You don’t hear much about failed hires. But they matter. In renewable energy infrastructure whether anaerobic digestion, solar, energy storage or wind poor hiring decisions hit harder than in many other sectors.
Not because the technology is harder…
But because the human element becomes the bottleneck on otherwise capable assets.
The Common Failure Patterns
Across sectors and technologies, we see the same three themes recur:
1. Rushed Hiring
Hiring under pressure is one of the biggest drivers of failure.
When projects slip, budgets tighten and boardrooms ask “Why aren’t we staffed?”, the natural reaction is to fill seats fast.
Fast decisions lead to:
- Under-qualified hires
- Misaligned expectations
- Early churn
Renewable infrastructure projects aren’t unit tests they’re long-term, high investment endeavours. The cost of a poor hire quickly eclipses a salary.
2. Role Ambiguity
Renewable organisations often struggle to define roles before recruiting for them.
Instead of clear outcomes and decision authority, briefs read like wish-lists:
- “Must be technical”
- “Must be commercial”
- “Must be experienced across assets”
That leads to ambiguity:
- Who reports to whom?
- What outcomes matter?
- Who makes what decisions?
Without clarity, even high-calibre professionals struggle to succeed and teams fragment.
3. Misjudged Transferable Skills
It’s tempting to assume someone will “figure it out” because they’ve worked in energy before.
But technical skill alone isn’t enough.
Renewables demand:
- Contextual understanding of delivery cycles
- Commercial judgment under project risk
- Nuanced operational experience
- Comfortable with regulatory and stakeholder complexity
A great oil & gas project manager isn’t automatically great at biomethane delivery just because they “manage projects”. Skills transfer but only when context is understood.
What Strong Renewable Teams Do Differently
The teams that get it right aren’t lucky. They take a different approach:
1. They Define Outcomes First
Not job titles. Not tasks.
Outcomes.
What improvement is expected in 6–12 months?
What decision rights will this role hold?
What value must this person create?
Strong teams tie hires to measurable outcomes.
2. They Assess Structure Before CVs
A CV is a signal. But structure tells the truth.
Before hiring, great teams ask:
- Is this role properly scoped?
- Does the organisation have the maturity to onboard this capability?
- Does the reporting framework enable success?
Often the problem isn’t the candidate it’s the environment they’re stepping into.
3. They Respect Human Risk
In renewable energy, human risk isn’t abstract it’s business risk.
A single underperforming hire can:
- Delay project delivery
- Increase safety incidents
- Weaken investor confidence
- Reduce operational uptime
Strong teams treat hiring decisions as risk decisions, not box-ticking transactions.
Why This Matters For Today’s Energy Projects
The renewable energy sector is no longer about small pilots.
Projects are:
- Larger
- More complex
- More capital intensive
- More operational
And when assets are worth tens or hundreds of millions, human risk becomes operational risk.
That’s why the best renewable teams think about hiring the same way they think about assets:strategically, deliberately and with long-term performance in mind.
A Different Perspective on Hiring
Too many organisations still treat recruitment as a transactional function, something to “get done” once a vacancy opens.
But in renewables, hiring is a strategic lever:
- It influences delivery timelines
- It shapes culture
- It affects retention
- It protects investor returns
When organisations approach hiring as part of operational strategy, outcomes improve not just in people metrics, but in asset performance.