BLACK HILLS CORP SD

Overview

We are committed to retaining, attracting and cultivating a talented, engaged and thriving team. By making our people and culture a strategic priority, our employees are engaged and empowered to contribute to the success of our business.

(a)

Executive leadership positions are defined as positions with Vice President, Senior Vice President or Chief in their title.

(b)

Includes voluntary and involuntary separations but excludes internships.

Total Employees

At December 31, 2023, approximately 18% of our total employees and 20% of our Electric and Gas Utilities employees were eligible for retirement (age 55 with at least 5 years of service).

Collective Bargaining Agreements

At December 31, 2023, certain employees of our Electric Utilities and Gas Utilities were covered by the collective bargaining agreements as shown in the table below. We have not experienced any labor stoppages in decades.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

We believe the benefits of diversity, equity and inclusion can be powerful, and we are committed to building a workforce whose diversity is representative of the communities we serve. Our recruiting strategies support our efforts to attract qualified individuals with targeted efforts to reach underrepresented talent. Our internship program and our partnerships and participation in outreach programs with local schools and colleges attract students to careers in the energy industry. Our commitment to equitable and inclusive hiring practices, including diverse candidate slates and interview panels and pay equity reviews, further supports our vision of retaining, attracting and cultivating an engaged and thriving team driven by improving life with energy. We continuously evaluate our recruitment strategies to determine their effectiveness to attract and build a talented, diverse workforce. Workforce diversity trends, which include new hires, promotions and turnover, are monitored at regular intervals throughout the year.

Development and Retention

Developing and retaining talent is critical to our continued success. Our development and retention efforts include internal and external skills training, career development programs, and competitive compensation. Our compensation programs are designed to be strategically aligned, externally competitive, internally equitable, personally motivating, cost effective and legally compliant. We monitor employee engagement through bi-annual engagement surveys and quarterly pulse surveys. Every leader is responsible for creating and implementing an action plan based on their team’s engagement survey results. Our career development programs include management onboarding, leadership development programs, mentoring programs, individual development assessments, stretch opportunities, talent sharing and more. Internal training opportunities include corporate-wide and specialized training opportunities for different job functions. Our Field Career Path Program (FCPP) promotes career growth for our frontline customer-facing employees through established standards of knowledge, skills, abilities and performance.

Employee Safety and Wellness

Safety is one of our company values, a top priority in all we do and deeply embedded in our culture. Meetings of three or more employees begin with a safety share, a practice which contributes to keeping safety top of mind. Since 2009, we have reduced workplace injuries by more than 64% and continue to see long-term, sustained improvements in our safety practices and performance.