This commitment shapes every element of our operations. From a more diversified resource portfolio to understanding the needs of our workforce and the member communities we serve, we’re dedicated to ensuring all feel welcome, always.
For Hoosier Energy, commitment to community comes first
Standing up for our employees
At Hoosier Energy, 28% of our employees are represented by a collective bargaining agreement with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers 1393. Our partnership with IBEW 1393 spans more than 50 years and acts as the cornerstone of Hoosier Energy and our communities. We pride ourselves on our strong relationship with all employees and our partnership with IBEW 1393. Hoosier ensures representation of bargaining employees in everything we do, creating common ground to strengthen trust and support the communities we serve.
Safety
Commitment to safety is central to Hoosier Energy’s culture. Our approach is founded upon industry best practices but also on our own model. We recognize that each department has unique hazards and tailor safety plans to address each individual circumstance.
We pay close attention to not just our employees’ physical safety but also their stress management and mental health. We help employees prevent acute or chronic health issues through carefully crafted work routines. Key safety initiatives include:
Safe By Choice
Through our “Safe By Choice” safety culture initiative, we educate our employees on dangers in the workplace and provide them with the necessary parameters and rules of conduct to keep them safe. The program was introduced in 2016.
Safety Culture Survey
Hoosier Energy teamed up with NRECA in 2015 to develop a Safety Culture Survey to review the effectiveness of our occupational health practices and identify opportunities for improvement. Responses from employees allow Hoosier Energy to refine our objectives and build a road map for the future. The survey is conducted every three years.
Safety Training
Throughout the year, Hoosier requires standard training for all employees. For each senior staff and departmental meeting, the first agenda item is dedicated to a “Safety Moment” and discussion of relevant safety and health hazards. These practices reinforce the importance of a safety culture in our daily work.
Hoosier Energy Apprenticeship, Training & Safety (HEATS) Program
Celebrating 47 years, the HEATS program was initially formed to address safety issues and training for co-op employees. The program has evolved extensively and requires line, meter and substation apprentices to complete 576 hours of classroom instruction and 8,000 hours of on-the-job training. Graduates also take four college-level courses to earn an Associate of Applied Sciences degree from Ivy Tech.
With the rollout of the Franklin Training Center in 2003, the HEATS program expanded its reach to industry workers across Indiana.
Care for Community
As a cooperative, Hoosier Energy takes advantage of each opportunity to serve our local communities. We accomplish this with a focus on four key pillars:
Education & Workforce Opportunities
Health & Well-Being
Community Quality of Life
Employee Philanthropic Initiatives
With each year, our community engagement strategy grows and expands. Below is a representative sample of organizations supported by Hoosier:
- Boys & Girls Clubs of America
- Camp Kilowatt
- Cancer Support Community
- Desert Rose Foundation
- Fairfield Illinois Lions Club
- Florida Disaster relief programs
- Indiana State University Foundation
- Local 4-H organizations
- Local Chambers of Commerce
- Middle Way House
- Monroe County Habitat for Humanity
- Pike County Foundation/Frank Ratts Memorial Fund
- Riley Children’s Hospital
- Sullivan County Foundation
- Sullivan County Salvation Army
- Sullivan County Soil and Water Conservation District
- The Nature Conservancy
- Wabash Valley Community Foundation
- United Way of Monroe County
Community Impact Fund
Hoosier Energy maintains an annual giving fund that supports community development, disaster relief, education and youth programs, employee engagement, local nonprofit support and member cooperative support.
2023 was a good example of the multiple ways the fund was able to meet needs both expected and unexpected.
Early in the year, tornados ripped through multiple communities in Hoosier Energy member cooperative territory. In response, the Community Impact Fund contributed to the Wabash Valley Foundation, which headed up the Help Sullivan Recover Fund. The storms brought a renewed focus to tornado sirens in Owen County, so assistance also went to the Owen County Sirens Fund.
These pressing needs were in addition to new opportunities to aid a disability friendly playground upgrade at Shawswick Elementary School in Bedford and support a Mooresville Elementary School STEM club.
New opportunities are always welcomed if they involve a nonprofit, education or industry-related youth programs (non-sports).
2023 Community Impact Week
Throughout our 75-year history, Hoosier Energy employees have given tirelessly of their time, talent and treasures to raise money for community programs or simply lend a helping hand. In 2023, we decided to do more.
During Hoosier Energy’s first annual Community Impact Week, volunteers from across the organization rolled up their sleeves and headed out each day to participate in planned activities. Working together, we hoped to make a difference for those going through a rough time.
Employees filled more than 400 backpacks with meal kits to help feed low-income children over the weekend. We helped out a local food bank, boxing up food for more than 200 senior citizens. Two teams partnered with Habitat for Humanity to build a home for a family in need.
Many gave the gift of life, donating blood to the Red Cross. Fill the Truck Friday capped off the week, with employees loading more than 1,200 pounds of non-perishable food items, baby products, hygiene items and cleaning supplies bound for local charities. For us, giving back never felt so good.
JOIN OUR TEAM
Looking for an opportunity to build a career at an organization that values its employees? Help us create a brighter future for the communities we serve and build a career at Hoosier Energy.
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