Got a fresh college grad starting next week here in Jacksonville - finance degree but zero utility experience. I'm trying to figure out the best approach for getting her up to speed on the basics. Do you folks start with tariff structure fundamentals, or jump right into actual bill analysis? JEA has some pretty complex rate schedules and I don't want to overwhelm her right off the bat. What's worked best for your new hires?
Mentoring new auditors - what do you start with first?
Marcus, I always start new people with the fundamentals - what kWh means, demand vs energy, basic rate components. Had a new auditor last year who jumped straight into Georgia Power's Schedule GS-3 analysis and got completely lost in the demand ratchets. Spent two weeks trying to undo the confusion. Take it slow with the basics first, then move into actual audits once they understand how bills are constructed.
Rachel's right about starting slow. I use Ohio Edison bills as training examples because they're pretty straightforward compared to some of the more complex tariffs. Have your new hire manually calculate a few months of simple GS bills before moving to anything with demand charges or time-of-use rates. The light bulb moment usually comes when they realize the utility made a $200 error on a basic calculation.
What I've found helpful is having new auditors shadow me on client calls for the first month. They hear how we explain findings to customers and see the real-world impact. Last month we found a $4,800 annual overcharge on a TVA industrial account in Huntsville - watching the client's reaction really drives home why accuracy matters. Plus they start picking up on the red flags to look for during initial bill reviews.
Albert, that's a great point about the client interaction piece. I've been so focused on the technical skills that I forgot about the customer service aspect. JEA customers can be pretty demanding when they think they've been overcharged. Having her observe how to present findings diplomatically would definitely be valuable before she starts handling client communications directly.
Don't forget to cover the common utility "tricks" early on. CEI here in Cleveland loves to slip in unauthorized rate changes, especially moving small commercial accounts from GS-1 to GS-2 without proper notification. Had a new auditor miss a $300/month overcharge for six months because she didn't know to verify the rate schedule matched what the customer originally signed up for. These basics can save or cost clients thousands.
Frank raises an excellent point about rate schedule verification. Xcel Energy in Minneapolis has been notorious for similar issues. I created a simple checklist for new auditors that covers account setup verification, rate schedule confirmation, meter reading validation, and calculation spot-checks. Having that structured approach prevents them from getting overwhelmed while ensuring they don't miss the obvious stuff that experienced auditors catch automatically.
Donna, would you mind sharing that checklist? Sounds like exactly what I need for training our next hire. We're expanding the practice and having a standardized onboarding process would be really helpful. The TVA territory has enough quirks that new people need all the guidance they can get to avoid missing the common issues we see repeatedly.