In order to reinforce efficiency and safety, the company is expanding its own staff and operational structures
Neoenergia is committed to contributing to the sustainable development of its areas of operation, which includes the generation of employment and income. In line with this purpose and with the aim of reinforcing the efficiency of its operations, the company is betting on internalization, replacing outsourced services by its own employees in the three distributors in the Northeast - Neoenergia Coelba (BA), Neoenergia Pernambuco (PE) and Neoenergia Cosern (RN). By 2022, the hiring of 5.3 thousand professionals from various areas will be completed in the first three stages of the project, which was started in 2017. To enable the increase in the number of vacancies, it was also necessary to expand the companies' structures and apply a robust project management strategy.
The insourcing enables benefits such as operational gains, better quality of services, safer working conditions, and greater flexibility in meeting daily demands, in addition to increased productivity.
"With internalization, the employees hired undergo training and engagement activities that encourage commitment to the company's culture, based on collaboration and sustainability. Furthermore, we are able to benefit our concession areas by stimulating the economy in such a challenging moment, promoting job generation despite the crisis scenario," says Neoenergia's Human Resources superintendent, Adriana Teixeira.
The hirings take place in several areas of the company, such as energy re-establishment, tree pruning services and substation and sub-transmission line maintenance, for example. In the current phase of the program, commercial services that have direct contact with the customer, which integrate activities such as inspections and new connections, stand out. Since 2019, more than 2.8 thousand employees have already been hired in this phase of internalization, of which more than 2.3 thousand are for this sector, including electricians and professionals in operational support positions, held by engineers, analysts, technicians and assistants. New vacancies will be opened until February next year, reaching 3.1 thousand employees in this cycle alone.
Among those hired are professionals trained by the Electricians School, an initiative created by Neoenergia to boost training in the concession areas and offer job opportunities to residents of these states. In a strategy to promote diversity and inclusion, the company created exclusive classes for women at Neoenergia Coelba and Neoenergia Pernambuco, an action recognized as a global example of one of the Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs) by WeEmpower, a program of UN Women together with the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the European Union to encourage good practices in companies.
Operation growth
The increase in the number of professionals has led to changes in the culture and operational logistics of the distributors. The challenge of meeting multiple variables and indicators requires the development of innovative solutions, changes in processes, technology, structure, and training of the professionals hired.
The project impacts the entire company, more than 10 thousand employees, bringing together, among others, the human resources, infrastructure, vehicle fleet, information technology, and control and operations departments. Aiming at the integration between all areas, at the leadership levels and operational teams, the project needed to solve issues such as overcoming geographical distances in the concession areas and the high volume of hiring with the integration of an average of more than 150 employees per month since 2019.
"We created a project management strategy that has as its highlight the structuring of governance, establishing the scope, prior studies, and the periodic monitoring of all areas involved in the project, from the professionals who work at the bases to the company's top leadership," explains the Distribution Development and Application superintendent, Carlos Eduardo Soares.
Two examples of the complexity of the project are the standardization of the systems in the three distributors and the expansion of the number of operational bases. With this, it was possible to reduce displacements and improve service times, which is reflected in the quality of the services provided to customers. Before, the three concessionaires totaled 60 units, while at the end of this stage of the project, in 2022, they will total 227, 147 of which at Neoenergia Coelba, 57 at Neoenergia Pernambuco, and 23 at Neoenergia Cosern.