Octopus Vitality is made up of 1000+ unbelievable folks engaged on stuff you’d by no means anticipate, all pushing laborious in the direction of a shared objective: driving the worldwide inexperienced vitality revolution. In our Highlight collection, we’ll introduce you to a few of the sensible folks behind the scenes.
Jackson Howarth, Octopus’ In-Home author right here! On this installment of our Highlight collection, I’m delighted to introduce Octopus Vitality Companies all-star Zoe. I’ve identified Zoe for a 12 months now. We first met on a wet winter’s day, on my entrance doorstep of all locations. I’d been instructed I used to be going to be spending a day with Octopus Vitality Companies (OES) – our proficient Octo-Engineers. First, there’d been a knock on the door, and a second later I used to be greeted by Zoe, brandishing a pair of electricians boots to maintain me protected and insulated, and a fluorescent OES jacket to maintain me dry. Over her shoulder, I spied her bright-pink-tentacled Octopus van – my experience for the day.
A time out with Zoe, OES’ all-star engineer and coach
Zoe spent the day displaying me the ropes. We drove throughout London putting in state-of-the-art good meters, speaking inexperienced vitality with clients and serving to out the odd particular person in a bind. I’d heard that Octopus had created Octopus Vitality Companies (OES), their very personal Octo-engineers, in order that they may guarantee the identical excessive requirements for metering and engineering that Octopus clients anticipate from the remainder of the enterprise. Nonetheless, I hadn’t actually identified what that meant till our time out. Zoe was a tour de-force: heat, skilled, and infinitely succesful.
Not too long ago, Zoe received in contact to inform me that she had taken on a brand new position as a Coaching Coordinator, so I known as her to search out out extra!
Jackson: To kick issues off, might you inform us a bit of extra about your story, and the way you first got here to OES?
Zoe: Effectively, Octopus locations plenty of worth on softer expertise that are not historically given as a lot consideration because the technical facet of issues elsewhere within the trade, and earlier than I grew to become a meter engineer, I really educated as a social employee! My expertise in social work – that person-focused method – is one thing that I’ve carried with me since. I’ve met folks from all types of walks of life and I’ve spent plenty of time adapting to very completely different folks in very completely different conditions and discovering good methods to speak. It’s type of ingrained in me, and I’ve undoubtedly utilized it to my work at Octopus.
My expertise in social work – that person-focused method – is one thing that I’ve carried with me since… It’s type of ingrained in me, and I’ve undoubtedly utilized it to my work at Octopus.
After working as a social employee I needed a change of scene, and so I spent two and a half years coaching and dealing as a meter engineer with one other vitality provider. I got here to Octopus as a result of it appeared like a folks’s firm – it was extra environmentally pleasant and it appeared prefer it actually valued its clients. I assumed that might be mirrored in the way in which it valued its employees and it has been 100%, I haven’t been disenchanted. After spending the perfect a part of a 12 months on the instruments with OES, simply after we final noticed one another, a brand new alternative got here up – OES had been on the lookout for a coaching coordinator!
Jackson: So so much has occurred since we final noticed one another! Might you inform me a bit of extra about your new position?
Zoe: Clearly OES is a bit youthful than Octopus Vitality so we’re rising tremendous quick to make OES’ ambitions actuality – getting extra good meters on the bottom (and shortly, different good tech like EV chargers and warmth pumps) as we construct a better, greener vitality grid. I managed to get the position of coaching coordinator, which is sensible, as a result of now I’m actually concerned within the onboarding course of with new starters, welcoming them to the corporate and introducing them to all of the issues we’re about – the customer support, inexperienced vitality – I’m actually loving my position.
I work actually carefully with our new Octopus engineers, however we even have contractors who set up meters for Octopus. We’re identified for being actually good on the customer support facet, and spending that additional time with the shopper going the additional mile. And since we’ve had that from after we first joined, all people at Octopus is on a stage. Contractors, alternatively, are historically targeted on the installations themselves – and getting as many achieved as attainable. I go to our contractors and provides coaching days with new starters and skilled engineers. I introduce them to who we’re as an organization and what we’re about. We do plenty of work with the Sensible Meter Set up Code of Apply (SMICOP), to allow them to work to the identical requirements that our clients anticipate. Lots of the coaching focuses on comfortable expertise, so I train them the processes, and all of the engineering we do on the daily of the job, but in addition the customer support facet.
Subsequent week is our first massive set of Octopus Vitality Companies starters to affix because the pandemic so I’m actually wanting ahead to having our new guys on board. The coaching course of is all in-house, we now have them for a number of weeks (the coaching for contractors is shorter). To be sincere, there’s a unique hype. Due to who we’re as an organization, once you end your day one, they usually’ve learnt a bit in regards to the firm that you simply’re going to be working for, they’re buzzing!
Subsequent week is our first massive set of Octopus Vitality Companies starters to affix because the pandemic so I’m actually wanting ahead to having our new guys on board. Whenever you end your day one, they usually’ve learnt a bit in regards to the firm that you simply’re going to be working for, they’re buzzing!
Jackson: On our time out collectively, I bear in mind the way you used the IHD as a possibility to speak to a buyer about how they may very well be smarter and greener with their vitality utilization. Do you get the impression that OES engineers really feel like they’re combating the local weather disaster on the bottom, is it one thing you deal with throughout coaching?
Zoe: Massively. Particularly in current months. There’s been an rising deal with it and I have been making an attempt to push that as a spotlight of the coaching. It’s straightforward to see that our OES engineers are very aware of why they do what they do – why the installations happen, and we’ve achieved a good quantity of additional coaching and workforce briefs to speak in depth about local weather points and the way we slot in. We’ve received a brand new starter course beginning subsequent week and I’ll at all times begin by asking ‘why are we putting in good meters?’ Half of the room will know. They get the significance of telling the shopper about how a sensible meter might help them watch their vitality utilization, and use vitality extra effectively, To start with there’s additionally at all times some who assume they’re there to place the meter on the wall. So there’s the coaching alternative to elucidate why we’re doing it. I’m assured that by the tip all of our engineers perceive the significance of what they’re doing.
It’s straightforward to see that our OES engineers are very aware of why they do what they do – why the installations happen, and we’ve achieved a good quantity of additional coaching and workforce briefs to speak in depth about local weather points and the way we slot in.
Jackson: All the pieces’s modified with COVID 19, inform me what you’ve been as much as?
Zoe: Being the corporate that we’re – with the know-how we’ve received underneath our belt – as a lot as we’ve been affected, we’ve dealt with it so properly. All through lockdown the engineers had been solely finishing up emergency installations and critical jobs the place folks had been off provide. We’ve been following the infectious and hygiene protocol for purchasers who’ve Covid and are self-isolating.
I additionally helped organise our Covid Volunteers. Within the first lockdown 75% of the engineers had been out volunteering – most of them for about three or 4 days every week. It was such a great factor to do – there was such a optimistic angle from the engineers. They had been simply grateful to have the ability to do one thing for the neighborhood. We had individuals who had joined us throughout lockdown and couldn’t start coaching, so their first expertise was to leap on board with volunteering and we now have nothing however positivity. It actually helped carry all people collectively. We even had some engineers who fell into the weak class and couldn’t exit however nonetheless needed to assist, so that they spent their time calling clients as an alternative.
It’s a disgrace as a result of we aimed to get extra folks from the workplace on days out such as you did! I’ve been working all through. I began my new position in January. I used to be working from residence and growing the coaching materials, but in addition the re-mobalisation course of – making a plan for getting the workforce up and working once more was fairly a major quantity of labor!
Jackson: That’s actually admirable! I’m going to modify course barely – I’ve heard that Octopus Vitality Companies is planning to turn out to be a one cease store for all issues good and inexperienced – might you inform me a bit of extra about that? Are you excited?
Octopus Vitality have the good tariffs, like Agile Octopus and Octopus Go, Octopus Vitality Autos have the vehicles, and Octopus Vitality Companies has the technical know-how and the set up expertise. Collectively, we do supply the total package deal, with Octopus Vitality Companies putting in the tech, and appearing as a form of bridge between us all. It’s nice that we’re concerned from the very starting as a result of then we are able to assure nice customer support from the get-go.
We’ve a bunch of engineers who’re working with the EV workforce in the meanwhile. They’ll finally turn out to be mentors who can then practice up different engineers, in order that’s actually thrilling. When it comes to different inexperienced tasks, it’s nice that OES are starting to become involved. Lots of people be a part of particularly as a result of they wish to broaden their ability set and work on thrilling new tasks, like warmth pumps, electrical automobiles, good charging, and residential vitality storage.
Being a start-up, with all of the alternatives and the entire development, it’s simply actually superior to be a part of a challenge that’s shifting like this.
Octopus Vitality have the good tariffs, like Agile Octopus and Octopus Go, Octopus Vitality Autos have the vehicles, and Octopus Vitality Companies has the technical know-how and the set up expertise. Collectively, we do supply the total package deal.
Jackson: I noticed lately that OES now have some actually snazzy wanting Electrical Vans? What are they like?
I’ve one of many electrical ‘taxi’ van’s with me proper now – it was really my taxi that was dropped at the workplace when the Prime Minister visited! That was so… surreal…
It’s like training what you preach. Inside a month or two we’ll see all our engineers putting in electrical automobiles and rolling up in electrical automobiles of their very own. It drives fantastically, it’s tremendous clean. I do typically get different taxi drivers asking me if I might help them be a part of Uber, and I get to inform them that I work for a inexperienced vitality firm – as if the Octopus Vitality Companies sticker wasn’t large enough! To be working for a inexperienced vitality firm and driving a inexperienced car – particularly one which’s received pink tentacles down the facet – it’s simply sensible actually.