News

Sidhu keen on member feedback and consultation with her team

One of the first things Pavin Sidhu did in her new role as Alliance manager was to conduct a member survey aimed at getting a sense of the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on industry engagement.

The Spring 2022 Alliance member survey was filled with valuable insights for Sidhu, including the fact that 74% of members polled prefer a mix of both in-person and virtual training. And comments in the survey suggest her Alliance team is very much on the right track.

"Some of the written comments were very positive about how attentive the Alliance team is to inquiries," says Sidhu, a longtime BC Hydro employee who took over the job of Alliance manager earlier this year. "They say they got the help they've needed to help navigate our programs and BC Hydro systems in general. They like that there's always someone who's willing to help and respond quickly."

So if there's a message that Sidhu would like to give to Alliance members, it's to keep contacting us. And please take part in member surveys, as programs and the team that supports them can always get better.

"I hope we get even higher participation in our member surveys, because we look closely at the results and try to make changes that can help," she says.

We need members like you to be energized and engaged in our programs. It's the only way Sidhu's team is going to help deliver on annual energy savings targets.

"We need industry to be ready and receptive to new program offers and funding promotions" she says. "If we get an increase in activities and funding, we'll need to make sure we have a good healthy capacity at work. After all, it's consultants and contractors who are integral to helping customers complete projects."

Industrial marketing experience prepared Sidhu for new role

Sidhu spent the bulk of her BC Hydro career to date working with industrial marketing, often forging relationships with big industrial customers via energy managers at various companies. She says she's thrilled about working with the Alliance team because they're a dedicated group that works on all programs across commercial, industrial and even residential sectors while providing support to industry.

"It's exciting to see these programs from the perspective of contractors and consultants, because they're out there talking to our customers on our program offers and creating project opportunities," she says.

It's a two-way relationship that Sidhu sees as pivotal to getting projects done. We need to keep members up to date on program offers and processes, and Alliance members provide insights into what customers need and where programs might be tweaked to serve them better.

More training opportunities on the way, plus recordings of stuff you miss

In addition to online Alliance training courses ranging from new member orientation to how to navigate our programs, BC Hydro will soon be launching new webinars and potentially some in-person sessions.

Training is often timed to coincide with the release of new incentives and programs. The most recent was a webinar for Alliance consultants that introduced the newly-launched EV fleet resources and incentives.

"We're also hoping that we can get back to some in-person events as well, both for the training and because of the networking opportunities they produce," she says. "Some members may feel that time is money and they'd rather just do training online because it saves time. But we know from the survey that most members want that mix of virtual and in-person training.

"We're also working on the ability to record these sessions so they can be viewed online through a new Alliance SharePoint site that will be coming soon."

Oh, and in case you missed it. When you have a question, or need clarification on some aspect of a program, an application, or eligibility, get in touch with us. We're available via email or by phone – 604 522 4713 in the Lower Mainland, and 1 866 522 4713 elsewhere in B.C.