10 Remarkable Habits of Successful Energy Managers

Meeting your goals as an energy manager requires developing the right habits. What habits will help you accomplish your goals?

Here are 10 remarkable habits of successful energy managers:

1. Find Meaning in Raw Data

Whether you receive a truckload or a handful of utility bills, there’s a lot of data to understand. Tracking energy comes down to tracking numbers. Successful energy managers know how to slice and dice the data in order to create meaning from it. They don’t just see bodylines on a bill, they develop insights from them.

2. Automate Processes When Possible

Let automation work for you so you can work smarter, not harder. Find the electronic solutions that improve your workflow, which may include receiving electronic bills, interfacing with your accounts payable system, or importing interval data.

3. Audit Utility Data

Successful energy managers expect billing mistakes, equipment failures, and data problems to occur. But they don’t take them sitting down. Setting up utility data audits ensures that issues will be identified before they cause further challenges.

4. Communicate with Stakeholders

George Bernard Shaw said, “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” First, make sure to communicate when it’s important to. Just because you’ve had a thought doesn’t mean you’ve communicated it. Second, communicate in a way that the audience can receive your message.

5. Stay Organized

Set up processes and tools to help you stay organized. Once you begin slipping into disorganization, you’re skating on thin ice. One of the top three utility bill errors is incorrect account ownership—paying for a meter you’re not responsible for. Most likely, the cause of this error is disorganization. So establish a system of organization and protect it.

6. Be Mobile

Successful energy managers don’t sit behind a desk all day. They’re mobile, visiting locations, checking equipment, meeting with energy consumers. Yes, the job is about the numbers, but it’s also about the people and places. Their core tools are mobile too, so they can use them wherever they are.

7. Develop Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

After you’ve identified which goals are important, KPIs help you evaluate your success. KPIs help you understand if you’re pointing in the right direction. Decide which KPIs are vital and keep them in front of you.

8. Build a Team

Successful energy managers don’t stand alone, they function within a team. Understand who influences your success—other energy management workers, coworkers from other departments, building tenants you’ve never met—and build a relationship with them. They may not understand they’re on your team, but they don’t have to.

9. Stay Current

Stay current on technology developments, best practices, and trends. Join networking groups, attend conferences, and learn from online resources. Successful energy managers keep on growing and innovating.

10. Celebrate Successes

When you achieve a goal, celebrate it. Share your success story. Thank the members of your team who helped you reach it. Have a good time. Make achieving goals seem irresistible.

We wish you much success and many good habits!