Employees now have a new resource for career development at Citizens Energy Group. “The Pipeline,” a page on iTrust, was developed by a team of employees as a result of the strategic planning process during fiscal year 2019 to support the overall goal of the employee engagement pillar: Become an employer of choice in the State of Indiana. The site can be found from the Employee Resources tab on the home page.

Several videos are being created to provide virtual tours of various Citizens facilities and processes for employees and customers. This initiative was launched as a result of the strategic planning process during fiscal year 2020. The objectives of the project are to educate our customers and stakeholders on the processes associated with our utility services, and to ultimately increase customer satisfaction and reduce negative perceptions. The videos also will serve as a great tool to engage employees and increase their awareness of the services we provide.

Due to the pandemic, Citizens went back to the roots of the Paul Riggins Giving Tree Program this past holiday season, encouraging employees to make financial donations instead of purchasing gifts for local families.

Citizens’ United Way Team is excited to announce that our employees, retirees, and community partners raised more than $410,000 for the United Way of Central Indiana throughout 2020! Thank you to everyone who participated in the giving campaign during a challenging year.

Although Sharing the Dream looked different this year due to the pandemic, Citizens is carrying out a three-year commitment to improving Frederick Douglass Park.

With the suspension of in-person meetings due to the pandemic, employees have been communicating and collaborating through Microsoft Teams on our computers. Did you know Teams has a mobile app for Apple and Android devices?

At Citizens Energy Group, we proudly provide safe and reliable utility services to our customers while continually working to improve our community. We give back by volunteering time and committing resources to important causes. For more than a decade, we have celebrated the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. through our annual Sharing the Dream service project. Through employee volunteering and donations, we’ve been able to refurbish 15 Indy Parks facilities.

In this month’s wellness news, find out who was named the December Wellness Champion and our Healthy Holidays Virtual Wellness Challenge winners.

It’s the start of a new year! And that means it’s time to review payroll deductions and make sure you take advantage of what Citizens Energy Group offers you as an employee. Below are several helpful reminders about your benefits. Visit the HR iTrust site for more details on all benefits.

Adrianne Bowers has been employed at Citizens for almost five years. Her job responsibilities include implementing and managing benefit plans and answering employees’ questions about the company’s benefits.

The Federal Trade Commission requires new gas furnaces to display their annual fuel utilization efficiency (AFUE) so that consumers can compare heating efficiencies of various models. AFUE is a measure of how efficient the appliance is in converting the energy in its fuel to heat over the course of a typical year.

Citizens Energy Group’s Health, Safety, and Security (HSS) department has completed several projects to unify work across business units. These initiatives are contributing to Citizens’ goal of achieving One Company, One Culture.

Lacy Wooden, Human Resources Generalist, recently completed the OPTIONS program through Women’s Fund of Central Indiana.

If you have an idea for improvement or a problem that needs solved, where do you start? The Quality Department can help guide you! On Quality’s iTrust page there is a new button: “Improvement Ideas and Projects.” From there, you can enter your idea or problem.

If you are looking for a way to get involved in Citizens’ effort to build One Company, One Culture, consider joining a cross-functional team.

The goals of Citizens’ Diversity and Inclusion Team include inspiring a strategic focus on the company’s core value of diversity and guiding the inclusion efforts outlined in the Strategic Plan for Diversity and Inclusion. The team members are champions of our diversity value who strive to create a work environment in which all individuals are respected and valued for their contributions and have the opportunity to achieve their maximum potential.

Employees are encouraged to share “wow” stories about coworkers that demonstrate the best practices of closing the loop, making it personal, challenging the process, acting with urgency, identifying unvoiced needs, collaborating, knowing the business, and continuously improving.

Burn Awareness Week is observed the first full week of February. Follow these safety tips from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to prevent members of your household from sustaining burns.

Our mission for Citizens Warm Heart Warm Home (WHWH) Foundation, Inc. is to provide financial assistance to customers having difficulty paying their utility bills. Over the course of 2020, we aimed to raise funds and awareness to help customers maintain their utility services, despite the challenges of the global pandemic. We could not do this without the help of donors like you!

Need a poster, postcard, brochure, or video? Employees are encouraged to complete the Graphics Request Form any time they need Citizens Energy Group branded materials.

In this issue, we welcome several new employees, recognize those who have reached service milestones, and mourn the loss of five Citizens retirees.