Career Development Program at Denver Water

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Career Development Program at Denver Water
This is a time of massive change within Denver Water. Fifty percent of the work force will retire within 10 years. Many of them will begin retiring within 5 years. The executive board looked at the structure of the organization and realized they would be unable to attract the best candidates for jobs without modernizing the company.
Hamori, Cao, and Koyuncu (2012) found that talented employees leave their employment after 28 months on average if they don’t feel they are receiving the mentoring and training they expect. Employers, on the other hand, are reluctant to invest time and money into the development of employees they expect will leave. It takes a leap of faith to begin an admittedly costly program in the hope it will attract and retain the best employees.
The Current Problem
I specifically wanted to work at Denver Water. It had a reputation for being a good place to work. I went into water treatment planning to spend several years gaining technical knowledge with the goal of moving into management as soon as possible. With 1100 employees, I assumed it would be an easy goal to achieve at Denver Water.
I quickly found out that management had been compressed and there were very few opportunities. Most employees in the water treatment section have the same job title. The job description includes everything you are likely to do as well as the phrase “and other duties as assigned.” There isn’t anywhere to go. The situation is the same in almost all departments.
The executive board started The Employer of the Future initiative. There are several ongoing projects designed to make Denver Water more attractive to younger, desirable job candidates. I have been working w...

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