Behind the Tap: Episode 4

Kathy: Hello and welcome to Prince William Waters quarterly podcast, Behind the Tap. In each episode, we highlight information about your local water utility and how we serve the Prince William community. Today, we're focusing on Prince William Water as a workplace of choice, a place where you, your family member, or a neighbor can have a rewarding career with a community driven mission. Our guest is Shailaja Poluru, who's our director of people and talent here at Prince William Water. Shailaja, thank you so much for joining us today.  

Shailaja: Thank you for having me, Kathy.  

Kathy: Would you just start by telling us a little about yourself and your role here at Prince William Water?  

Shailaja: Sure. I started with what was then called the Prince William County Service Authority in November of 2023. I started consulting for the HROD division and then I was offered the role of the Director of People and Talent in March of 2024. And since then, it's been a little over two years and I've enjoyed the ride thoroughly.  

Kathy: I don't know about you, but before I came to work here, I didn't really know about the variety of jobs and careers available at our utility or in the water industry in general. Can you talk about some of the career paths that we offer at Prince William Water?  

Shailaja: Sure. At Prince William Water, we offer a very wide variety of roles. The first, the primary one, is the operational roles where we have the crews that are working the water mains, the pipelines, the water distribution system and then we have engineers and planners who actually design and plan the different distribution systems. And then we have the lab technicians. We have a water quality lab where the technicians are looking at the quality of the water and the wastewater that's going out back into our streams. And apart from that we have a whole slew of supporting divisions and roles which consists of project management, human resources, finance, accounting, customer service, communications, community engagement to name just a few.  

Kathy: So whether you have experience or new to the industry, it sounds like there would be something for you.  

Shailaja: Definitely. With the retirement tsunami in you know, coming our way, we are looking to replenish some of our very qualified and experienced resources with some of our newer hires and infusing some fresh blood into our workforce. So we would also like to showcase the opportunity to work here at Prince William Water to our community members. We want this to be a workplace of choice for them. Where they serve, where they live in this community and they are very much serving the community that they are a part of.  

Kathy: What makes it different to work for a water wastewater utility like Prince William Water versus another organization I might work for? 

Shailaja: The key is our workforce's commitment to protecting the public health and saving our, safeguarding our environment and the continued service. I mean you would not want to face a day without water, right? So, our crews make sure that you have water 24/7, 365. This is what makes the commitment that we have to our community and the promises that we make to our people. That's the key for our workforce.  

Kathy: When someone is joining a new organization or even applying for a job, they often want to know what's the culture of that organization like. How would you describe the culture at Prince William Water?  

Shailaja: We strive to be a workplace of choice here at Prince William Water. And at the core of that is we want every member that's joining this workforce to feel welcome. Where they have the ability and the freedom to contribute their ideas freely and fairly and that's what is at the core of our operations.  

Kathy: You kind of touched on this earlier. I know one of the challenges facing our industry is building the workforce of the future. Whether it's filling in behind retirements, filling hard to fill roles. What are some of the programs, and I know you have several, that we're doing to try to build those workers of the future?  

Shailaja: Yes, we definitely see the need to replenish some of our experienced staff with the people in the younger generation and for that we are offering a variety of programs. Specifically, this year we've kickstarted our pre-apprenticeship program where members of the community who are not so privileged get the opportunity to train hands-on and also get paid at the same time. It's a 9-week program. It's a paid pre-apprenticeship program that we've just kicked off, and we hope to increase the scope of that program in the years to come. We also work with other programs like the Future Kings and the Pink Space Theory where we tap the students very young right from the school age to showcase the careers that we have to offer here at Prince William Water. And we also participate in various programs with the Prince William County high schools where we participate in their career fairs. And I know in the summers here, because I've been here enough years, there are a lot of interns and temporary employees.  

Kathy: What are you trying to do with those kind of opportunities?  

Shailaja: So when the high school kids are out of school, we give them opportunity to come here and train with one specific department over the course of the summer and we let them go back to their, you know, to continue their high school programs when the schools open. So every year, typically, over the summer we provide opportunities for at least 20 to 25 youth and we also offer internship program for some college students in their second and third years to come and work with a specific department of their choice which aligns with their career path.  

Kathy: Shailaja when we're out in the community people will ask us what the pay benefits compensation package is like for our employees. What can you tell us about that?  

Shailaja: Sure. At very regular intervals we conduct comprehensive benefits and compensation surveys to stay ahead of the industry. We offer a very robust benefits package to our employees that includes health, vision, dental insurance and we also have a solid retirement plan so employees can save up for their retirement. We also offer paid holidays, PTO, paid parental leave, which we started just about a year and a half ago, where all the new parents can take advantage of, you know, taking the time off to bond with their child. And we also offer the language type and pay for our members of our employees that can then interact with members of the community in a language that's widely spoken in the community.  

Kathy: We talked a little about workplace culture earlier. One of the things that struck me when I came here, and has been that way ever since, is our commitment to learning and development for our employees. And I know that's part of your division's work. What are some of the ways we try to help employees in their current job and then maybe opportunities for the future?  

Shailaja: So our learning and development program is a three-pronged strategy. So first is, of course, the safety because the safety is the key to our employees well-being and also continuing our service to the community that we have committed to. The second part is the on-the-job trainings that we provide you know extensive learning opportunities for our employees. Apart from that, we also send them out of the organization to participate in leadership programs and build network with other members of the utilities across the country and they participate in several conferences and community events throughout the course of the year.  

Kathy: One question we ask all of our guests is what is one thing that you wish people knew about Prince William Water?  

Shailaja: I think our tagline sums it really well. your water, your environment, our mission. And please know that we all have a huge role to play in safeguarding our environment and our water resources. And this is one resource that there's no life without, right? So, I want to make sure that you all understand that we are here to serve you and serve the community.  

Kathy: Fantastic. Is there anything else you want people to know before we close out?  

Shailaja: The success of this organization is based on our crews and our staff that service our customers and without them there would be no Prince William Water. 

Kathy: Great summary. Thank you, Shailaja. Thank you for watching this episode of Behind the Tap. To get future episodes, be sure to subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts. [music] You can also find our podcast episodes on the website. We look forward to seeing you next time [music] on Behind the Tap.