Attract and Keep Recycling & Sustainability Talent
By: Kacey Crouthamel, Recycling & Sustainability Practice Manager
In today’s fast-paced job market, attracting qualified candidates is less challenging, but keeping them after they’re hired is becoming increasingly harder. This is especially true for workers in the recycling and sustainability sector.
A 2024 Zippia report reveals that around 70% of sustainability specialists leave their company to find a new one within just two years of employment. That statistic alone demonstrates the challenge many companies face when it comes to keeping recycling and sustainability talent.
Using these proven recycling and sustainability employee retention strategies developed by our team of industrial recruiters, we’ll help you recruit and keep great sustainability talent.
Challenges of Sustainability Employee Recruiting
1. Talent Shortages
Since 2020, job fulfillment rates have been in decline. According to the US Chamber of Commerce, 3.1 million jobs were created in 2023 after unemployment rates reached record highs during the pandemic.
Many of those jobs, however, remain unfilled because of decreasing labor participation. In the recycling and sustainability sector, data reveals that younger generations recognize the importance of green jobs, yet are less inclined to work one.
Even so, there are still not enough workers to fill the abundance of jobs. There are 7.7 million open positions in the US and only 7.1 unemployed workers to fill them.
2. Aging Workforce Challenges
It’s no secret that the workforce is aging. In the late 1980s, workers aged 65+ only accounted for 11% of the workforce. Today, that number has jumped to 19%.
The average recycling and sustainability employee is 40+ years old. Sixty-one percent of workers are 40+, 29% are 30-40, and only 9% are 20-30. As those older employees age out, companies must solve the challenge of attracting younger workers to fill the open sustainability jobs.
3. Less Confidence in Job Stability
In the Q4 Worker Confidence Index™, there was a decrease in perceived job stability in men, 18 – 54, across all industries. Additionally, about 12.5% of all workers feared involuntary job losses, with the highest rates reported by the 18 – 24 age group.
These perceptions help give context to the talent shortages and overall recruitment challenges sustainability hiring teams are facing.
Challenges of Sustainability Employee Retention
1. Employee Buy-In/Greenwashing
Employee buy-in is hard to achieve in today’s volatile market. Decreasing tenure rates demonstrate the loyalty gap between employers and their companies.
In sustainability jobs, this gap can be exasperated by greenwashing. If your company preaches about its sustainability efforts but fails to support those claims through data or simply in your day-to-day operations, you can lose the trust of your top employees.
2. Unclear Job Advancement
The recycling and sustainability sector is unique and requires a diverse set of technical and soft skills. Unlike other industries, there’s no standardized career path, which makes growing at one company difficult.
Senior leadership positions are limited — or occupied by the aging workforce — causing experienced sustainability workers to struggle to find an advancement opportunity in their current organization.
3. Limited Resources
Currently, national hiring rates are outpacing quit rates, which could indicate that workers are searching for more money, better benefits, or career advancement elsewhere because their current company is unable to fulfill their needs.
Keeping employees happy is difficult when resources are limited. But when employees don’t feel fairly compensated, valued, and protected from harm at work, the search to find a new employer, who will, begins.
Expert Sustainability Employee Retention Strategies From AllSearch’s Recruiters
If your organization is facing any of the employment challenges we’ve outlined above, don’t fret. Our team of Sustainability and Recycling experts is spilling the top sustainability employee retention strategies they’ve observed working with candidates and hiring managers over the years.
Improve Culture
Work culture plays a huge role in employee retention; happy employees are less likely to seek out a job in a new company. Identify what is important to your employees — is it higher salaries, increased flexibility, better benefits, or something else?
Based on that feedback, make an effort to implement policies and initiatives that help your employees feel seen and valued. Talking about improving your culture is great for morale, but action is ultimately what will keep them.
From an operational standpoint, improving your work culture is a powerful sustainability employee retention strategy, but it can also drive increased productivity through employee engagement. Engaged employees are roughly 17% more productive than disengaged employees. Your output is better when the culture is good.
Invest In Employee Growth
In the same vein of working to refine your culture, taking an active approach to career development is a proactive employee retention strategy.
Whether it’s helping your personnel sharpen their skills through education or training or outlining advancement paths, investing in their growth at your company can show your employees that you value their work and see a future of working together.
Be Transparent
Open communication can go a long way in improving employee retention. Communication barriers can lead to frustration or gaps in productivity because expectations between employees and managers aren’t being met.
Creating open lines of communication between employees and managers can help resolve small problems before they snowball into something unmanageable.
Be Adept to Change
The era of being indebted to your employer is over. As Baby Boomers phase out of the workforce, agility and flexibility are increasingly important qualities for retaining employees across industries.
Achieving a more balanced work-life schedule is a top priority for Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z employees. Where some Baby Boomers may struggle in workplaces with better work flexibility, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z thrive.
Understanding the generational differences in work motivations can be an invaluable sustainability employee retention strategy. When possible, consider implementing new technologies, adjusting outdated policies, or adapting to present-day workforce trends that prove to your organization that you’re dedicated to growth.
Work With The AllSearch Team!
If you’re struggling to recruit and retain top sustainability talent, consider working with a specialized team of experts who can assist you in just that. AllSearch Recruiting’s team of recycling and sustainability recruiters have a strong network of industry connections and an active pulse on your industry’s hiring trends.
Leveraging their connections and industry expertise, our team helps save you time and effort by taking responsibility for finding, screening, and scheduling interviews with highly competitive candidates.
Enable your company to create a more sustainable future. Work with AllSearch Recruiting’s Recycling & Sustainability Recruiters to find better candidates faster. Submit a Job Order
Kacey Crouthamel, Recycling & Sustainability Practice Manager