VE, WE'VE HAD THE GROWTH OF HEADCOUNT, WE HAVE
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MORE WORK THAT WE'VE ASSUMED, AND SO, UM, WE REALLY NEEDED RESOURCES AND THAT CAME AT A REALLY CHALLENGING TIME FOR US.OUR APPLICANT POOL HAD STARTED DIMINISHING IN 2020 WITH COVID AND THEN THROUGH 2021 WAS STEADILY PRETTY LOW COMPARED TO HISTORIC TIMES AS WELL.
UM, AND SO WE NEEDED TO BE REALLY CREATIVE ABOUT HOW ARE WE GONNA GET THE RESOURCES WE NEED TO BE STAFFED APPROPRIATELY AND ESPECIALLY GOING INTO THE COMING YEARS AS WELL.
AND SO WE DID A LOT OF WORK EXPANDING THE PLATFORMS THAT WE ACTUALLY SOURCE OUR CANDIDATES.
WE EXPANDED OUR LINKEDIN PLATFORM AND LOOKED FOR NEW JOB POSTINGS THAT WE COULD ACTUALLY SEND OUR OUR JOB POSTINGS TO AT DIFFERENT SITES.
WE ALSO CONTINUED TO PARTICIPATE IN OUR UNIVERSITY CAREER FAIRS, AND WE HAD CAREER FAIRS THIS YEAR AT UT AUSTIN, TEXAS A AND M AND BAYLOR UNIVERSITY.
WE ALSO SPONSORED A NEW PROGRAM WITH TEXAS A AND M.
IT WAS DEDICATED TO ERCOT, AND I'LL BE TALKING ABOUT THIS IN A LITTLE BIT MORE.
WE WERE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT IT AND WE'LL BE CONTINUING THIS PROGRAM IN THE FUTURE YEARS AS WELL.
WE SUBSCRIBE TO A NEW DIVERSITY JOB BOARD AGGREGATOR CALLED EQUEST.
AND WHAT THIS ALLOWS US TO DO IS TO POST ON TARGETED DIVERSITY WEBSITES, UM, AND DIFFERENT GROUPS.
ONE, IT GREW OUR OVERALL APPLICANT POOL, BUT IT ALSO GREW THE DIVERSITY OF OUR APPLICANT POOL AS WELL.
WE REALLY LOOKED AT THE COMMUNICATIONS THAT WE HAVE POSTED OUT THERE AND WE REVAMPED THEM.
UM, WE HAVE DIFFERENT, UH, CAREER SITE WHERE WE HIGHLIGHT OUR INTERNSHIP VIDEOS AND OUR DIFFERENT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS. SO WE'VE DONE A LOT OF WORK ON ENHANCING THE, THE LOOK AND FEEL OF WHAT CANDIDATES SEE WHENEVER THEY MIGHT BE INTERESTED.
AT ERCOT, WE INCREASED OUR EMPLOYEE REFERRALS BECAUSE WE TYPICALLY FIND THAT A LOT OF OUR BEST TALENT RECOMMENDATIONS COME FROM OUR EXISTING EMPLOYEES AND WHO THEY'VE WORKED WITH IN THE PAST.
AND THEN WE CREATED A QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER, AND THIS NEWSLETTER IS SENT OUT TO ALL OF OUR INTERNS OR INDIVIDUALS THAT ATTEND OUR CAREER SITE, UM, OR OUR CAREER FAIRS.
AND IT JUST KEEPS THEM INTERESTED IN ERCOT.
SO WE'RE REALLY REACHING OUT AND WE'RE TOUCHING BASE WITH THEM ON A QUARTERLY SCHEDULE.
WE'RE LETTING THEM KNOW EXCITING WORK THAT WE'RE DOING BECAUSE WE ARE DOING SOME PHENOMENAL WORK RIGHT NOW AND CUTTING EDGE.
BUT IT ALSO GIVES THEM INSIGHT INTO WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO BE AN AN EMPLOYEE AT ERCOT AND THE EXCITING THINGS THAT WE HAVE FOR OUR EMPLOYEES.
I MENTIONED OUR INTERNS, UM, THEY CONTINUE TO PROVIDE AN IMPRESSIVE TALENT PIPELINE FOR US.
AND AGAIN, WE'LL BE EXPANDING THAT PROGRAM TO ABOUT 17 TO 20 OVER THE 12 INDIVIDUALS THAT WE HAD THIS YEAR.
SINCE 2021 THROUGH 2023, WE HAD A TOTAL OF 41 TOTAL INTERNS.
NINE OF THOSE IN INTERNS JOINED ERCOT AS NEW EMPLOYEES, AND THEN SIX ACTUALLY CONVERTED TO CONTINGENT WORKERS DURING THE REST OF THEIR, UM, THEIR CURRICULUM WORK.
SO WE REALLY GET A LOT OF GREAT VALUE OUT OF OUR INTERNS.
AND HISTORICALLY WE ACTUALLY FEATURED A COUPLE OF OUR INTERNS AND WE WOULD BRING THEM TO THE BOARD AND HAVE THEM PRESENT THEIR PROJECT TO OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS.
AND SO WE'LL BE LOOKING TO GETTING ON THE SCHEDULE SO THAT YOU HAVE INSIGHT INTO THE PROJECT WORK THAT THEY'VE DONE NEXT YEAR.
SO FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER, ERCOT PARTICIPATED IN A PROGRAM CALLED ACES.
AND ACES STANDS FOR ACCESSING CAREERS IN ENERGY SUMMIT.
NOW, THIS IS A PROGRAM THAT HAS BEEN GOING ON A COUPLE OF YEARS.
MISO AND SPP STARTED IT WITH GCPA.
SO FOR THE FIRST TIME ERCOT PARTICIPATED AND 20 STUDENTS FROM HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES ARE SELECTED TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS PROGRAM EVERY YEAR.
AND THEY'RE SENT OVER A SPAN OF THREE DAYS.
AND EACH OF THE SPONSORS OF THE PROGRAM SEND AN EXECUTIVE AND DIFFERENT TECHNICAL SMES TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PROGRAM.
AND THEY LEAD THESE STUDENTS IN AN ENERGY RELATED PROJECT.
AND IT'S GREAT BECAUSE WE ACTUALLY SEND RECRUITERS AS WELL.
AND SO IF WE SEE TALENT THERE THAT WE THINK WOULD BE A GOOD FIT AT ERCOT, THEN WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE OFFERS.
AND WE ACTUALLY HAVE ONE STUDENT WHO WILL BE JOINING US AS A NETWORK MODEL ENGINEER THAT'S COMING OUT OF THIS PROGRAM.
SO UNIVERSITY RELATIONSHIPS ARE KEY FOR US TO MAKING SURE THAT WE ALWAYS HAVE OUR EYE ON THE FUTURE TALENT.
UM, SO IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR US TO GO IN AND TALK TO STUDENTS TO GET THEM EXCITED, NOT JUST ABOUT THE ENERGY FIELD, UM, IN ITSELF, BUT ALSO ABOUT ERCOT SPECIFICALLY.
AND SO I MENTIONED A NEW PROGRAM THAT WE PARTNERED WITH TEXAS A AND M ON THIS YEAR, AND IT WAS ON NOVEMBER 14TH.
AND WE ACTUALLY HAD ERCOT EXECUTIVES GO IN AND TALK TO THE STUDENTS ABOUT WHAT
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IT IS LIKE TO WORK ON THE SMART GRID AT ERCOT AND JUST WHAT THE LOOK AND FEEL OF ERCOT IS LIKE, AND JUST GET THEM EXCITED ABOUT OUR COMPANY.AND WE HAD A HUNDRED STUDENTS REGISTER AND ATTEND.
NOW WE DID FEED THEM PIZZA, AND SO THAT WAS A BIG DRAW FOR THEM, BUT THEY WERE VERY INTERACTIVE DURING THE SESSION AND IT WAS JUST A GREAT TIME.
AND AGAIN, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'LL BE CONTINUING IN THE COMING YEARS WITH TEXAS A AND M.
AND, AND THEN ALSO UNDER OUR STRATEGIC PLAN, WE'VE ALSO BEEN WORKING ON, UM, CREATING DIFFERENT OPPORTUNITIES OR DIFFERENT IDEAS ON HOW TO EXPAND THOSE UNIVERSITY RELATIONSHIPS EVEN FURTHER.
AND SO WHEN I COMPARE 2023 TO 2022, I THOUGHT THESE WERE IMPRESSIVE STATISTICS THAT I WANTED TO TO SHARE WITH YOU.
AND AGAIN, THIS GOES TO ALL THE WORK THAT HR HAS DONE.
UM, ALSO WORKING WITH HIRING MANAGERS ON FINDING, UM, OR GROWING OUR APPLICANT POOL AND FINDING THE BEST TALENT THAT WE CAN.
SO YEAR TO DATE, WE HAVE FILLED 199 REQUISITIONS AND WE'RE ON TRACK TO FILL 220 BY YEAR END, AND THAT'S A 10% INCREASE OVER LAST YEAR.
OUR TOTAL APPLICANT POOL INCREASED 65% THIS YEAR.
SO WE WERE REALLY THRILLED ABOUT THAT STATISTIC.
AS FAR AS APPLICANT DIVERSITY, 73% OF OUR APPLICANTS WERE CONSIDERED DIVERSE BY RACE OR ETHNICITY COMPARED TO LAST YEAR'S STATISTIC OF 62%, 35% OF OUR APPLICANTS WERE FEMALE COMPARED TO LAST YEAR OF 29%.
AND WITH RESPECT TO THE DIVERSITY THAT WE'RE HIRING, 50% OF OUR NEW HIRES WERE CONSIDERED DIVERSE BY RACE OR ETHNICITY COMPARED TO 49% LAST YEAR.
31% OF NEW HIRES WERE FEMALE COMPARED TO 24% IN 2022.
AND SO YOU CAN SEE COMPARED TO 2021, OUR STATISTICS ARE JUST GROWING WITH RESPECT TO OUR APPLICANT POOL THAT WE'RE FINDING IN THE DIVERSITY OF THOSE CANDIDATES.
SO IT'S ONE THING TO FIND THE EMPLOYEES THAT WE NEED FOR THE WORK THAT WE DO, BUT WE ALSO NEED TO OFFER THEM TRAINING.
AND SO THIS PROVIDES YOU AN OVERVIEW OF THE DIFFERENT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE OFFER TO OUR STAFF IN 2023.
SO HISTORICALLY, WE ACTUALLY FOCUS THE MAJORITY OF OUR TRAINING DOLLARS ON OUR MANAGEMENT, AND IT IS IMPORTANT TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR MANAGERS HAVE THE TRAINING THEY NEED TO BE SUCCESSFUL WITH THEIR TEAMS AND AND TO PUSH AND DEVELOP THEIR TEAMS. BUT WE REALLY WANTED TO BROADEN THAT TO ALL OF OUR EMPLOYEES.
AND SO WE STARTED DOING THAT IN 2023.
UM, SO THIS LIST, THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF TRAININGS, AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE A LINKEDIN LEARNING PLATFORM THAT ANY EMPLOYEE CAN GO OUT AND THEY CAN SELECT ON DEMAND TRAINING WHENEVER THEY WANT AS WELL.
AND SO OUR TRAINING IN 2023 INCREASED BY 19% OVER LAST YEAR.
NOW WE ALSO CREATED A BRAND NEW EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM, AND WE'RE CALLING THAT PROGRAM THE VITALITY PROGRAM, AND WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON IT ALL YEAR AND WE'RE REALLY EXCITED TO LAUNCH IT IN JANUARY NEXT YEAR.
AND THIS WILL BE AN ONGOING ANNUAL PROGRAM.
AND THE EXECUTIVE TEAM, EACH YEAR WE'LL SELECT OR NOMINATE 12 TO 15 INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTORS TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS PROGRAM.
AND THEN WE'LL ALSO SELECT ONE MANAGER TO MENTOR THE FINAL NOMINATIONS OR THE FINAL PARTICIPANTS IN THAT PROGRAM EVERY YEAR.
AND IT'S A REALLY EXCITING PROGRAM.
IT INCLUDES PERSONAL ASSESSMENTS FOR THE INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTORS AND IT INCREASES THEIR SELF-AWARE, THEIR SELF-AWARENESS ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWTH THAT THEY HAVE.
IT PROVIDES ON ONSITE TRAINING WITH CENTER FOR CREATIVE LEADERSHIP OR CCL, AND IT ALSO INCLUDES AN ACTION LEARNING PROJECT.
AND WHAT THAT ACTION LEARNING PROJECT IS IS THAT EACH YEAR THE PARTICIPANTS IN THIS PROGRAM WILL COME UP WITH SOME TYPE OF PROJECT THAT IS A FORWARD-FACING CHALLENGE THAT ERCOT FACES, AND THEY'LL WORK ON IT ALL YEAR LONG UNDER THAT MANAGER'S MENTORSHIP THAT YEAR.
AND THEN THEY WILL ACTUALLY PRESENT THEIR PRESENTATIONS TO THE EXECUTIVE AND MANAGEMENT TEAM AT THE END OF EACH YEAR.
SO WE TALKED ABOUT ENHANCING THE NEW HIRE EXPERIENCE, UM, AND A LOT OF WORK HAS BEEN DONE IN HR THIS YEAR.
WE REALLY LOOKED AT THE CANDIDATE EXPERIENCE AND THE NEW HIRE EXPERIENCE AND HOW WE COULD REALLY ENHANCE THAT AND MAKE IT A MORE POSITIVE EXPERIENCE FOR OUR NEW HIRES AS WELL AS REALLY ASSIMILATE THOSE EMPLOYEES INTO OUR CULTURE AT A QUICKER PACE.
AND SO A COUPLE OF THINGS WERE DONE ON THIS FRONT.
UM, FIRST WE NOW ONBOARD ALL OF OUR NEW HIRES ON SITE.
THERE'S NO VIRTUAL ONBOARDING ANYMORE.
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WE BELIEVE THIS IS A MORE PERSONALIZED APPROACH.WE MAKE SURE THAT MANAGEMENT AND IT IS THERE TO HELP THEM WITH THEIR EQUIPMENT SET UP AND THEIR ACCESS.
AND OF COURSE, HR IS THERE AS WELL TO KIND OF GREET THEM AND GET THEM ACCLIMATED TO THE CULTURE.
WE ALSO REALLY LOOKED AT THE COMMUNICATIONS THEY RECEIVE.
IT'S REALLY CRITICAL FROM A CANDIDATE PERSPECTIVE THAT YOU MOVE QUICKLY ON A CANDIDATE THAT YOU'RE INTERESTED IN BECAUSE THE LONGER THEY'RE IN AN APPLICANT, UH, AN APPLICANT PHASE, THEN THE, THE EASIER IT IS TO LOSE THAT PERSON.
SO WE REALLY MADE THOSE COMMUNICATIONS MUCH MORE CONCISE AND WE CREATED A BRAND NEW MENTORSHIP EXCHANGE PROGRAM.
AND THIS MENTORSHIP EXCHANGE PROGRAM, IT ASSIGNED EACH NEW HIRE WITH A TECHNICAL SE ON THEIR TEAM, UM, TO REALLY ONBOARD THEM AND ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS AND IT BECOMES THE GO-TO PERSON SO THAT THE NEW HIRE FEELS MORE COMFORTABLE AND GETS UP TO SPEED IN THE DEPARTMENT AND THE WORK AS WELL.
AND THEN WE ALSO FINALLY, YOU'LL NOTICE THAT WE HAD THIS ANIMATION CHARACTER.
SO WE ENGAGED A THIRD PARTY ANIMATION, UM, COMPANY AND WE WORK WITH THEM TO COME UP WITH CREATIVE VIDEOS TO HELP GIVE THE NEW HIRE INFORMATION, BUT IN A MUCH MORE EXCITING WAY.
AND SO THIS IS WATSON POWERS, WHO IS OUR NEW FIREFLY CHARACTER.
IN OCTOBER, WE LAUNCHED AN ALL EMPLOYEE FEEDBACK SURVEY AND WE RECENTLY GOT THOSE RESULTS BACK AND I'LL BE WORKING WITH THE EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT TEAM TO SHARE THE RESULTS FOR THEIR RESPECTIVE ORGANIZATIONS AND THEN ALSO SEND THE RESULTS TO ALL EMPLOYEES AND SHARE THAT WITH THEM.
BUT I WANTED TO PROVIDE YOU AN INITIAL HIGH LEVEL VIEW AND THEN I'LL BE COMING BACK IN THE COMING MONTHS TO SHARE ADDITIONAL, UM, SPECIFICS WITH YOU.
OUR RESPONSE RATE OVERALL TO THE SURVEY WAS 60% AND WE HAD ABOUT 525 UM, EMPLOYEES PROVIDE FEEDBACK.
THE SURVEY TOOK ABOUT NINE MINUTES AND THE GREAT NEWS WAS THAT ALL CATEGORIES COMPARED FAVORABLY.
SO EVEN OUR LOWEST SCORES OUTSCORED THE BENCHMARKS.
SO WE WERE THRILLED WITH THAT.
AND THE TOP TWO CATEGORIES WERE ENGAGEMENT AND TRUST IN MANAGER AND COMPANY CULTURE WAS OUR THIRD, UM, MOST FAVORABLE CATEGORY.
MARA, UH, WHEN YOU FURTHER ANALYZE THIS DATA, ARE YOU ABLE TO LOOK AT IT BY DEPARTMENT? WE CAN.
WHEN THERE ARE DEPARTMENTS THAT HAVE ENOUGH EMPLOYEES TO STILL KEEP THEM ANONYMOUS.
SO WHEN YOU REPORT BACK IN MORE DETAIL, MAYBE IT'D BE GOOD TO KNOW IF THERE ARE ANY OUTLIERS OR BY DEPARTMENT AND I CAN WORK WITH THE COMMITTEE ON THE DIFFERENT DATA CUTS THAT YOU'D LIKE TO SEE AND WE CAN HONE IN ON THOSE.
AND FINALLY, UH, WE WORK HARD, BUT WE LIKE TO PLAY HARD SOMETIMES TOO.
UM, SO WE HAVE QUARTERLY ONSITE EMPLOYEE GATHERINGS.
UM, THESE DAYS HAVE DIFFERENT FUN ACTIVITIES.
WE PROVIDE LUNCH AND IT GIVES ALL OF OUR EMPLOYEES A TIME TO TO RECONNECT IN PERSON.
THEY SCHEDULE IN-PERSON MEETINGS ON THESE DAYS 'CAUSE SO MANY EMPLOYEES ARE THERE.
SO WE HAVE ONE EVENT EACH QUARTER.
THIS WAS OUR HALLOWEEN EVENT AND YOU CAN SEE THAT THE EMPLOYEES, UM, HAD A GOOD TIME.
THEY, WE ENCOURAGED THEM TO DRESS IN COSTUME.
THERE WERE DIFFERENT PUMPKIN DECORATING CONTEST AND DIFFERENT COSTUME CONTEST.
AND THEN OF COURSE WE JUST LAST WEEK HAD OUR HOLIDAY EVENT AS WELL WHERE WE HAD I THINK ABOUT 700 PEOPLE THAT ATTENDED.
SO IT WAS A FANTASTIC TURNOUT.
DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS FOR MARA? GREAT JOB.
[5. Annual Committee Self-Evaluation Survey Results]
ITEM FIVE, ANNUAL COMMITTEE SELF-EVALUATION SURVEY RESULTS.FOLLOWING THE OCTOBER MEETING BOARD MEMBERS WHO SERVED ON THE HR AND G COMMITTEE DURING 2023 WE'RE ASKED TO COMPLETE A COMMITTEE.
SELF-EVALUATIONS RESULTS HAVE BEEN COMPILED, ARE INCLUDING IN THE MEETING MATERIALS TO FACILITATE TODAY'S DISCUSSION.
WOULD ANYONE LIKE TO COMMENT ON THE RESULTS? OKAY.
AND AS ALWAYS, IF UH, THERE'S ANYTHING YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT THE, THE STRUCTURE OF HOW THE COMMITTEE'S RUNNING IN BETWEEN SURVEYS, UH, LET'S GET IT ON THE TABLE.
[6. Review of ERCOT Governing Documents]
SIX, REVIEW OF ERCOT GOVERNING DOCUMENTS.THE HR AND G COMMITTEE CHARTER REQUIRES THAT THE COMMITTEE ANNUALLY REVIEW THE CERTIFICATE OF FORMATION BYLAWS AND BOARD POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR THE REASON SET FORTH IN THE MEMORANDUM, INCLUDING THE MEETING MATERIALS.
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ARE NO ANTICIPATED AMENDMENTS, ALTHOUGH THERE WILL LIKELY BE PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE BOARD POLICIES AND PROCEDURES IN EARLY 2024.UH, CHAD, IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU'D LIKE TO ADD ON THIS? YEAH, I WOULD JUST NOTE THAT AS WE INDICATED IN THE MEMO, THE THERE'S LEGAL PROCEEDINGS PENDING AT THE TRAVIS COUNTY DISTRICT COURT ON THE LAST SET OF APPROVALS OF THE BYLAWS AND CERTIFICATE OF FORMATION.
THERE'S ACTUALLY A HEARING TOMORROW OR OR ARGUMENTS ON THE COMPLAINT AGAINST THE PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION APPROVING THOSE BYLAWS.
THAT'S A TRAVIS COUNTY DISTRICT COURT, SO WE'LL KNOW MORE HOPEFULLY IN THE FORESEEABLE OF FUTURE AROUND THE, THE CURRENT BYLAWS AS THAT MOVES THROUGH THE COURT PROCESS.
ANY COMMENTS? NEXT UP IS AGENDA
[Items 7 & 8]
ITEM SEVEN, REVIEW OF PERIODIC PERIODICITY OF MEETINGS AND AGENDA ITEM 8 20 25, UH, ERCOT MEETING AND ANNUAL SCHEDULE.OUR CHARTER REQUIRES THAT THE COMMITTEE ANNUALLY REVIEW THE BOARD'S POLICIES REGARDING THE FREQUENCY OF MEETINGS, WHICH HISTORICALLY TAKES PLACE AT THE END OF THE YEAR AHEAD OF THE REQUIRED FILING WITH THE PUC ON BOARD MEETING FREQUENCY.
THE BOARD PREVIOUSLY APPROVED A SIX MEETINGS SCHEDULED FOR 24 24 AND NO MODIFICATIONS OR PLANNED FOR 2024.
THIS IS A OPPORTUNITY FOR THE COMMITTEE TO DISCUSS WHETHER TO RECOMMEND A CHANGE IN MEETING FREQUENCY FOR 2025 AHEAD OF A DISCUSSION.
UH, A BOARD MEETING DATES TOMORROW WITH THE BOARD, WHICH IS, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO CHAD NOW TO PRESENT THE, THE REVIEW.
YEAH, SO AS PEGGY INDICATED, THIS IS AN ANNUAL FILING THAT, THAT WE DO WITH THE, THE COMMISSION PURSUANT TO THE SUBSTANTIVE ROLES THAT'S REFLECTED HERE ON THE SLIDE.
UH, OF COURSE THE COMMISSION, UH, THE, THE BOARD IS ALREADY LOCKED IN.
IT'S SCHEDULED FOR 2024, WHICH IS SIX MEETINGS.
FURTHER DOWN YOU HAVE AN APPENDIX THAT HIGHLIGHTS, UH, WHEN WE GO OUT AND SAMPLE THE OTHER ISOS RTOS, UH, REGULAR SCHEDULE FREQUENCY.
AND YOU CAN ALSO SEE THEIR NON-REGULAR SCHEDULES FOR THE ERCOT EQUIVALENT, THAT WOULD BE LIKE A SPECIAL MEETING IN WHICH WE HAVE TO GIVE SEVEN DAYS NOTICE OR AN URGENT MEETING, WHICH REQUIRES ONE HOUR NOTICE TO TO MEET VIRTUALLY.
SO YOU CAN SEE HERE KIND OF THE FLAVOR THAT REALLY SPANS ACROSS THE ISOS RTOS.
SOME MEET, UM, WAY MORE THAN THE BOARD AND THE COMMITTEE DOES SOME MEET LESS.
AND SO IT'S REALLY UP TO THE COMMITTEE AND THE BOARD TO DECIDE THE, THE FREQUENCY OF MEETINGS.
AS WE LOOK AT 2025, WE KNOW WE WANNA LOCK THOSE DATES IN FOR THE BOARD MEMBERS CONSIDERING Y'ALL'S OTHER COMMITMENTS.
SO GETTING FEEDBACK ON, ON THIS AS WE START TO FINALIZE OUR MATERIALS FOR THE FEBRUARY, 2024 MEETING WHERE WE WOULD PRESENT, UM, THE 2025 SCHEDULE FOR A VOTING ITEM WOULD BE HELPFUL.
UM, SO I'LL STOP THERE AND SEE IF ANY COMMITTEE MEMBERS HAVE ANY, ANY FEEDBACK.
BILL? UH, I KNOW THAT THERE'S BEEN DISCUSSION ABOUT FIVE MEETINGS VERSUS SIX MEETINGS.
UM, I THINK WE CAN GO EITHER WAY, BUT I DO BELIEVE THAT, UM, THAT THE LEGAL TEAM HAS DONE A GOOD JOB OF TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW YOU CAN REPACK THE SCHEDULE TO GET IT DONE IN FIVE.
AND SO I LOOK FORWARD TO FURTHER DISCUSSION ON THIS.
YEAH, I I, I'M SORT OF IN THE SAME BOAT.
I, I THINK THAT IT, IF IT WAS POSSIBLE TO DO IT IN FIVE, THAT WOULD BE DESIRABLE.
UH, OBVIOUSLY THERE WOULD BE HAVE TO BE FIVE MORE SUBSTANTIAL MEETINGS THEN THE SIX THAT WE HAVE BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF MATERIAL TO COVER.
BUT IT WOULD BE, FROM MY POINT OF VIEW, POSSIBLE TO DO IT.
UM, IT SHOULD BE POSSIBLE TO DO IT.
AND I WOULD SAY FROM THE, FROM THE BYLAWS PERSPECTIVE, THE BOARD IS ONLY REQUIRED TO MEET ONCE EVERY QUARTER.
AND SO OBVIOUSLY THE BOARD IS FULFILLING THAT LEGAL REQUIREMENT.
UM, YOU KNOW, MOVING TO FIVE IS OBVIOUSLY DOABLE.
IT CHANGES KIND OF THE, THE, THE PROCESSES ON HOW WE PRESENT, UH, MATERIALS TO THE BOARD AND THE COMMITTEE, AS YOU'VE SEEN THE CADENCE OF ITEMS THAT, THAT NATURALLY FLOW THROUGH A SIX MEETING CYCLE, THAT'S ALL VERY ACHIEVABLE TO DO.
AND REALLY WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE IS THE REGULAR SCHEDULED MEETINGS THAT WE LIKE TO SET AN EXPECTATION TO THE STAKEHOLDERS AND TO LOCK IN THE ANNUAL MEETING AS WELL.
UH, THAT'S PART OF THIS REGUL REGULAR SCHEDULE VOTING.
OF COURSE, AT ANY POINT IF THE BOARD NEEDS TO ADD ANOTHER REGULAR SCHEDULED MEETING, UM, YOU CAN DO THAT BY ADDING ANOTHER MEETING THROUGH A VOTING MECHANISM OR AS I INDICATED, YOU HAVE THE SPECIAL AND URGENT, UH, GOVERNANCE PROCESSES THAT WE CAN USE FOR THOSE THINGS THAT WE CAN'T SEE IN ON THE HORIZON THAT MAY POP POP UP MORE FREQUENTLY.
IT DOES LOOK LIKE THE OTHER ISOS USE THESE SPECIAL OR URGENT MEETINGS MORE THAN WE DO.
WE DO NONE AND THEY ALL SEEM TO DO SOME, I GUESS ALL'S TOO MUCH NEW YORK ISO DOESN'T, BUT EVERYBODY ELSE DOES.
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LINDA, I ALSO SUPPORT TAKING A HARD LOOK AT SHIFTING THE CONTENT OF SIX MEETINGS TO FIVE.I THINK IT'S THE BETTER THING TO DO, BUT WE NEED TO YEAH.
LOOK FORWARD TO LOOKING AT SHIFTING THE CONTENT.
YEAH, FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, I THINK WE ALL HAVE THE SAME OBJECTIVE OF DEVELOPING A SCHEDULE THAT ALLOWS THE BOARD TO GET THE WORK DONE THAT IT NEEDS TO GET DONE.
I THINK I RECOGNIZE THAT THERE'S A COST ASSOCIATED WITH MEETINGS, UH, THAT OUR STAFF HAS TO PREPARE FOR.
AND IT, AND HAVING WATCHED IT FOR JUST ALMOST TWO YEARS NOW, IT'S A SIGNIFICANT COST PREPARING THE THOUSANDS OF PAGES OF MATERIALS.
IT, IT'S, IT'S A SEVERAL WEEK PROJECT.
SO, UH, I THINK IF WE CAN MAKE, GET THE SCHEDULE RIGHT AND, AND WE BELIEVE WE CAN MAKE IT IN FIVE MEETINGS, I'M SUPPORTIVE OF THAT, UH, RECOGNIZING THAT WE MAY GET TO THE END OF 2024 AND SAY, WE CAN'T DO IT.
WE MIGHT HAVE TO ADJUST IT AGAIN, UH, OR HAVE SPECIAL, YOU KNOW, MORE SPECIAL MEETINGS.
DID YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS, KATHLEEN? WELL, I, I THINK FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, IT'S ALL ABOUT THE TASK AT HAND.
AND AS YOU KNOW, WE HAVE, UM, A LOT OF WORK AHEAD, PARTICULARLY WITH MARKET DESIGN.
AND SO IT'S GONNA BE IMPORTANT THAT, UH, WHEN A PASSPORT, UM, EXECUTABLE, UH, DECISION, YOU KNOW, BY THE ERCOT BOARD IS NEEDED, UH, AS WELL AS WHEN THERE IS A DECISION THAT'S NEEDED FROM THE PUC THAT WE'RE IN SYNC AND ABLE TO DO THAT SO THAT WE DON'T, YOU KNOW, UM, SLOW DOWN THE PACE THAT WE CONTINUE TO BE ABLE TO DELIVER IN A TIMELY MANNER.
SO, UM, I I THINK THAT WOULD BE MY, MY CONCERN IS TO MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE AVAILABLE WHEN YOU NEED US AND THAT Y'ALL ARE AVAILABLE WHEN WE NEED Y'ALL.
I WOULD JUST ADD THAT MOST BOARDS THAT I'M ON HAVE SOME SORT OF A MECHANISM WHERE THEY HAVE IMPROMPTU MEETINGS WHEN THE SITUATION REQUIRES IN IT, AND, AND WE'VE TENDED TO SLOT EVERYTHING INTO A SCHEDULED BOARD MEETING IN PART BECAUSE WE'VE GOT SIX OF THEM.
AND SO WE'RE NEVER MORE THAN, YOU KNOW, EIGHT WEEKS AWAY FROM THE NEXT MEETING.
UH, I I THINK WE COULD THINK ABOUT MAYBE HAVING A, A LITTLE MORE FLEXIBILITY IN TERMS OF SCHEDULING.
UM, IF, IF WE WENT TO A FIVE MEETING SCHEDULE, I THINK, I THINK WE OUGHT TO THEN THINK ABOUT MAYBE HAVING A, A FEW SPECIALS SPRINKLED IN SOMEWHERE AND SORT OF TO YOUR POINT, KATHLEEN, SO WE'RE TIMELY ON THE, THE OTHER, THE OTHER KIND OF FLEXIBILITY ISSUE MIGHT BE THAT WE HAVE COMMITTEES THAT NEED TO MEET ON A SPECIAL, UH, BASIS, BUT THE WHOLE BOARD DOESN'T HAVE TO.
SO, YOU KNOW, THERE MAY BE SOME SITUATION WHERE, YOU KNOW, R AND M NEEDS TO MEET AND APPROVE SOMETHING, UH, AND THEY NEED TO DO IT BEFORE OUR NEXT SCHEDULED BOARD MEETING, BUT, BUT THE BOARD CAN WAIT.
YEAH, I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THAT SCENARIO WOULD BE, BUT I, I THINK WE ALL AGREE AND WE, WE NEED TO BE AS, AS FLEXIBLE AS WE CAN, UM, AND, AND, AND TRY TO BE AS EFFICIENT AS WE CAN, SO THANK YOU.
[9. Annual Communications Overview]
NINE, ANNUAL COMMUNICATIONS OVERVIEW OF ROBERT BLACK WILL BE PRESENTING.UH, IS IT STILL MORNING? GOOD AFTERNOON.
UM, GIVE YOU A, UH, ANNUAL COMMUNICATIONS OVERVIEW OF THE LAST YEAR.
I THINK, UM, EVERYBODY PROBABLY REMEMBERS THIS TIME LAST YEAR, UM, WHEN WE HAD THIS MEETING, WE WERE, UH, TALKING ABOUT HOW WE'RE GOING TO, UM, INCREASE OUR COMMUNICATIONS EFFORTS BECOME MORE TRANSPARENT, UH, HOW WE NEEDED TO ADDRESS THE ONGOING, UM, CRITICISM THAT, THAT ERCOT HAD HAD SINCE YURI THAT WE DIDN'T COMMUNICATE ENOUGH, WE DIDN'T TALK TO THE PUBLIC ENOUGH, WE DIDN'T EDUCATE THE PUBLIC ENOUGH, UM, WE WEREN'T TRANSPARENT ENOUGH, UM, AND HOW WE WERE GONNA DO THAT ALL WHILE, UM, TRYING TO CHANGE THE NARRATIVE OF EVERY TIME ERCOT DID SPEAK IT, EVERYBODY THOUGHT THAT WE WERE ABOUT TO RUN OFF A CLIFF.
[00:30:03]
THIS PRESENTATION WILL KIND OF GO THROUGH, UM, WHAT MARK MINOR, OUR DIRECTOR OF CORPCOM AND HIS TEAM, AND WHAT WE'VE DONE OVER THE LAST YEAR.UM, ESSENTIALLY WHAT WE NEEDED TO DO AT THE VERY BEGINNING WAS CREATE A MORE STREAMLINED ORGANIZATION.
WE HAD, UH, SILOS BETWEEN, UM, CORP CORPORATE COMMUNICATION AND OUR DIGITAL TEAM.
UH, WE WANTED TO BREAK THOSE DOWN AND, UH, REBUILD, UM, OUR INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS TEAM SO THAT WE COULD BE MORE FLEXIBLE, SO THAT WE COULD BE MORE NIMBLE AND SO THAT WE COULD GET RID OF SILOS AND HAVE EVERYBODY WORKING, WORKING CROSS PURPOSES.
WE WANTED TO, UH, WE KNEW IF WE'RE GOING TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN COMMUNICATION, WE NEEDED TO COMMUNICATE MORE, UH, SO WE NEEDED TO ENGAGE IN SOCIAL MEDIA A LOT MORE THAN WE HAD BEEN.
UM, WE ALSO WANTED TO ENGAGE WITH HR AND ENHANCE OUR INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS PROCESS, UH, TO HELP OUR CULTURE AND ALSO JUST TO KEEP MAKE SURE WE KEPT OUR EMPLOYEES EDUCATED.
UM, WE KNEW WE NEEDED TO BUILD SOME NEW TOOLS, UM, TO BETTER COMMUNICATE WITH THE PUBLIC, UM, LIKE TEXANS AND THE WEATHER WATCH.
AND WE NOT WANTED TO, UM, IMPROVE ACROSS ALL OF OUR PLATFORMS, UM, JUST OVERALL, UH, TO BETTER, TO BE MORE TRANSPARENT AND TO GET MORE COMMUNICATIONS OUT.
UM, WE STARTED WITH STRUCTURE.
LIKE I SAID, WE BROKE DOWN OUR, UH, BROKE DOWN THE SILOS.
UM, WE STARTED, UH, FOCUSING MORE ON THE INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS.
WE ESSENTIALLY BUILT THREE TEAMS IN CORPORATE COMMUNICATION, INTERNAL, EXTERNAL, AND DIGITAL.
UM, AND WE EXPANDED OUR CAPABILITIES OF OUR TEAM BY ADDING SOME NEW TEAM MEMBERS TO GIVE US A TOTAL OF, UH, 12 PEOPLE TOTAL IN CORPCOM OUR OBJECTIVES EXTERNAL.
WE KNEW WE NEEDED TO HAVE, WE KNEW WE NEEDED TO REBUILD OUR CREDIBILITY AND TRUST WITH THE PUBLIC.
LIKE I SAID, THIS TIME LAST YEAR, EVERY TIME ERCOT SPOKE, IT SEEMED LIKE, UM, SOMETHING BAD WAS ABOUT TO HAPPEN.
WE WANTED TO GET AWAY FROM THAT.
WE WANTED TO REBUILD, UH, CREDIBILITY THAT, UH, AND WE WANTED TO REEDUCATE THE PUBLIC REEDUCATE, LAWMAKERS REEDUCATE THE PRESS ON WHAT WE DID.
WE KNEW WE HAD TO DO THAT BY COMMUNICATING CONSISTENTLY, UH, BEING IN FRONT OF THEM A LOT.
UM, WE NEEDED TO IMPROVE OUR DIGITAL COMMUNICATION CHANNELS, AND WE WANTED TO WORK WITH HR TO, UM, BUILD AN, OUR FIRST INTRANET, UH, AND, AND A ROBUST INTERNAL OUTREACH SYSTEM TO OUR EMPLOYEES.
UM, ON THE EXTERNAL FRONT, UM, WE STARTED, ONE OF THE FIRST BIG THINGS WE DID AFTER THE REORGANIZATION WAS WE INTRODUCED TEXANS, UH, A NEW PLATFORM BY WHICH WE COULD USE TO EDUCATE THE PUBLIC.
AND THE KEYSTONE OF THE LAUNCH OF TEXANS WAS THE INTRODUCTION OF THE WEATHER WATCH.
Y'ALL MIGHT REMEMBER THAT BACK IN SPRING, WHERE WE WANTED TO HAVE A MECHANISM BY WHICH WE COULD GET OUT IN FRONT OF ANYTHING POTENTIAL BAD THAT WAS GONNA HAPPEN WITH THE PUBLIC INSTEAD OF A LAST MINUTE ALERT FOR CONSERVATION OR SOMETHING ELSE.
WE WANTED TO START COMMUNICATING WITH THE PUBLIC A LOT EARLIER AND EDUCATING THEM ON WHAT THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF ALERTS WERE.
SO WE LAUNCHED TEXANS AND THE KEYSTONE PART OF THAT WAS THE WEATHER WATCH AFTER SESSION.
WE ALSO WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE GOT OUR EXECUTIVES AND ESPECIALLY PABLO OUT IN FRONT OF FOLKS A LOT MORE THAN WE HAD BEEN, UM, TO DO INTERVIEWS, UH, TO DO SPEECHES, UH, TO GET IN FRONT OF DIFFERENT GROUPS TO START CARRYING OUR MESSAGE, THE MESSAGE OF THE DAY, UM, IN PERSON IN PUBLIC AS MUCH AS WE COULD.
WE'VE RECENTLY LAUNCHED, UM, TRENDING TOPICS ON THE WEBSITE.
THIS IS SOMETHING WE'LL TALK ABOUT LATER, AND WE'LL UTILIZE A LOT MORE IN 2024 THAT WILL HELP US TRY TO GET AHEAD OF ISSUES, UM, AND START EXPLAINING ISSUES BEFORE MAYBE THEY EVEN GET TO THE PRESS.
UM, AND WE, WE, UTILIZING OUR NEW DIGITAL EXPERTISE, WE STARTED, UM, UH, BUILDING A LOT MORE INTERNAL COLLATERAL MATERIALS, ONE PAGERS, EXPLANATION PIECES, UH, THAT WERE BRANDED BY ERCOT THAT WE DEVELOPED IN-HOUSE, BOTH FOR THE WEB AND STUFF THAT WE HANDED OUT DURING SESSION AND THAT WE'VE USED SINCE THEN.
AND WE INTEND TO DO A LOT MORE OF THAT GOING FORWARD.
UM, DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS TOUCHES ESSENTIALLY EVERYTHING WE DO.
UM, IT'S THE ENGINE THAT POWERS CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS.
IT'S THE BRANDING, THE DESIGN, THE STANDARDIZATION, THE CREATION OF A LOT OF THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF TOOLS THAT WE USE, BOTH ON THE INTRANET AND EXTERNALLY ON THE WEBSITE, THE DASHBOARDS, UM, THINGS THAT, UM, THE NEW DASHBOARDS THAT WE CREATE DIGITAL ESSENTIALLY TOUCHES EVERYTHING.
WE WORK REAL CLOSELY WITH, UH, JPS GROUP, WITH MARS GROUP, IT AND HR AND WITH OPERATIONS TO PUT ALL THIS TOGETHER.
BUT DIGITAL IS REALLY THE ENGINE THAT POWERS, UH, CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS IN A LOT OF WAYS.
[00:35:02]
UM, INTERNAL COMMS, UM, THE VERY BEGINNING, MAR AND I DISCUSSED, UH, A YEAR AGO ABOUT HOW WE'RE GOING TO DO BETTER AT INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS.UH, WE CREATED THE FIRST INTERNAL WEBSITE AT, UH, THE INTRANET ERCOT CONNECT, UM, TO BETTER HIGHLIGHT OUR EMPLOYEES, TO GET INFORMATION TO OUR EMPLOYEES AND HIGHLIGHT OUR, ALL THE, ALL THE THINGS THAT ERCOT IS DOING.
UH, WE USE IT AS A ONE STOP SHOP FOR TO GET INFORMATION OUT TO EMPLOYEES, TO EDUCATE THEM ON WHAT WE'RE DOING EXTERNALLY.
AND, UM, EVERYTHING FROM HALLOWEEN PARTIES TO ANY OTHER THING, ANYTHING ELSE THAT WE'RE DOING INTERNALLY, WE, WE REALLY TRY TO, UH, EXPLOIT THAT INTRANET AND WE'RE GONNA SEE HOW WE CAN EXPAND THAT IN 24 TO GET MORE INFORMATION TO EMPLOYEES.
UM, WE STARTED THE POWERED BY PEOPLE CAMPAIGN AT THE EMPLOYEE SUMMIT.
UM, THIS IS A CAMPAIGN THAT WILL CARRY ON THROUGH 24 AND PROBABLY BEYOND TO REALLY TRY AND, UH, BRAND THINGS WE DO INTERNALLY TO BUILD OUR CULTURE UP THAT ERCOT IS POWERED BY ITS PEOPLE.
UM, IT'S A COMPREHENSIVE INTERNAL CAMPAIGN THAT WE HOPE TO CONTINUE GOING FOR ANOTHER YEAR OR TWO.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE, UH, CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS HAS, HAS REALLY BEEN ENGAGED IN A LOT OF THE EMPLOYEE MEETINGS, UM, AND ENGAGEMENT THINGS THAT WE'VE DONE INTERNALLY, WHETHER THEY BE, UM, UH, THE QUARTERLY MANAGEMENT MEETINGS, THE ANNUAL EMPLOYEE MEETINGS, THE INTERNAL SPEAKER SERIES, WHICH, UH, WE'RE COORDINATING WITH VIN KAT'S GROUP TO DO, BRINGING IN EXTERNAL EX EXTERNAL EXPERTS INTO ERCOT TO TALK ABOUT DIFFERENT TRENDING TOPICS, UH, THAT ANYBODY CAN WATCH.
UM, TRYING TO DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO COLLABORATE WITH ALL OUR, ALL OF OUR INTERNAL DEPARTMENTS.
AND, UM, I THINK A GOOD, UH, DEMONSTRATION OF HOW WE'RE BEING SUCCESSFUL WITH THAT IS WE'RE ACTUALLY HAVING TO BUILD A CALENDAR INTERNALLY WHERE WE CAN GET TO SOME OF THE WORK THAT, UH, SOME OF OUR INTERNAL DEPARTMENTS ARE WANTING US TO HELP WANTING HELP WITH, PARTICULARLY WITH THE DIGITAL SIDE AND WITH OUR GRAPHIC STUFF.
UM, SO THEY'RE COMING TO US A LOT TO GET HELP WITH HOW THEY COMMUNICATE WITH THEIR DIFFERENT GROUPS, WHICH I THINK IS A, WHICH I THINK IS A REALLY GOOD SIGN.
UM, DASHBOARDS, UH, OBVIOUSLY ONE OF THE BIGGEST PART THINGS THAT PEOPLE SEE IN ERCOT.
UM, WE'VE DONE A NUMBER OF, UH, NEW AND ENHANCED DASHBOARDS FOR 2023.
UH, THE ENERGY STORAGE RESERVES, UH, IS PROBABLY THE NEWEST MAJOR DASHBOARD THAT'S ON THE WEBSITE RIGHT NOW.
UH, WE ADDED, UM, WE'VE ACTUALLY TWEAKED THE FUEL MIX DASHBOARD A COUPLE OF TIMES THIS YEAR TO MAKE IT, UH, BETTER TRANSPARENT AND GIVE OUT THE RIGHT TYPE OF INFORMATION.
UM, WE ADDED A SIX DAY FORECAST OF THE SUPPLY AND DEMAND DASHBOARD.
AND, UH, COMING LATER THIS MONTH, WE WILL HAVE, FOR THE FIRST TIME GENERATION OUTAGES, BOTH PLANNED AND UNPLANNED WILL BE UP ON THE DASHBOARD.
UH, FIRST QUARTER OF NEXT YEAR, WE'RE LOOKING TO ADD AN INTERCONNECTION QUEUE DASHBOARD AS WELL.
SO THOSE ARE, UM, DASHBOARDS ARE OBVIOUSLY ONE OF THE THINGS THAT YOU SEE POP UP IN NEWS REPORTS AND THE PUBLIC ON TWITTER, UM, ON NEWS REPORTS IN THE PRESS AND THE EVENING NEWS QUITE A BIT BECAUSE THEY ARE HIGHLY USED BY THE PUBLIC.
UM, CRISIS COMMUNICATION, I'LL TOUCH ON THAT.
OBVIOUSLY CORPCOM PARTICIPATES HEAVILY IN, UH, THE GRID X EXERCISES THAT WE DO, UH, ROUTINELY.
UH, WE DO A LOT OF INTERNAL DRILLS, UH, TO TRY TO MAKE SURE WE'RE PREPARED FOR, IF ANYTHING GOES SIDEWAYS ON THE GRID, WE, UM, REALLY WORK HARD TO TRY AND PREPARE MATERIAL AND GET READY FOR THINGS THAT WE SEE COMING.
IF, UM, OPERATIONS TELLS US THERE'S SOMETHING COMING, WE'RE IN A WEATHER WATCH CONSERVATION CALLS, WE TRY TO HAVE A LOT OF THAT AS MUCH PRE-PREPARED AS WE POSSIBLY CAN.
MARK'S TEAM DOES A REALLY GOOD JOB OF, OF PRE-PLANNING A LOT OF THE MATERIAL WE MAY NEED AND HAVING IT READY TO GO.
UM, AND OF COURSE WE USE ALL OF OUR TOOLS TO PREPARE FOR THAT INTERNAL, EXTERNAL DIGITAL.
UM, THIS IS AN INTERESTING SLIDE, THE SOCIAL MEDIA MATRIX.
UM, A LITTLE TASTE OF THE IMPACT.
I THINK, UH, OUR INCREASED EFFORT TO COMMUNICATE MORE HAS HAD AND HAS ENGAGED THE PUBLIC, UM, BETWEEN THE SAME, LOOKING AT THE SAME TIME PERIOD LAST YEAR, JANUARY 1ST TO FIRST PART OF DECEMBER OF 2022 VERSUS 2023, OUR SOCIAL MEDIA IMPRESSIONS GREW BY OVER 528%.
ENGAGEMENTS, UM, GREW BY 148%.
OUR AUDIENCE GREW THROUGH THE ROOF, A NUMBER OF POSTS, OF COURSE, WE WERE MUCH MORE ENGAGED THAN, THAN PREVIOUSLY IN 2022, UH, 406 POSTS VERSUS ONLY 34.
AND MEDIA VIEWS UP WHAT, WHAT ESSENTIALLY THIS TELLS US IS THAT WHEN WE SPEAK, PEOPLE ARE NOT ONLY LOOKING AND WATCHING WHAT WE'RE DOING, BUT THEY'RE ALSO DOING SOMETHING WITH IT.
THEY'RE LIKING IT, THEY'RE SHARING IT, THEY'RE COMMENTING ON IT.
I MEAN, THERE'S, THERE'S ALWAYS GONNA BE THE SOCIAL
[00:40:01]
MEDIA TWITTER MONSTER SOMETIMES, BUT, UH, THAT'S OKAY.UH, I'D RATHER HAVE AN ENGAGED PUBLIC AND UNDERSTANDING AND, AND ENGAGING IN WHAT WE'RE DOING AND WATCHING WHAT WE'RE DOING AND SEEING WHAT WE'RE DOING AND LISTENING THAN OTHERWISE.
UM, AND THAT, UH, THAT ENGAGEMENT WE INTEND TO CONTINUE AND IF NOT INCREASE IN 2024 AND GOING FORWARD, UH, THE MEDIA COVERAGE A LITTLE BIT HARDER AND MORE SUBJECTIVE PROBABLY TO, TO QUANTIFY, BUT WE LOOKED THROUGH THE FIRST HALF OF THE YEAR AND ESSENTIALLY WHAT WE FOUND, UM, IS THAT THE, THE NEUTRAL AND POSITIVES OF THE MEDIA COVERAGE HAS INCREASED AS OPPOSED TO THE NEGATIVES.
AND REMEMBER, ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE, WE TRIED REALLY HARD TO DO IN 2023 IS COMMUNICATE AND EDUCATE A LOT MORE TO GET AWAY FROM EVERY TIME ERCOT SPOKE, IT WAS SOMETHING BAD.
UM, AND I THINK THAT AS LARGELY, UH, WE'VE BEEN LARGELY SUCCESSFUL IN THAT, OBVIOUSLY THAT'S SOMETHING YOU CAN'T STOP ON.
YOU HAVE TO CONTINUE COMMUNICATING AND EDUCATING THE PUBLIC AND COMMUNICATING A LOT AND TRYING TO GET AHEAD OF, UH, BAD THINGS WHEN BEFORE THEY HAPPEN.
BUT I THINK WE'VE BEEN LARGELY SUCCESSFUL IN, IN THOSE EFFORTS.
UM, LOOKING AHEAD, HOW DO YOU, HOW DO YOU QU CATEGORIZE SOMETHING OBJECTIVELY, WHETHER IT'S POSITIVE OR NEUTRAL? IT'S HARD.
YEAH, SO WE HAVE, WE HAVE A THIRD PARTY GROUP THAT, UH, THIRD PARTY VENDOR THAT WE USE THAT IT'S CERTAINLY, IT'S SUBJECTIVE, UM, BUT THEY HAVE MATRIX THAT THEY USE TO CATEGORIZE WHETHER IT'S YOU'RE GETTING POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE NEWS STORIES, UM, OR IF IT'S JUST PRETTY MUCH FACTUAL.
UM, IT'S SUBJECTIVE, I GET THAT, UM, ALWAYS WILL BE.
UM, BUT WE LOOKED AT, UM, THE PREVIOUS YEAR, UM, AS OPPOSED TO ALSO IN 2023 AS BEST WE COULD TO KIND OF GET A, TO, TO KIND OF QUANTIFY IT AS BEST WE COULD.
A LOT OF COMPANIES THAT'S PEGGY ARE USING, UM, KIND OF LIKE AN AI TYPE OF AN ALGORITHM TO BASICALLY DIGITALLY READ YEAH, LIKE THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF STORIES, AND THEN THEY USE WORD, UH, TRANSLATION TO INTERPRET THE SENTIMENT OF THE, OF THE STORY AND THE MESSAGING AND ALL THAT.
BUT WE DID WANNA GO BACK IN 2022 BECAUSE THAT'S WHEN WE, THERE WAS A DIFFERENT TYPE OF STORY BEFORE THIS TEAM TOOK OVER TO KIND OF SEE WHERE WE WERE AND WHERE WE'VE COME FROM.
SO THAT'S THE, THAT'S THE DIFFERENCE YOU'RE SEEING.
I THINK IT'D BE, IT'D BE INTERESTING, ROBERT, TO SEE THIS ONLY GOES THROUGH JUNE OF 23, BUT TO SEE WHAT THE REST OF IT THIS LOOKED LIKE IN AUGUST WHEN WE WERE SORT OF ON THE EDGE A FEW TIMES.
MARK, I THINK THEY'RE WORKING ON THAT AND WE CAN HAVE THAT BY FEBRUARY, RIGHT? YEP.
UM, LOOKING AHEAD, UM, AND, AND JUST TO, JUST TO LEVEL SET A LITTLE, THE GOAL IN THIS IS TO TRY TO IMPROVE THE FACTUAL INFORMATION THAT'S GETTING OUT TO UP THE LEVEL OF EDUCATION THAT WE CAN OFFER WHEN WE COMMUNICATE THAT WE PROVIDE TRANSPARENCY, CLARITY TO ALL CONSUMERS.
I DON'T THINK IT'S PROBABLY REALISTIC.
WE GET INTO POSITIVE COVERAGE AS A OVERALL KIND OF AN OUTCOME, BECAUSE GENERALLY IN THIS FIELD, NO COVERAGE IS POSITIVE COVERAGE.
SO IF WE WERE TO REDUCE THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF STORYLINES RELATED TO ERCOT, THAT WOULD PROBABLY BE THE MOST POSITIVE TREND.
BUT WHILE WE ARE BEING COVERED, IT'D BE GOOD FOR US TO BE COVERED FACTUALLY.
AND THAT'S REALLY OUR PRIMARY OBJECTIVE RIGHT NOW IS TO IMPROVE THE FACTUAL NATURE OF OUR, OF OUR COVERAGE.
I THINK THE METRICS SHOULD BE THAT WHEN ERCOT MAKES AN ANNOUNCEMENT, SUDDENLY THERE'S A SPIKE IN MEDIA OR, YOU KNOW, IN THIS, YOU KNOW, THE MEDIA NUMBERS AS OPPOSED TO WHETHER IT'S POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE, WHICH IS JUST THE CHARACTERISTIC OF AN ANALYSIS.
BUT I DO THINK USING ONE OF THESE ANALYTIC TOOLS THAT, THAT PABLO REFERRED TO WOULD BE A GOOD THING JUST TO, TO SORT OF UNDERSTAND THE GENERAL, GENERAL SENTIMENT AND ANALYSIS AND WHAT ARE PEOPLE SAYING, AND IF THEY'RE SAYING SOMETHING WRONG, IS IT CONSISTENT AND IS IT, IS IT BECAUSE OF CERTAIN THINGS WE SAID? THAT'S RIGHT.
UM, LOOKING AHEAD, ONE OF THE, ONE OF OUR GOALS FOR 2024, UM, IS GOING TO DO A, GOING TO BE TO DO A BETTER JOB OF GETTING AHEAD OF ISSUES.
UM, ONE OF THE REASONS WE LAUNCHED TRENDING TOPICS IS SO THAT WHEN WE SEE THAT THERE IS SOMETHING THAT IS GOING TO BE, IT MAY BE CONTROVERSIAL, MAYBE MISCHARACTERIZED, MAYBE JUST COMPLICATED, THAT WE CAN USE IT AS A PLATFORM TO KIND OF PUT OUT THE WHY WE'RE DOING THINGS, HOW WE'RE DOING THINGS, UM, REASONS BEHIND IT, AND TELL THAT STORY PRO MORE PROACTIVELY, UM, THAT'S GONNA BE ONE OF OUR, UH, TO REALLY GET AHEAD OF ISSUES IS GONNA BE ONE OF OUR BIGGER GOALS FOR 2024.
UM, WE ARE GONNA BE REDESIGNING THE MOBILE APP AND IT IS USED QUITE
[00:45:01]
A BIT.UH, THAT PROCESS HAS ALREADY BEGUN.
WE'RE HOPING TO HAVE IT, UM, EITHER BEFORE SUMMER OR IF NOT BEFORE SUMMER BY SEPTEMBER.
I DON'T REALLY WANT TO LAUNCH ANYTHING NEW DURING SUMMER, SO I WANNA DO IT EITHER RIGHT BEFORE SUMMER OR RIGHT AFTER SUMMER'S OVER WITH.
UM, AND IN THE THIRD QUARTER OF 24, WE'RE ALSO GOING TO START THE WEBSITE REDESIGN, WHICH WILL GIVE US AN OPPORTUNITY TO REEVALUATE THE DASHBOARD.
ALL OF THE DASHBOARDS THAT WE'VE GOT WHERE WE'RE PUTTING THINGS SO PEOPLE CAN FIND THEM, UM, DO WE NEED TO MOVE THINGS AROUND IT.
IT'LL BE A COMPREHENSIVE WEBSITE REDESIGN THAT WILL TAKE, UM, QUITE A BIT OF TIME, BUT THAT WILL START THE THIRD, UH, THIRD QUARTER OF THIS YEAR.
WE'RE ALSO GONNA HAVE IN 24 INNOVATION SUMMIT, FIRST TIME VINCA GROUP AND THE GRID TRANSFORMATION TEAM.
UH, WE'RE WORKING WITH THEM TO PUT ON AN ERCOT INNOVATION SUMMIT.
MORE TO COME ON THAT, BUT IT SHOULD BE, UM, UH, QUITE EXCITING.
I THINK PROBABLY YOU'RE LOOKING AT SPRING FOR THAT.
UM, WE'LL HAVE OUR SECOND EMPLOYEES, UH, ALL EMPLOYEE SUMMIT.
UM, WE'LL HAVE A LOT OF LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE LAST ONE AND BE ABLE TO BUILD OFF OF THAT.
UM, WE'RE GONNA WORK ON, UH, NOW THAT WE HAVE A LOT OF OUR PIECES IN PLACE, A LOT MORE COLLATERAL MATERIAL, UM, ERCOT 1 0 1 TYPE STUFF.
WE'RE GONNA GO BACK AND LOOK AT SOME OF THE BASIC THINGS, UH, THAT WE NEED TO BE PRODUCING TO EDUCATE THE PUBLIC AND THINGS THAT WE CAN USE, UH, TO HAND OUT BOTH ON THE, YOU KNOW, NEW MARKET PARTICIPANT SIDE TO NEW LAWMAKERS SIDE.
UM, GETTING READY FOR, UH, THE 2025 LEGISLATIVE SESSION.
UM, WE ARE GOING TO, UH, CONTINUE WITH OUR SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE.
UH, WE'RE GONNA START A MONTHLY REPORT, WHICH YOU'LL HEAR SOME MORE, A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT TOMORROW.
UH, THAT WILL LAUNCH IN, UH, JANUARY.
AND THE MONTHLY REPORT WILL BE A, UH, COLLECTION OF ALL THE FACTS AND DATA FROM THE PREVIOUS MONTH THAT WE CAN USE MORE IN A PUBLIC SETTING, UM, FOR LAWMAKERS FOR THE PUC, UM, FOR, FOR OTHERS, UH, MIGHT EVEN PUT IT ONLINE.
UM, BUT IT WILL BE OUR, OUR ABILITY TO STRATEGICALLY PUT FORWARD INFORMATION OF WHAT'S GOING ON ON THE GRID.
SO WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING THAT LAUNCHED AS WELL.
UM, AND THAT IS KIND OF ABOUT IT FOR ME.
UH, I, I, I GOTTA SAY, UH, THE, THE LIFT THAT CORPCOM DID, THE REORG AND THE THINGS THAT WE'VE DONE TO TRY AND, UH, WHAT THEY DID TO, I SHOULDN'T SAY TRY.
I THINK THEY DID REALLY START DOWN THE ROAD OF CHANGING PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF ERCOT IN A YEAR'S TIME.
THEY FAR EXCEEDED MY EXPECTATIONS IN HOW THEY CAME TOGETHER AS A TEAM, WORKED TOGETHER AS A TEAM, AND I THINK YOU'RE SEEING NEWS COVERAGE NOW WHEN ERCOT TALKS ABOUT THINGS.
I THINK IT'S MUCH MORE FACT-BASED, UM, THAT YOU SEE ON THE EVENING NEWS OR IN THE NEWSPAPERS WHEN, WHEN WE PUT OUT THINGS.
UM, AND CANDIDLY, I THINK EVEN A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE VERY, HAVE BEEN VERY, UM, WELL THEY'VE BEEN VERY IMPRESSED WITH HOW ERCOT IS BEING A LITTLE BIT MORE TRANSPARENT IN THE INFORMATION THAT THEY'RE GETTING OUT.
UH, I THINK MARK'S HEARD THAT FROM REPORTERS, UM, AND WE'VE CERTAINLY HEARD THAT IN THE PINK BUILDING A LOT.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING WE WANT TO CONTINUE, BUT I THINK, UH, THAT THE WORK THAT MARK AND HIS AND THE COMMS TEAM DID THIS YEAR IN JUST A YEAR IS REALLY SOMETHING ELSE.
PERSONALLY, THAT'S ALL I'VE GOT.
HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
I THINK YOU GUYS DONE A REMARKABLE JOB IN A YEAR.
UH, THERE WAS A REAL NEED HERE AND IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FUNCTION.
UH, SO I WANT TO THANK THE TEAM FOR THEIR EFFORTS ON THIS.
UM, KATHLEEN, ANY, UH, ASSUME THERE'S ADEQUATE COORDINATION FOR THE P WITH THE PEC ON ANY COMM ON THE COMMUNICATIONS, ANY ISSUES THERE? I THINK WE CONTINUE TO WORK TOGETHER AND, UM, OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, ROBERT'S BEEN A BIG PART OF THE CONVERSATION AS WELL AS, UM, PABLO AND HIS TEAM AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WORKING TOGETHER COLLABORATIVELY.
AND SO TO THE EXTENT THAT WE CAN, UM, YOU KNOW, WORK TOGETHER ON THAT FACTUAL INFORMATION, BECAUSE I THINK, YOU KNOW, THAT THAT IS THE KEY.
I MEAN, YOU BUILD TRUST BY PUTTING OUT THE FACTS AND LETTING PEOPLE KNOW KIND OF LIKE WHAT'S GOING ON AND, AND YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY THERE NEEDS TO BE, UM, YOU KNOW, KIND OF AN OVERVIEW, BUT ALSO SOMETIMES IT'S IMPORTANT TO TALK ABOUT THE DETAILS.
AND SO IT'S A WORK IN PROGRESS.
IT'S SOMETHING WE'RE CONTINUING TO DO, UM, IN THE SPIRIT I THINK OF CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT.
BUT, UM, CERTAINLY A, A KEY TO, UM, TO OUR SUCCESS MOVING FORWARD AND REALLY APPRECIATE ALL THE WORK THAT Y'ALL HAVE DONE.
AND, YOU KNOW, THE WEBSITE LOOKS GREAT AND, UH, AGAIN, ANYTHING THAT WE CAN DO, YOU KNOW, TO HELP IN THAT EFFORT MOVING FORWARD, WE CERTAINLY WANT TO DO
[00:50:01]
ANY FURTHER COMMENTS.[10. Future Agenda Items]
IS AGENDA ITEM 10.FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS, MARA, IS THAT THE NEXT COMMITTEE MEETING IS SCHEDULED FOR FEBRUARY 26TH, AND AT THAT TIME THERE WILL BE A REVIEW OF CHARTERS AND MEMBERSHIP OF THE COMMITTEES, A DISCUSSION ON THE OVERSIGHT OF THE BOARD COMMITTEE STRUCTURE AND A DISCUSSION ON THE RECOMMENDED DIRECTOR EDUCATION AND TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES.
ANY COMMENTS OR DISCUSSION? THE LAST ITEM BEFORE WE MOVE
[11. Other Business]
INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION IS AGENDA ITEM 11, OTHER BUSINESS.IS THERE ANY OTHER BUSINESS ANY COMMITTEE MEMBER WOULD LIKE TO RAISE? HEARING NONE AT THIS TIME.
THE COMMITTEE WILL RECESS GENERAL SESSION
[Convene Executive Session]
AND CONVENING AN EXECUTIVE SESSION.THERE ARE THREE VOTING ITEMS BEING DISCUSSED IN AN EXECUTIVE SESSION, SO GENERAL SESSION WILL RECONVENE AT THE CONCLUSION OF EXECUTIVE SESSION.
GENERAL SESSION IS HEREBY RECESS.
THE GENERAL SESSION OF THE HUMAN
[Reconvene General Session]
RESOURCES AND GOVERNANCES COMMITTEE IS NOW RECONVENED.WE HAVE THREE VOTING ITEMS FROM
[12. Vote on Matters from Executive Session]
EXECUTIVE SESSION AND WE'LL GROUP THEM TOGETHER AS ONE OVERALL VOTE.I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO RECOMMEND BOARD APPROVAL OF THE PERSONNEL MATTERS DISCUSSED DURING EXECUTIVE SESSION UNDER AGENDA ITEMS ES 2.2, ES 2.3, AND 2.5.
THANK YOU, BILL FOR THE SECOND.
ANY OPPOSITION OR ABSTENTIONS? THE MOTIONS UNANIMOUSLY PASSED THE MEETINGS NOW ADJOURNED.