Much like a seller in a hot real estate market, it’s a great time to be an employee. Much has changed over the past 10-15 years, with companies like Nextracker offering many more opportunities to employees to keep pace in a very competitive talent environment. Gone are the days of “wash-rinse-repeat” jobs with little room for self-improvement and growth. A new breed of the mission-driven workforce wants to learn more, be more global, take more risks, and seek out ways they can expand their expertise and take on more responsibility, all while working for a company that’s making an impact on changing the world for the better. In a fast-moving tech sector like renewable energy, where the products are continuously being innovated, the employees want to innovate and evolve in their jobs along with the technology.
Even as an experienced human resource professional, it is challenging to keep up with this change in the workforce and the rapid velocity that a company like Nextracker moves. But I love the challenge. It’s an exciting time, and I enjoy being part of a mid-sized yet market-leading company with big, global aspirations and a surplus of opportunities for employees. For example, I’m working to fill over 50 positions across the globe (US, India, China, Spain, Australia), which for a company of our size is significant!
The diverse cultural makeup and employment experience of our workforce generate an array of perspectives inside the company. And that’s a good thing. Some employees have been in solar or cleantech for years, while others come from the software, biomedical, semiconductor, aerospace (yes, we have actual rocket scientists here), finance, construction and other industries where their skills transfer well and they bring a fresh mindset into play. This diversity contributes to a healthy problem-solving environment, where our teams can take the most promising ideas and perspectives, make sure they’re the best ideas, rally around them, execute and move forward.
An aspect of our culture that I believe has a direct impact on our success at Nextracker is that the best idea in the room is the most important. Titles aside and regardless of who brought it —new employee or executive—this is a practice encouraged wholeheartedly by our leadership team. Collaboration and innovation are fully intertwined and on display here regularly.
We recently interviewed several members of our team for the video below: “Nextracker: More Than Just A Place to Work,” which highlights many of the reasons why this company thrives —and also reinforces a few ways we strive to maintain a healthy work environment that enables them to be successful.
Additionally, a recent initiative that I’m very proud of is our work to support and encourage our women employees around the world. We launched the Nextracker Women’s Network, which is a wide-ranging initiative to unite, promote, and inspire women in our workplace through career development, social development, and networking. We hope to give women more opportunities to discuss shared experiences in the workplace, from the challenges of working motherhood to gender imbalances at meetings. We are lining up speakers, seminars, training, and social events to discuss relevant issues of interest. Many of our employees are also engaged in supporting STEM programs at middle schools and high schools that help guide the young women who will be the clean energy workforce of tomorrow.
As women in technology, there are always lessons to learn and support we can garner from each other. All of our female employees around the globe are engaged, allowing them to share the unique challenges they face locally from India to China to Mexico. This localized, autonomous approach to the Women’s Network is one of the best practices we’ve learned from collaborating with our parent company Flex, which has several similar Employee Resource Groups. This focus on supporting women employees and diversity is no surprise, given that Flex’s CEO Revathi Advaithi is an inspirational example to us all.
Finally, our workforce development is not limited to Nextracker employees. The PowerworX courses led by our cross-functional teams have trained more than 800 people around the world on our tracker systems installation, commissioning, operations and maintenance, software, safety practices and more. We believe it’s our responsibility to work with our partners and provide their field teams the tools they need to meet renewable energy goals in each unique market. Their success is ultimately our success.
If this piqued your interest and are interested in learning more about Nextracker or joining our team, check out our open positions here.
Dorothy Serdar is the Vice President, Human Resources at Nextracker. She directs the strategic and operational Human Resources activities and implements high-impact HR programs and practices.
