Opinion

The right people to build your business

It’s not been an easy time to recruit staff in the renewable energy sector. We asked Andrew England, Head of Clean Energy at energy employment specialists, Eleven Recruitment, for his take on where we are and what lies ahead…

REI: “Is it all doom and gloom?”

Andrew: “Definitely not. Whilst it was certainly disappointing to see reports this week that up to 95% of the Green Homes Grant funding will not be rolled over, speaking with our clients we are not hearing anything worse than disappointment – there is no panic or doom and gloom, as you say. In fact, despite the current climate and the concerns over Covid, there is still a demand from our clients to help them secure talent for their businesses, confirming that the long-term view is still very optimistic – this is just a bump in the road.”

REI: “GHG and Covid aside, what are the main concerns you’re hearing?”

Andrew: “Largely, the main areas of concern for our clients are the same concerns we’ve always faced – namely how can they find the top-level installers, engineers, technical sales etc and retain them.”

REI: “Do you have an answer?”

Andrew: “If I had a failproof formula I’d be a millionaire! That being said, we have a great team here that fully understand the changing landscape of the UK renewable energy sector. We also take the time to understand our clients’ specific requirements now and in the future, including previous issues faced trying to attract the right people or retain staff. We take all of this information and devise a plan of action that will give our clients the best opportunity of successfully hiring the right people to help them grow. Like I say, it’s not perfect, but it gives us the best chance of success and we have had some great successes recently!”

REI: Any examples you can share?”

Andrew: “One of our recent success stories was with ISO Energy. They needed to secure a business development manager for aftersales. We took the time to understand what was needed of the person and what issues they were being hired to solve. After successfully helping ISO Energy secure the right appointee, they were so pleased with our services that we have been engaged to work on further roles with them.”

So, if you are struggling with finding the right people to build your business, take heart that you are not alone, and feel free to drop Andrew a line andrew@elevenrecruitment.com or pick up the phone for an informal chat 01565 654830. You’ve nothing to lose and everything to gain.