Finding, developing experts to operate New England’s power grid

When Tricia Arling came to ISO New England in 2013, she had a clear understanding of the importance of building strong teams. She had spent the previous 19 years working as an information technology recruiter and was looking to apply her aptitude for team building in a fast-paced, challenging environment with opportunities to learn new things. 

She was excited to use her recruiting skills to help build the teams tasked with managing the regional power grid that serves electricity to over 15 million people in New England, and all the challenges that come with it. 

“You need to have solid skills and abilities, be a good communicator, and we’ll train you from there,” Arling said. “Nobody can do this job by themselves. We must bring various expertise together to solve the challenges of the clean energy transition. We have plenty of opportunities to help you rise up.”  

Over a decade and more than 650 hires later, Arling has seen her own position evolve. She is now responsible for her own team, tasked with finding and hiring people with the diverse skillsets needed to guide New England through the region’s clean energy transition. 

“I truly enjoy working with hiring managers to build their teams, and find the right fit for their roles within the team,” Arling said. “As my own role has grown, I most enjoy building my team to be stronger together, where we have an equal part in our collective success.”  

Whether they are looking for electrical engineers, economists, data analysts, or someone with an administrative background, the Talent Acquisition Team always has one characteristic in mind—curious minded, collaborative problem solvers. 

“We hire people who thrive on challenges,” said Angela Gaspar, the ISO’s talent acquisition and university relations specialist. “We need people that like to work with complex problems and break them down into smaller, more tangible steps, so they can solve big things.”  

As New England goes through the clean energy transition, finding more problem solvers to handle an increasing workload is crucial. Arling’s team is embracing this fact as an opportunity to introduce innovations of their own.  

“There’s a fire in all of us to do well,” Arling said. “We’re getting new tools to find the right people, and we’re improving our existing tools. For example, our applicant tracking system is going through a significant overhaul right now.” 

Two of the primary ways the team finds candidates are through social media platforms, such as LinkedIn, and through the ISO’s employee referral program. Michelle Welch, a coordinator on the talent acquisition team, sees the volume of employee referrals they receive as a strong indicator that the people they hire enjoy what they do at the ISO. 

“You have people here that are doing meaningful work, and they’re enjoying who they work with,” Welch said. “They want to share that with people they know.”  

The ISO also partners with university career centers to offer summer internships. The ISO has hired 76 interns to staff positions since the program started 18 years ago.  

Gaspar, who manages the program, said it gives students an 11-week opportunity to experience the ISO’s culture and see if it’s a good fit for both sides. 

“A lot of it really comes back to our core values of collaboration and innovation,” she said. “Our interns bring a fresh take and are excited to be here. They are assigned projects that allow them to have a real impact.”  

As for the job satisfaction of the talent acquisition team, Sarah Bullis, a talent acquisition specialist, said she’s able to find purpose in her role at the ISO.  

“I love the impact that I’m having,” Bullis said. “Even though I’m not an economist, I’m not doing the forecasting or auctions, and I’m not doing system planning, I’m helping to find the people that are. I love that I get the opportunity to help bring those people in.”