Ahead of the Excellence in Outage & Customer Communication for Utilities, we spoke with David Goldberg, Director Customer & Community Engagement at JEA about an outage communication process through interdepartmental collaboration.

An interview with David Goldberg, Director Customer & Community Engagement at Jacksonville Electric Authority (JEA)

Ahead of the Excellence in Outage & Customer Communication for Utilities, we spoke with David Goldberg, Director Customer & Community Engagement at JEA about an outage communication process through interdepartmental collaboration.

Q: What would you tell other utilities are some of the bigger challenges they may face at the beginning of revamping an outreach program?

Creating and prioritizing clear objectives that align with the different stakeholders' expectations is critical. You must define what success looks like. I believe cross-collaboration is the critical piece in this first step, making sure you are getting different perspectives, define the root issues and formulate a plan to work through solutions

Q: How has JEA's "restoration 123" enhanced customer loyalty and experience?

The JDP survey wave immediately following hurricane season showed us gaining a substantial uptick in communication recall and many comments specific to our hurricane messaging. For the community to know we were prepared and were educating them on what to expect, I believe, instilled a level of confidence and peace of mind to increase positive community perception.

Q: What were some of your internal communication challenges during your process of revamping your outage communication playbook?

Finding the time to do the work and meet within everyone's schedules, as this project was very intense and impacted a lot of people who already were busy with their day-to-day jobs.

Q: What is one interesting item about your professional career or current role that one might not know from looking at your bio or LinkedIn profile?

I really love what I do. I have the opportunity to create an impact on the lives of those across our community with the messaging, services and programs we provide. Knowing I am part of the team who impacts our reputation and works to move that needle gives me great satisfaction.

Q: What are you most looking forward to at the Excellence in Outage & Customer Communication for Utilities Conference?

I am looking forward to meeting new people and sharing best practices - as well as hearing about the challenges we all face, as that always feels comforting to know we are all in this together.

Interested? Do you feel you will benefit from attending?
For registration pricing and multiple attendee discounts, please contact:

Melini Hadjitheori
melinih@marcusevanscy.com