Customer & Community
Talent Attraction, Development & Retention
Learning and Inclusion continued its focus on helping build and develop a diverse and inclusive workforce. Our veteran strategy was an important part of this work as we continued to recruit former active-duty personnel and current members of the National Guard and Reserves. As a result of the pandemic, we quickly shifted our focus to virtual recruiting events to continue this important recruiting work, although hiring across the company slowed significantly across the year. Con Edison is an active member of Veterans in Energy in Washington, DC, which provides the company with a national presence in the Veterans sector. In 2020, we partnered with “Abilities,” The Wounded Warrior Project, Disabled American Veterans, and the Veterans Administration to cast a wider net to market career opportunities to disabled veterans.
Plus, the following veteran strategic partnerships continue to help build and support our veteran pipeline:
- Soldier For Life
- NYS Department of Military Affairs
- Fleet and Family Services
- Services for the Underserved
- The Jericho Project
- The Veterans Administration
- American Legion and VFW
- The Wounded Warrior Project
In 2020, Con Edison was recognized for its veteran hiring efforts via the following awards:
- Military Times “Best for Vets” Designation, third year in a row and our highest ranking yet: 2018 (#48), 2019 (#33), and 2020 (#8)
- Military Times Magazine Best of the Best, second year in a row
- Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) awarded Con Edison two Patriot Awards
- Con Edison was featured for its commitment to veterans by Jim Cramer on CNBC’s “ Mad Money”
By leveraging the Veterans of Con Edison Employee Resource Group and our 200 strategic partnerships, and in continued cooperation with all business enterprises across the company, we hired 36 veterans in 2020.
Recruitment worked with partners to provide more career fairs and career counseling to over 300 employment seekers through eight partners: Chinatown Manpower Project (CMP), Nontraditional Employment for Women (NEW), Henry Street Development, Staten Island Chamber of Commerce, Big Brothers & Big Sisters (internships), Ladders for Leaders, and NYC Rescare – where many of these events had a focus on employment for those who lost their job due to the pandemic. We also partnered with NEW and Nassau County Community College’s Utility Readiness for Gaining Employment for Non-Traditionals (URGENT) to assist women in obtaining more jobs in the male-dominated utilities industry.
In response to the COVID crisis the company offered mental health counseling, bereavement counseling, parenting and home school resources, emergency child care for essential workers, and training for managers on how to manage with empathy and compassion. As part of our overall employee development strategy, we supported the development of a diverse workforce through internal and external training to enhance job knowledge and technical skills, and offered a competitive tuition reimbursement program, various mentoring programs, career development workshops, and online career management resources including conflict mediation, training, and coaching to empower employees to take ownership of their performance, professional relationships and careers.
