Idaho Power was looking to strengthen its culture and incorporate DEI principles and practices in a meaningful, sustainable way.
“We wanted to approach this work in a way that fit our unique culture.
We needed a partner to walk us through the journey thoughtfully, helping us have honest conversations about our current practices and uncovering incorrect assumptions about what it would take to make meaningful change.”
Sarah Griffin
Idaho Power, Vice President
“We needed help translating concepts into strategy and action plans,” says Idaho Power Vice President Sarah Griffin. “We needed an ‘outside in’ perspective to ensure we had absolute clarity on the roadmap we would adopt.”
Powered by a team process
The engagement began with Strelo and Idaho Power’s heads of HR and DEI articulating their strategic intent—in other words, exactly what they were looking to accomplish for the company through their DEI work. Strelo used its stakeholder management tool, the PICK Analysis, to help the leadership team gain a deeper understanding of who their stakeholders were and how to inclusively engage them in the co-creation and execution of the company’s DEI strategy. Together they also analyzed their engagement data to identify important themes.
Next, Strelo and the DEI lead designed how the DEI work groups and Steering Committee (15 senior leaders) would take their strategy forward. To launch them as a connected team and for them to generate their own thinking on obstacles and success factors, Strelo facilitated two working sessions (each two hours) with the DEI Steering Committee. The CEO attended the first meeting, where she talked about her personal reasons for caring about this work.
The final deliverable was a strategy guidance document with recommendations on how Idaho Power could best move forward.
Not one-size-fits-all
It was crucial that the DEI Steering Committee members start the process with shared goals and a common understanding of the work needed to succeed. They were looking for a consultant who would both understand and respect their culture, yet be able to help them evolve the culture where needed.
“We wanted to approach this work in a way that fit our unique culture,” says Griffin. “We needed a partner to walk us through the journey thoughtfully, helping us have honest conversations about our current practices and uncovering incorrect assumptions about what it would take to make meaningful change.”
Inspirational and actionable outcomes
Through the Strelo DEI custom approach, they agreed upon concrete, cohesive objectives that could be acted upon immediately and that would inform their DEI strategy. They also established a solid inventory of existing practices and resources that could be leveraged forward.
In terms of leadership, the team gained insight and new skills to help them stay grounded and purposeful in how they would focus on their DEI goals.
“Before our work with Strelo Group, we didn’t have a path to move forward to enhance our culture. ,” says Griffin. “Now we have a strength of purpose, with a clear roadmap that lays out the steps we need to take to be successful.”
About Idaho Power
Idaho Power is an energy company that generates, transmits, distributes, sells, and purchases electric energy. They serve more than 590,000 customers in a service area spanning some 24,000 square miles. Idaho Power has set a goal of providing 100% clean energy by 2045 while continuing to keep prices low and reliability high.
