After 20+ discussions with climate companies and VCs, companies have an important role in identifying high value candidates
See original medium post here: https://medium.com/@tavishtowner/accelerating-the-climate-talent-transition-balancing-expertise-passion-and-diversity-in-climate-e09132b02625
Climate change is no longer a distant threat; it’s a pressing global crisis that demands immediate action. To combat climate change effectively, we need to overhaul various industries, transition to sustainable practices, and build a workforce dedicated to environmental sustainability.
The urgency of addressing climate change is becoming increasingly evident as the world falls behind in the race to mitigate its effects. Climate-related disasters, extreme weather events, and environmental degradation are becoming more frequent and severe. As a result, the demand for climate solutions is surging.
However, the talent pool available to these companies is evolving, and companies are at the brink of finding many individuals from various sectors eager to transition into climate-related roles.
The Beginning of a Career Transition
Climate companies are witnessing a significant influx of talent from other sectors, drawn by the desire to contribute to sustainability efforts. This career transition trend is both promising and challenging. While these individuals bring valuable skills and fresh perspectives, they may lack direct experience in climate-related roles. Therefore, climate companies must carefully assess candidates based on a multifaceted set of both tangible and intangible criteria.
Are founders in climate ready for this? “Climate businesses aren’t mature. They are essentially applied R&D. Think of little PhDs running around and most likely have little to no hiring or recruiting background.
Climate companies will play a huge part in speeding up the talent transition, by more quickly identifying the right candidates when they come through the door. Consider these four essential dimensions when evaluating potential candidates:
1. Deep-Green Expertise:
- The Value: Candidates with deep-green expertise bring specialized knowledge and skills to climate companies. They can hit the ground running, possessing an in-depth understanding of environmental issues, sustainability, and renewable technologies.
- The Challenge: Identifying individuals with this level of expertise can be challenging due to its scarcity. Furthermore, there may be a limited pool of seasoned green professionals available for immediate hire.
2. Genuine Passion for Sustainability:
- The Value: Passionate candidates are driven by a sincere commitment to addressing climate change. Their enthusiasm can be infectious, motivating teams and driving innovative solutions.
- The Challenge: Passion is not always easy to assess through traditional hiring methods. Companies must look beyond resumes to identify candidates who genuinely care about sustainability.
3. Cross-Industry Experience:
- The Value: Professionals from diverse industries bring unique perspectives and problem-solving skills. They can offer fresh approaches to climate challenges, challenge existing norms, and foster innovation.
- The Challenge: Transitioning into climate roles requires a learning curve, and companies must assess candidates’ adaptability and willingness to acquire new knowledge and skills.
4. Leadership Qualities:
- The Value: Effective leadership is crucial for driving sustainability initiatives. Candidates with leadership qualities can inspire teams, set a vision for climate success, and navigate complex challenges.
- The Challenge: Identifying leadership potential in candidates may require a more in-depth evaluation process, including behavioral assessments and interviews.
Striking the Right Balance
To build a high-impact climate workforce, companies must align on the right balance across these four dimensions. Here are some strategies that come to mind:
Tailored Assessment: Develop a tailored assessment processes that consider each dimension. Make sure these assessments ask the questions that weigh more intangible skills heavily such as: resourcefulness, “fire in their stomach”, trajectory, and fit.
Complementary Teams: Consider creating teams that balance expertise and passion with cross-industry experience. Match the PhDs with a “get it done” type person
Invest in Learning: Recognize that not all candidates will possess deep-green expertise from the outset. Invest in learning and development programs to bridge knowledge gaps and accelerate candidates’ readiness for climate roles.
Embracing Diversity for Climate Success
In the race to combat climate change, climate companies must embrace diversity in their talent pool. The transition of professionals from various sectors into climate roles is a testament to the growing commitment to sustainability. By carefully weighing skills, background, and intangible criteria carefully including deep-green expertise, genuine passion for sustainability, cross-industry experience, and leadership qualities, companies can accelerate the climate transition and build a workforce capable of driving meaningful change.
Feel free to get in touch with me on linkedIn or via email!https://www.linkedin.com/in/tavish-towner/ | tavish@tscaler.io
I want to clarify that I had extensive discussions with 20+ climate companies, investors, VCs, and industry experts about recruiting and the talent gap in climate. I consolidated the notes with unique and interesting takeaways relating to the broader challenges of climate recruiting, plugged the takeaways into open AI, then rewrote a large chunk of the draft that chat GPT output.
I did this all on an 11 hour plane to Istanbul,Turkey. Obviously a crying baby behind me. I figured publishing and spreading the knowledge as soon as possible was more important than perfection.
Comments