The Decarbonised Sales Team & Workforce Structure

The-Decarbonised-Sales-Team-and-Workforce-Structure

Sales Trend 8 from the Barrett’s 12 Sales Trends Report for 2022 is about the decarbonisation of our sales and service teams and workforce structure.

Many (future-oriented) organisations have been promoting the hybrid work model for years. Technology businesses, in particular, have had remote teams for some time. However, the majority of businesses had been slower and sometimes reluctant to provide a working environment where staff could work from home, even part time.

All that hesitancy disappeared overnight in 2020 when we were all forced to stay at home due to COVID-19. All that seemed difficult -even impossible- materialised itself and allowed millions of people across the globe to keep on working from their homes.

Working at the company office 5 days a week will be a thing of the past as more and more workplaces create hybrid working models for those roles that can have this type of flexibility.

This change forced the examination of business models, operations, technology and workforce structure. It has thrown up questions for sales and service teams like:

  1. Do we need to commute -drive, train or fly- to visit our customers or suppliers on site all the time?
  2. Do we need to have in-person conferences and networking events, or can we do just as well remotely?
  3. Can we save time and reduce costs by meeting more people locally and from around the world, by going remote thus reducing travel time and the need to be in cars and planes?

It’s been made clear that we reduce the workforce carbon footprint and improve our quality of life by adopting permanently these now-welcomed changes that were once forced upon us.

As the Deloitte UK September 2021 paper, The Net Zero Workforce, stated, this means rethinking how we restructure the work itself, the workforce and the workplace.

So, what will a decarbonised sales and service workforce look like?

Let’s start with three initial questions for a decarbonised sales and service workforce structure:

  1. What needs to change regarding the work itself, the workforce, and the workplace?
  2. How will we attract and retain a decarbonised sales and service workforce?
  3. What are the desired work outcomes for a decarbonised sales and service workforce?

In order to establish a decarbonised sales and service workforce, businesses need to put sustainability and decarbonising at the heart of their business strategy and systems and set clear decarbonising targets and build strategy and processes around that, or it is just a gesture.

Immediate Actions to decarbonise current workforce operations over the next 2 years

What needs to change regarding the work itself, the workforce, and the workplace?

The sales and service work itself will remain on task across the current linear supply chain albeit with a heavy mix of remote sales and service work now a key part of ‘how we sell and service around here’.

As ReillyScott, our sales recruitment partners point out, “large sales teams no longer need to work from centralised, energy-hungry hubs where the lights never go out and the air conditioning runs constantly. Decarbonised salespeople prefer to live closer to their workplace; support and stay local. These changes are small steps, but can have a positive, high impact if more businesses adopt these changes too – and a step in the right direction in working towards a decarbonised economy.

“However, working remotely or in hybrid teams doesn’t and won’t suit everyone. Employees with young families can struggle with working from home. Similarly, people living in shared houses may also find this challenging. Thus, employers need to understand people’s environments, what motivates them, and the tools needed to enable success.”

What do decarbonised sales and service teams need to work from home comfortably, efficiently, and safely?

In countries like Australia needs will range from computers, screens, keyboards, mouse, proper chairs, desks, lights, and mics to room screens, professionally developed branded backgrounds, etc. In other countries it might mean organising and paying for internet connections, providing top-up payments to cover higher electricity bills and internet plans -this will not mean that businesses incur extra costs, these funds will come from saving of not needing big offices, and/or not using so much electricity given that people are working at least part time from home.

Helping your sales and service teams get access to cheap funding or programs to install home solar panels and lease or purchase electric vehicles will be a huge incentive to attract and retain the right talent.

How will we attract and retain a decarbonised sales and service workforce?

The key opportunity for companies is to put sustainability and decarbonising at the heart of their business strategy and attract, develop and retain a motivated workforce to execute their plans.

As one business leader in our survey said, ‘We often forget that our sales teams are consumers also. I often see them make product choices based on their own knowledge and values which largely supports a low emissions future. With the onset of the pandemic, we have all had to learn to embrace less face-to-face customer visits and more virtual meetings. Some sales members have begun requesting hybrid or fully electric company vehicles. We have a healthy mix of age demographics in our organisation, many of whom have adjusted well to the modern way of conducting business.

Creating hybrid working arrangements (a mix of remote and onsite) makes it easier to recruit from a global talent pool, allowing people to work from home while, at the same time having sales and service teams available locally on the ground in close proximity to their local clients.

Setting up local sales and service hubs with people with local lived experiences and networks within their communities will be vital as we transition to a decarbonised future.

The transition will be messy but there will be significant opportunities for engagement with employees, teams, suppliers, and customers as there will be a discussion about the presence of Scope 1,2 and 3 emissions across the value chain.

Related topics

12 Sales Trends for 2022 – Decarbonising Sales Operations
Decarbonised Systems & Strategies
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‍References:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/feliciajackson/2021/09/21/salesforce-to-drive-net-zero-action-through-the-value-chain/?sh=590d13da5d58
https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/uk/Documents/energy-resources/deloitte-uk-net-zero-workforce-in-manufacturing.pdf
https://assets.website-files.com/5d26d80e8836af2d12ed1269/607d8856980f6e851593a235_20210419%20-%20CJI%20Brief%20HR%20-%20circular%20human%20resource%20management%20-%20297x210mm.pdf
https://www.greenbiz.com/article/5-emerging-jobs-circular-economy