The General Secretary of the Public Utility Workers Union (PUWU), Michael Adumatta Nyantakyi, has charged the management of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) Limited to ensure that staff receive adequate and comprehensive training when new technologies and processes are introduced into the company’s operations.

According to him, as companies invest in new technologies to improve efficiency and safeguard their continuous survival, the desired benefits from such investments can only be achieved if staff, the primary end-users are equipped with the know-how.

He urged staff of the company to develop interest and avail themselves to acquire new skills, which will guarantee their continuous stay and relevance in their various roles.

Mr. Nyantakyi made the call in his remarks at the maiden ‘ECG Accra West Region Senior Staff Union (SSU) Dialogue Series’.

The event was held under the theme, ‘Towards a financially sustainable & customer-focused energy service provider: The role of the senior staff”.

The annual dialogue series, designed to promote critical conversations between senior staff and key stakeholders, also seek to find ways to address factors that militate against smooth operations within the company.

The Accra West SSU Chairman, and Chairman of the Finance Board of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Samuel Willie Appiah, said that the dialogue series was to formally welcome over sixty (60) staff who were recently promoted to senior staff level and also to offer its members a platform to engage in direct conversation with management on how the company’s operations can be improved.

Mr. Appiah noted that considering the recent introduction of some new softwares and technologies to aid ECG’s operations, it was necessary to sensitize members to be psychologically and professionally prepared for the impending change.

The ECG has recently adopted the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) module to synchronize and automate its internal processes and procedures.

The Accra West Regional General Manager, Ing. Ebenezer Ghunney welcomed the birth of the dialogue series, describing it as an interactive platform for management and staff to discuss issues of the company.

He bemoaned the practice of staff unions and managements always being at opposing ends and called for closer collaboration from Union leadership, to influence management decisions and push staff to contribute their quota through hard work.

The General Manager of Personnel, Mrs. Evelyn Ofosu Kwakye, representing the Director of Human Resources, entreated staff to always prioritize offering quality services to customers since customers are the lifeblood of the organization.

She enumerated some key pointers to guide staff, including timeliness of service delivery: quality and efficiency of service, and ease of doing business with the company through simplified processes.

Mrs. Ofosu Kwakye expressed management’s appreciation for the dialogue series, and called for more of such initiatives.

Prior to the dialogue series, the two hundred and twenty (220) members of the SSU in the Accra West Region had a day’s interaction with customers in all of the company’s seven (7) district offices in the Accra West region.

They administered questionnaires “for better understanding of prevailing customer concerns about the company’s operations and services”.

The day’s programme was dubbed “time with the customer”.