npower

The overview

RWE npower is the UK’s biggest electricity supplier, with over 6.5m customers in its retail division. It has a large number of coal, gas, oil, nuclear and cogeneration power plants, as well as various renewable energy properties, which generate about 10% of the electricity used by homes and businesses across the country.

The company started life as National Power in the 1990s, when the UK market was privatised, and was subsequently known as Innogy before being acquired by Germany-based RWE Group (known as RWE) in 2002. It has since become a household name; according to company research, more than 90% of the UK population now recognise its brand.

Business units

Its main units are retail and power generation, but it also has interests in nuclear power, cogeneration and renewable energy sources.

Retail
As well as traditional home gas and electricity, the retail unit recently introduced a tariff designed for customers with electric vehicles, which gives cheaper rates for charging vehicles overnight. Other than supplying customers with energy, the division has various other functions, and includes the metering and data services (MDS), SPI plumbing solutions, and energy services businesses.

MDS carries out a range of services to do with metering. SPI provides mechanical and electrical installation and maintenance services, mainly for social housing and public buildings. Energy services is focused on energy efficiency and helping customers reduce their energy consumption, and is in the process of installing smart meters at thousands of customers’ properties.

Power generation
The power generation division operates coal, gas and oil-burning power stations with a combined generating capacity of over 11,000MW. The company is planning to invest in new coal, gas and nuclear power stations in the coming years, so this business is poised for further growth.

Cogeneration
The cogeneration unit, ‘npower cogen’, is a major industrial combined heat and power developer in the UK and Ireland, having invested more than £350m in the technology in the past 18 years. This business caters to various industries such as food and drink, pulp and paper, and refining and chemicals.

Renewables
RWE npower renewables, meanwhile, currently has a hydroelectric power plant and onshore and offshore wind farms in operation. A new wave power scheme is also under development.

RWE Power International
This is is the area of its business that focuses on running existing power stations, overseeing the construction of new ones and decommissioning older facilities.

Rankings and awards

• Ranked 196 in the 2011 Brandfinance Global 500 list of the world’s most valuable companies. Brandfinance is a leading brand valuation consultancy.
• Awarded Platinum in the 2009 Business in the Community corporate responsibility index.
• Included in the Guardian UK300’s list of the top 300 employers graduates want to work for.
• Listed in the 2009 Times Top 50 companies where women want to work (for the third consecutive year).
• Awarded a Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) Big Tick award by Business in the Community in 2010, in recognition of its support of education.
• Parent company RWE was ranked 107 in the 2011 Fortune Global 500.

Sponsorship

The company is a sponsor of high-profile sports:

• The Football League Its sponsorship of the world’s oldest football league also includes the distribution of charity grants through which the clubs can support initiatives in their local communities.
• Cricket It sponsors several cricket events, including the npower test series, the npower women’s test series and the npower village cup. It also runs the npower urban cricket project in partnership with the England and Wales Cricket Board, which aims to encourage more children to play cricket by distributing kits across the UK.

Salary and benefits

Quantitative risk scheme
£27,000

Other schemes
£25,000

Other benefits

• 25 days’ holiday per annum.
• Annual salary review.
• Pension scheme.
• Option to join sharesave scheme.
• In-house occupational health service.
• Confidential health screenings.
• Psychological healthcare (including managing stress workshops and healthy mind workshop).
• Opportunities to take part in activities such as charity walks, cricket, running clubs and five-a-side football.
• Potential for home-working.
• Flexible travel.
• Cycling initiatives (such as cycle to work schemes) are available at some sites. Participants could get themselves a free breakfast in some areas.
• Skills-based volunteering opportunities.

Culture and values

The company lists its five main values as:

• Customer focus. Building long-term relationships and putting customers first.
• Forward thinking. Promoting innovation and change.
• Performance. Creating a good working environment and helping employees reach their potential.
• Reliability. Making sure it keeps its promises and ensuring it takes responsibility for actions and decisions.
• Trust. Ensuring mutual recognition and respect between colleagues.

Working culture

There is no rigid sense of hierarchy in the company, and managers tend to work on a fairly even footing with their subordinates, usually sitting alongside them in open-plan offices. Resourcing specialist Kerry Riley says there is ‘very much an open-door policy’, so graduates shouldn’t be afraid to approach senior members of staff with questions if they need to.

Working hours are usually 8.30 am to 5.00 pm (or 4.00 pm on Fridays) but they may vary by site – call centres and power stations tend to operate by shift patterns due to the 24-hour nature of their work.

Overtime may come up when workloads are particularly heavy, but most managers are happy for people to take the time back once things have calmed down. Obviously there will be some give and take here, and employees need to demonstrate that they can be trusted to get on with their work and put the hours in when needed.

Sports and socials

The biggest social event run by the company is the npower games, which is run most years and involves various sporting activities like football, netball, tennis and running.

While games like chess have previously been available for less sporty members of staff, there is a big emphasis on sport and exercise within the organisation: a lot of company sites have on-site gyms, and there are various sports clubs to join (for example, running clubs). The company holds regular sporting events such as cricket tournaments, and there are opportunities to participate in national competitions such as the Great North Run.

In terms of social events outside the company, there is a strong graduate network, and gatherings and nights out tend to be organised by the graduates themselves. They have their own sports clubs, and some are even involved in bands.

Diversity and employee opinions

The company is fairly open about the diversity of its staff, and has published a breakdown of the age, gender and ethnicity of its workforce in 2009 on its corporate responsibility page:

• It seems to be successful in its efforts to promote gender equality; as of December 2009, women accounted for 40% of its workforce. There were also five women appointed to executive positions during the year, when a total of twelve became available.
• In terms of ethnicity, 9.3% of the 97.4% of employees who disclosed their ethnicity in 2009 said they were from minority groups.

The 2009 employee survey found that 75% of staff felt the company was serious about its environmental responsibility, and 70% felt it was a socially responsible business. The survey also identified areas for improvement: customer focus, leadership and performance management. Several programmes were put in place to address these issues, such as increased site visits by executives, engagement road shows, improved communication of customer initiatives, and a performance management review.