Whilst protecting the planet has moved higher up on many people’s agendas in recent years, there is still much work to be done to tackle the climate crisis. Sustainability is beginning to be valued by organisations in a much more realistic way, rather than treating it as a tick box. In our 2023 UK Salary and Recruiting Trends guide, based on a survey of over 13,000 employers and professionals, 46% of employers rated their organisation’s commitment to sustainability issues as quite important and over a third (37%) said it is very important.
Although the thought is there when it comes to the environment, actions speak louder than words. In order for employers to demonstrate how seriously they are taking sustainability today, it needs to become a core part of business strategy. That’s why I recommend integrating sustainability skills into your approach. Below are just a few ways you can improve your response to sustainability issues, to help move towards a greener future:
1. Hire a dedicated resource
Businesses can greatly benefit from having a specific person or team predominantly responsible for sustainability initiatives. Our research demonstrates the way things currently stand; when asked how sustainability is managed within their organisation, 29% of employers said there is no dedicated resource. This was followed by 26% of employers who said sustainability is managed by a small, dedicated team and 7% said it is managed by a large, dedicated team. 20% of employers said sustainability is managed by one single person supported by others in parts of the organisation.
It's much easier to embed sustainability into your business agenda if there is a strong sense of who is in charge. Not only does hiring a dedicated resource increase structure and accountability but allows these individuals to focus on specific goals, which inevitability leads to more successful outcomes.
2. Invest in upskilling staff
The skills gap has taken its toll on most industries, including sustainability; almost all (97%) of those hiring sustainability professionals experienced skills shortages in 2022. On a more optimistic note, 81% of employers responsible for hiring staff for sustainability roles said they would consider hiring someone who doesn’t possess all the right skills into a sustainability role with the intention of upskilling them.
Upskilling employees is a valuable way to overcome the skills shortages. Professionals looking to spend their time on sustainability efforts ought to be given the opportunity to develop their knowledge and skills, through training programmes, to enable them to carry out their role successfully. The important part lies in being able to transfer this learning into utilised skills. Sustainability reskilling is similarly on the cards; according to our research, over half (51%) of UK professionals say they would consider reskilling into a sustainability role.
3. Make your response known
In our survey, when asked where board responsibility lies within their organisation for sustainability, 10% said it was the responsibility of HR and 27% said it is the main board director who was solely responsible for sustainability. However, 27% of employees were unsure, which illustrates the disconnect between staff and an organisation’s sustainability strategy. Organisation’s ought to address this lack of clarity around who is in charge to lay the foundations for a successful sustainability agenda.
Prioritise clearly communicating your sustainability objectives to increase accessibility, employee awareness and engagement. That way, staff can get behind the green business strategy to help create a people-led agenda, to ultimately drive an organisation’s sustainability goals. One way of doing this is through a page on your company’s intranet dedicated to sustainability, where you circulate information in a transparent and insightful way. Ensuring an external audience understands the extent to which you value sustainability is also essential for attracting and retaining top talent.
After all, everyone has a crucial role to play in responding to the climate emergency; by taking the time to embed sustainability skills into your business, you are certainly heading in the right direction.
All statistics in this piece are taken from the Hays Salary & Recruiting Trends 2023 survey, available here: https://www.hays.co.uk/salary-guide/
