The evolving competitive marketplace

Whereas water utilities and regulators once shaped the competitive marketplace, customers, owners and stockholders and elected officials will define the new one. Customer expectations will continue to rise. In response, many utilities are adopting process-based work cultures, along with new risk management schemes inline with new technologies and improved employee know-how and business processes. Improved risk management systems will allow more efficient use of capital with fewer redundancies in operating systems. Also, competition will require utilities to value their employees diversity. Work cultures of inclusiveness will enable employees to maximize their contributions to corporate goals.