Kuidas Rachel Madan leidis, et ta sobib kiireks konsultatsiooniks

Taasavaldanud Platon

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Olles katsetanud väga erinevaid rolle mitmes sektoris, armastab Luminous jätkusuutlikkuse ja mõju juht Rachel Madan oma praegust kontserti nõustamist oma eesmärgipäraste klientidega.

Varem töötas ta välja ja juhtis ülemaailmseid ettevõtete jätkusuutlikkuse strateegiaid Rahvusvahelises Finantskorporatsioonis, lõi oma sotsiaalse ettevõtte nimega Greener Museums, nõustas jätkusuutlikkuse teemal Tate'i ja Manchesteri teadus- ja tööstusmuuseumi esindajaid ning konsulteeris selliste organisatsioonidega nagu Maailmapanga grupp. ja Rochesteri ülikool.

See kogemuste mitmekesisus sõnastab Madani ainulaadse müügiettepaneku, mis on tema arvates oluline iga ettevõtte ja tööotsija jaoks, kes tegutseb ettevõtte jätkusuutlikkuse nimel. Võtsin hiljuti ühendust Madaniga, et saada rohkem teada tema senise karjääriteekonna kohta.

Shannon Houde: Rääkige meile natuke sellest, mida te igapäevaselt teete.

Rachel Madan: Kuigi Luminous on Londonis asuv strateegilise kommunikatsiooni agentuur, teeme koostööd ka USA ja Euroopa ettevõtetega. Aitame ettevõtetel inspireerida teisi sellest, kes nad on, mida nad teevad ja miks see on oluline. Ja meil on erinevad konsultatsioonipakkumised, mis aitavad seda, ja üks, mida ma juhin, on jätkusuutlikkus ja mõju. Meie missioon on aidata headel ettevõtetel olla jätkusuutlikud.

I was recruited to create the function and lead the team so it’s like I manage a startup in a way. When I first started, the team was just me, but now I have three people reporting to me and I’m about to hire a fourth. And so, I do a bit of everything: business development and marketing, mentoring and managing my team, working directly with clients, researching and developing new offerings. And because we do sustainability, communications and strategy, I do all of that, too. So, everything from materiality assessments to helping a company develop their first sustainability strategy or update one, or create engaging communications that then tell their sustainability story.

Houde: I think that’s sometimes what lures people into consulting, the fact that it’s quite diverse and multifaceted and that keeps us challenged and motivated. So, tell us what you love the most about your work?

Madan: I love that it’s different every day, and fast paced. I think it’s important to try lots of different roles in lots of different sectors in your career. I’ve been in a lot of different ones. And I think that, for me, consulting compared to being in a large company as an internal individual contributor, here I don’t have to wait for things to happen. I remember working at an institution where things moved so slowly. I also love building up and mentoring my team and working with people across the business. And I think, while it’s not for everybody, I really like the size of the company that I’m at, which is about 65 people. There are enough people that you have some support, but it’s not so many that you get lost. I also really love working with clients that are up for change and are interested in what sustainability is.

Houde: And tell us a little bit about what it’s like working in the sustainability consulting sector where the big four firms are trying to hire these huge teams and be “in the game.” What do you think about this kind of surge that we’re seeing?

Madan: I’m really happy to see the demand. I think the demand for talent is a response to demand for help from companies, which I think is only a good thing. In terms of how we position ourselves differently from the Big Four, I think they’re doing something different to what we’re doing. We’re small and bespoke, and that is something that we can offer to our clients. I’m the director of my team, and I work with most of my clients. If they go and work with a KPMG, a PWC or Deloitte, that’s not happening. With us, it’s not just the same presentation but with a different client name on the deck. That’s something that in a competitive marketplace also applies for positioning yourself in terms of careers, i.e., it’s really important to be able to clearly articulate your own added value and what differentiates you from everyone else.

Üks asi, mida pead nõustamiskeskkonnas tegema, on paljude erinevate huvirühmadega erinevatel teemadel rääkimine.

Houde: Milliste ESG-probleemide pärast enamik ettevõtteid mures on?

Madan: For companies that I’m working with, climate change is top of mind. We’re working with a lot of companies that are trying to meet their regulatory requirements, particularly around financial reporting, so we’re seeing a lot of companies who are trying to come to grips with their Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) reporting requirements.

Nende aruandlusraamistike seaduslikult nõutud olemasolu on tegelikult väga oluline. Näiteks on Ühendkuningriigis uus aruandlusnõue, mis käsitleb mitmekesisust juhatuse ja kõrgemate tasandite tasandil. Pikka aega suutsid ettevõtted teile anda nii jahuse suuga vastuse selle kohta, kuidas pole piisavalt inimesi. Ja nüüd peavad nad tegelikult nende numbrite kohta aru andma ja siis selgitama, miks nende arv ei ole võib-olla nii hea, kui me arvame, et nad peaksid olema.

Houde: As well as climate too, what are you seeing in terms of that “S” in ESG?

Madan: I’m not sure that there’s a consistency in approach there. I think that the challenge comes in measurement. For environmental issues, we have objective data that tells us what is material and what isn’t. The challenge with social impact is that we have some things that are easy to measure — for example, diversity metrics — but it doesn’t necessarily tell us what the impact of that is. Or, for example, how do we measure an inclusive business? It’s an area ripe for research and advancement.

Houde: Kas teistele, kes soovivad saada nõustamise või ESG-ga üldisemalt, on mõni sertifikaat, mida peate uustulnuka jaoks oluliseks?

Madan: The challenge and the opportunity of sustainability is that it’s such a broad field. I think that the question around certification depends on in which direction you might want to take your career.

I’m not sure that the skills we seek as professionals are necessarily on a college syllabus, so I’ll tell you what I’m looking for right now in the roles that I’m hiring for. I’m looking for people who have GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) experience. You can do a certification on this; there are a number of organizations including GRI itself that run them. There’s also the Responsible Investing credential that’s run through the CFA in the U.K. So, I feel like those are helpful. I think if you were wanting to focus more on GHG emissions accounting, I would look for certifications and courses to help you get those skills.

Houde: Lõpetuseks, kas teil on nõuandeid, kuidas teha see hüpe suurema ettevõtte individuaalsest panustajast konsultatsiooniettevõtteks?

Madan: One of the things you need to be able to do in a consulting environment is talk to a lot of different stakeholders about a lot of different issues. You need to be able to research quickly, understand your audience and think ahead of them. And, of course, you have to be able to give advice. You have to really know your stuff as a subject matter expert and get to grips very quickly with the different challenges that different sectors might be facing. That’s one of the things that I like about it because I get to learn a ton about different companies. I’m almost always surprised about how similar the challenges are across different sectors. And then every once in a while, you come across something and you’re like, “Wow, I’ve never heard of that before. Let’s dive in and figure this out.”

Shannon Houde on ICF-i sertifitseeritud karjääri- ja juhtimistreener, kes asutas Walk of Life Coaching aastal 2009. Tema elu eesmärk on võimaldada muutuste juhtidel muuta oma kirg tegudeks ja elada oma potentsiaali kasutades – luues skaleeritavat sotsiaalset ja keskkonnamõju ülemaailmselt. Rohkemate selliste lugude jälgimiseks liituge Shannoniga for Coffee & Connect kus ta intervjueerib iga kuu jätkusuutlikkuse praktikuid, et saada rohkem teavet selle kohta, mida nende "päev elus" hõlmab.