Many people today aspire to work with an organisation whose mission and vision match their own values, whether these involve a work ethic such as innovation and excellence, or a focus on social responsibilities such as sustainability and diversity. For example, companies in green industries can be viewed as additionally desirable places to work because their entire business is seen as being built around the moral imperative of saving the environment.

What does it look like from inside one of these companies? People Matters asked Anna Ho, Chief Human Resources Officer of Singapore-based renewable energy firm Vena Energy, to share her perspective as the talent leader for an organisation whose business is in itself a potential attracting factor for many young people. Here’s what she told us.

What do you see as the top-of-mind characteristics of your company's employee value proposition?

We take pride in being a company that champions diversity in the industry while contributing towards a cleaner and greener world. This, coupled with inclusivity and sustainability, differentiates us from others. 

Vena Energy’s vision is to accelerate energy transition in the Asia-Pacific region – and this is a challenging pursuit that requires the brightest of minds and a variety of perspectives. To achieve this, we actively practice diverse and inclusive hiring, to bring together talent from different backgrounds.

We believe diversity and inclusion foster enhanced creativity, collaboration, and perspectives which allow us to provide solutions to decarbonise our economy and accelerate the energy transition across the Asia-Pacific. 

To encourage more women to pursue a career in the renewable energy industry as well as to be a part of the Vena family, we have launched the Vena Energy Women Undergraduate Sponsorship (VENUS) program in late 2021. This aims to encourage more women to take up studies relating to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects, as well as to discover and nurture female talent that can help shape a more sustainable future. We first launched the program with the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, and we are now expanding the program to our other operating jurisdictions. We believe these young women will be instrumental in growing our current renewable energy portfolio of 16 GW even further.

When communicating these attractive factors to talent outside the company, what strategy works to reach out? Do you find that different approaches are needed for different demographics?

Of course, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to attracting talent, but as the world is progressively becoming more and more sensitive to climate change and sustainability, our approach is molded towards finding like-minded individuals that share our vision, while at the same time also tweaking the communication channels to suit the different demographics. 

Another appealing aspect is our corporate culture, where we actively encourage learning from one-another. The seniors within the company mentor and nature the younger employees, while the younger employees share new and innovative approaches or insights with the more mature colleagues. This symbiotic relationship becomes the strong foundation that builds the team.

The “Women In Power” campaign that we started in 2013 has also attracted more women to join our family. The campaign showcases how we empower our female colleagues and the various roles they perform that are instrumental to achieve our vision and goals. 

As a company in the renewables business, do you find that candidates are more likely to have sustainability as a top-of-mind factor?

The Gen Z workforce has clear priorities when it comes to the types of companies they want to work for.

Research has shown time and again that Gen Zs want to work for companies that do good for the environment and society, and proactively eradicate any unethical practices.

These values are well aligned with our business priorities as a major player in the renewable energy industry. We do see candidates having strong views and opinions on climate change causes, which is critical to being part of the energy transition solution.  

We have also witnessed the conversion of sustainability-neutral-minded employees to embracing and becoming more appreciative of the planet through the course of their work and interactions with other colleagues. This is especially evident when you speak to any Vena Energy employee, and experience firsthand their passion for environmental conservation, renewable energy development, and community engagement.

It is most definitely not a hype, but more of becoming part of the climate challenge movement.

What are your thoughts on the shift towards non-financial factors as a way of retaining talent?

Our family has been expanding rapidly from about 400 employees in 2018 to over 708 as of March this year. We may not do all the right things but we definitely are doing some things right. Yes, compensation plays an important role when seeking for a job, and Vena Energy conducts annual benchmarks against the industry to remain competitive. However, a good salary is not enough to keep a talent.

I believe a positive work culture plays an even more important role in employee retention.

To cite an example, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019, we started to transition to working-from-home, and Vena provided support to all employees to set up offices in their homes as well as subsidies to defray additional costs relating to this change. We also delivered care packages frequently to all of our employees during this period. To prevent burn-out, since 2019, we have implemented VENA Days, during which offices in all our countries are closed on these two corporate holidays. This is to enable our employees to truly take rest and take a step away from work. These are provided to all employees and our way of saying “Thank You” in supporting Vena in this challenging time. We genuinely care for our employees as well as their families.