We were honored to be recognized by the Orange County Register as a Top Workplace in Orange County!
We take great pride in providing the absolute best service to our customers, and that service starts with our employees. Whether you have a question about your bill, are interested in signing up for a water efficiency program, or would like us to schedule a visit to meet with you and speak to your family or organization about water, we are here for you!
If you have a question, concern or idea that you’d like to share with us, please don’t hesitate to reach out and get in touch. We’d love to hear from you!
In the meantime, read the Q&A below and check out our story here in the OC Register.
Q: How do you make your workplace special?
A: We have three guiding principles: Always be honest. Treat each other with respect and courtesy. Always give your best.
People do best when they know they’re important and they’re held accountable. People want to work in a safe and responsible environment. My top priority is to have a healthy work environment, … and that reflects back to the customer, the public. Your people are the most important thing in any organization. It’s not just smarts or talent. You have to have a good heart.
Q: How do you install those institutional values?
A: Every month we have an all-hands meeting with our staff. I go over information they want to know. I really believe in communication and showing how our people fit into the bigger picture. We’ll have a little fun. Remind them of our expectations, our three golden rules. And I want to hear feedback. I don’t hold people to titles; I want to hear from everyone.
Q: How do you get your staff trained?
A: We started an internal leadership academy because we did not see a lot of appropriate leadership training out there. We teach our managers about the institution and our values. We feel this makes it more cost-effective as we can customize it so we can reinforce our culture. All of our supervisors have a very tough job, and we wanted to give them some tools to do it. There’s a quarterly check-in to ensure we have good communications with our supervisors on a regular basis. We also do an extensive new employee orientation, so they know the expectations and their job duties and responsibilities.
Q: Are you doing anything special to attract and keep the best people in a tight job market?
A: We cannot reinforce enough the importance of a great workplace culture. It’s all about the environment. You enjoy being at work when you feel valuable and your comments matter. It’s important to laugh. To enjoy your time here. To feel fulfilled.
Q: Is it different managing people in an era where many workers have numerous career options?
A: You don’t have to wait at Moulton Niguel for someone to retire to get ahead. If you’re a rock star, you can go as far as your dreams will take you. I bet for many people money isn’t the only thing. Yes, it’s important, but minus professional fulfillment, money doesn’t keep you happy.
Q: What about job flexibility?
A: You must hold on to what’s important to your employees. Life happens. People have families and life outside of work. When people believe the boss cares, it’s amazing just how far they’ll go for you. There’s accountability, too. And that’s no fun at times. It’s just part of what managers have to do.
Q. What’s one thing you’d like to improve in your workplace?
A. Our workspace. We have two locations. Employees are split. Built in the 1970s — and not only are they old, but we’ve outgrown them. We have a project to consolidate … but that will take time. We have world-class employees and I want to give them a workspace that reflects that.
Q. What’s something you do to keep things fresh?
A. I go out with the crews. They love to see the general manager out there. I make daily rounds of the offices. See everybody; have some laughs. Those moments are important. You can’t run people at 100 miles per hour forever. That burns them out!”