California Water Service Group reaches a decade of recognition as a top Bay Area employer

This year marks 10 consecutive years of California Water Service Group being named a Top Workplace in the Bay Area by the Bay Area News Group. It is an honor to be recognized year after year, as we remain committed to always doing the right thing for our customers, communities, employees and stockholders.

With the emergence of the coronavirus, this past year tested all employers. Within a matter of days, state and local regulations were put into place, changing how all businesses operate. During this trying time, our essential workers stayed committed to our customers and communities, ensuring they would have the water they needed for drinking, cooking, handwashing, and other important needs to stay healthy and safe. We were just as committed to our team members as they were to our customers, and went the extra mile to protect our employees by introducing new safety protocols and benefits.

To help stop the spread, we established staggered shifts, employee “pod” units, and did daily screening and health checks. Further, we provided employees with the appropriate personal protective equipment, extra hand sanitizer, as well as cleaning stations in addition to increased cleanings of all our facilities. Because we knew that communication was critical to ensuring our workforce felt safe, we held enterprise-wide calls to keep employees updated about the status of the pandemic, explain our response, and offer guidance from outside experts.

We also offered 15 additional days of sick time for COVID-19 matters, such as illness, quarantine, highrisk factors, or child care/caregiving, even before similar accommodations were required by the state. We also recognized those employees who reported to work each and every day through the pandemic, and stayed healthy, with the opportunity to earn additional paid time off.

While taking care of employees’ physical well-being was the top priority, we also worked to keep morale high. During the nationwide toilet paper shortage, we secured enough supply to provide industrial-size rolls to all of our employees. Children of our employees were sent a gift to acknowledge their parents’ sacrifice being away from home as an essential worker, critical in the fight against COVID-19. And, a newsletter full of uplifting content — with submissions by fellow co-workers — was created to lift employees’ spirits.

But, even outside of the pandemic, California Water Service Group is a great place to work. We offer a comprehensive compensation package including 401(k) matching, competitive wages, health care, family college scholarships, a pension, and more. We help our employees reach their career goals through tuition reimbursement, industry training, and developmental opportunities. And, we listen to what they have to say. Our employees work crossfunctionally, collaborating and solving challenges that affect all of our service areas. This helps enhance employees’ overall knowledge and expertise and shows their input matters.

Being named a Top Workplace for 10 years in a row is an honor, and not one that we take lightly. You have heard why the company thinks California Water Service Group is a great place to work, but don’t take our word for it. Here is what our employees have to say:

• “The company allows me to take training and improve my technical skills in order to excel in my job. They listen to my ideas and respect my views. They trust me to make important decisions and appreciate that I am a reliable source.”

• “California Water Service (Group) is the Cadillac of water companies—there is no better one out there.”

• “At California Water Service (Group), they value each employee. They show you they care by providing wonderful benefits, stock options, high-level pay, and the opportunity to advance. In addition, they offer education and leadership training.”

• “We have multiple opportunities to share our thoughts with management from internal calls, to suggestion boxes, to team lunches, etc. The opportunities to share different points of view are too numerous to document.”

• “When the pandemic hit, upper management went above and beyond to come together as a team to inform employees of COVID-19. Our company also secured and provided PPE and even supplied us all with toilet paper. They went out of their way to make sure our mental health was being addressed too.”