By Alisha Dixon
Out of 50 nationally recognized Fortune 500 companies, including Facebook, Apple and tech giant Google, Detroit-based DTE Energy was ranked 7th on Indeed’s annual “50 Best Places to Work” report released this month. The results were based on an analysis of over 15 million reviews posted on Indeed.com, the number one job search website in the world.
“We are really thrilled. To finish ahead of well-known employers like Nike, Apple, Disney … What is really meaningful for us is that this was an expression of our employees. We’re just really proud that this was the voice of our employees that led us to that recognition,” said Shawn Patterson, DTE Energy vice president of Organizational Effectiveness.
“While compensation and job security are always top of mind for employees, we are seeing strong company culture and sense of community becoming just as much of a priority … We are seeing people describe these exemplary workplaces as ‘inspiring’ and ‘engaging’ by maintaining excellent company culture, ensuring quality leadership, and offering competitive pay and benefits,” said Paul D’Arcy, Indeed senior vice president.
DTE also credits the company’s culture and commitment to diversity and inclusion as a crucial component that has led to employee satisfaction. In June, Gerry Anderson, CEO of DTE Energy, joined a list of more than 150 CEOs from over 50 industries who made a commitment to advance diversity and inclusion in the workplace by joining CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™.
“By joining this coalition, DTE Energy’s CEO and 150 of his peers are committing to support open dialogue on sometimes difficult conversations about diversity and inclusion, and implement unconscious bias education to help employees recognize and minimize potential blind spots,” said Diane Antishin, vice president of HR Operations at DTE Energy.
“For DTE Energy, diversity isn’t only about race or gender. It’s about recognizing what makes our employees, suppliers and customers unique and applying those perspectives and talents to how we do business.”
Indeed projects that by 2020, millenials will make up almost half of the workforce due to growing numbers of baby boomers seeking retirement. This makes appealing to millenials, Patterson said, vital for companies like DTE to continue to thrive. With approximately 50 percent of DTE’s workforce retiring within the next 10 years, Patterson said the report couldn’t have come at a better time.
“We are looking at a real transformation of our workforce over the next 10 years. We expect about 50 percent of our workforce to retire. So, we’re going to need to replace that group of retirees with new talent, enthusiastic and engaged employees, and being recognized by a company like Indeed is going to really help us in that pursuit as we go out into the marketplace looking for new talent,” said Patterson.
Employee-based resource programs like DTE’s onsite health clinic and onsite fitness center, Patterson said, is yet another way the company attracts new talent, but more specifically millenials who tend to value health and work-life balance more than previous generations. The clinics, the VP said, reflect DTE’s culture of placing the health and safety of its employees first by making a real investment in the health, both mental and physical, of its employees.
“We are really attuned to what that next generation workforce is looking for. Companies that have a deep purpose tend to be appealing to the next generation. Working with our millennial group as executive sponsorship, it’s been wonderful to hear their voice and through this group they have a really strong voice in terms of influencing what our workplace looks like,” Patterson said.
DTE Energy Performance Center
“The things that we consistently see are how do we create flexibility. There is a much more holistic view with our new workforce between work-life balance and how do we enable that through technology, through policies,” Patterson said.
Patterson hopes Michigan Chronicle readers seeking employment opportunities will consider DTE Energy.
“We have lots of job openings right now and we would love to get your readers interested in looking at opportunities at DTE Energy,” he said.
“We mean a lot to the communities in which we live in and serve. If you were down here today, we’re opening our new park [Beacon Park] that is going to be a really important development here in Detroit. The park is just an example of the impact we want to have in the city. It’s going to be a real beacon for this part of downtown. It’s going to bring a lot of energy and attract many people and help development downtown. These are the kinds of things that our next generation workforce is really looking for.”
For more information about employment with DTE Energy, go to dteenergy.com/careers.