Recent analysis by the IEA shows that the global market for key mass-manufactured clean energy technologies will be worth USD 650 billion a year by 2030, 3X current levels. The clean energy jobs would double from 6 million today to nearly 14 million by 2030.
If you are one of the organisations within the clean energy transition, you’re probably thinking about your recruitment strategy for your clean-tech company.
One main area you may want to consider is your company culture and finding the right “culture-fit” for your organisation.
Let’s first break down what Culture Fit means and whether this is always the correct approach to scaling your clean-tech business.
What does hiring for cultural fit mean?
In general when one refers to “culture fit” in relation to hiring, this means finding people that fit your company culture. In today’s talent market, culture fit is very important to potential employees and plays a role in their decision making, and affects employee retention.
That means that the incoming candidates are selected based on both skill and company culture fit. In order to understand your company’s culture, you should work with a HR Consultant or Employer Branding consultant together with your leadership team to define your clean-tech mission statement, company values and expected behaviours and ensure these are clearly defined. If you’re part of a climate-tech accelerator, you may have access to HR leaders and advisors who can help on this topic.
Should you hire for cultural fit?
There are definitely pitfalls in hiring for cultural fit. If you haven’t defined your company culture clearly and simply look for people that “fit in” you are opening yourself up to bias in recruiting.
For example, perhaps you went to the same MBA school as a candidate, you automatically have an affinity bias and may include them in the hiring process due to their background you have in common. This opens you excluding those that may have a different background to yourself, but are actually very skilled for the open job you have on your team. This would hinder your diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
Equally, if the “culture fit” interview is simply a coffee conversation that is informal and doesn’t have standardised questions, you could fall into the trap of making assumptions about something based on whether they are “likeable” versus whether they are capable. It’s perfectly normal to have unconscious biases, according to Daniel Goleman, a writer and psychologist, however in your recruitment strategy you should make an effort to be aware of these and remove biases from the process when scaling your clean-tech company.
What are the pitfalls of hiring for culture fit?
If your company culture isn't clearly defined and your company values are not defined, it’s easy to hire people that are similar to yourself, as an interviewer. You may have “confirmation bias” that can lead you to make assumptions about someone based on your unconscious bias opposed to actual facts about the candidate.
For example, your company may be filled with people whose average age is 23, and when you interview someone in their late 30s, you may unconsciously think they have less energy or drive than yourself. Therefore in an interview when you ask them about work-life balance and resilience in a fast-paced environment, you perceive their answer to mean that they can’t work as long and hard as you, however, the reality may be that they are more productive but in less time. In other words, your confirmation bias is making you analyse their answer incorrectly.
Another example of hiring for culture fit is including an informal step in the process where you go out for an alcoholic beverage after an offer has been made; perhaps the person does not drink for personal or religious reasons, and you could be excluding them as a result.
This can lead to you not only excluding relevant talent in your pipeline, but can be cause for legal action if you are found to be discriminating against someone due to their age or religious background, as this is a protected characteristic in many countries. If any of the information about the interview is recorded, under GDPR regulations, candidates can request their interview feedback which could help them build a discrimination case against you.
Rethinking your approach to hiring for culture fit: Exclusive hiring vs Inclusive hiring
If you are only looking for culture fit vs “culture add”, you could be excluding people from the hiring process and hurting your diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. Our view is that rather than excluding people from your process, you should be including them. How does this work in practice? Ultimately, this means that although you have some key characteristics you look for in order for someone to join your clean-tech start-up, you are also looking at how they can add to the organisation. The new employee can add value due to their diversity of thought, unique background and experience.
For example, you might be looking for a software salesperson and typically want someone who has several years of experience selling for a competitor, however, if you sell to government agencies you should consider hiring someone who worked for the government and understanding the buying and RFP process. For further help on this topic you can instruct a recruitment firm like Jobs for Planet who can identify transferable skills and unique approaches to hiring for your needs.
Here are some quick tips to ensure you are having an inclusive process that you can implement right away.
Define your company mission statement
Define your company values
Define your company behaviours and expectations
Include the above in your website, careers page and interview materials
Train your hiring managers on inclusive hiring practices, provide interview training
Provide training on Unconscious Bias to your organisation, especially those involved in interviewing and making hiring decisions
Use standardised questions for your recruitment process for all candidates that come into the talent pipeline
Have a set of expectations and competencies for each role
Including a hiring committee to discuss feedback and reduce bias
Searching for talent for your clean-tech company? Our boutique recruitment specialists are here to help both hire for your open positions and create an inclusive hiring strategy.
Whether you are looking for that all-star talent that will make an instant impact, understanding the talent market or a bespoke inclusive recruitment strategy you can contact us on hello@jobsforplanet.com or Get in touch today!
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