Gender equity is widely recognised as a meaningful way to foster better outcomes for workers, customers, and the community. While targets and quotas play an important role in keeping diversity on the agenda, many organisations are left wondering what they can do to attract and retain more women.
Leading pipeline infrastructure company, Interflow, may have a solution. By shifting the conversation from “who is most qualified for the job?” to “who is best for the team, and who will add to the culture and bring new ideas?” Interflow has been able to welcome a diversity of perspectives into the business.
Chris Godsil, Operations Manager at Interflow, said that the company previously had success bringing people from the field into traditional engineering and project management roles.
“We took that idea and cast the net wider, outside of the engineering industry,” Mr Godsil said.
“We were looking for people from any industry with strong value and behaviour alignment with Interflow, people who could communicate and build trust.
“Technical skills can be developed through training and on-the-job experience. What’s really important to us is that behaviour alignment and transferable skills.”
These skills and behaviours were evident in Sam Woods, who made the move from retail to become a project coordinator at Interflow.
“I have key skills like communication, stakeholder engagement and managing timelines and budgets,” Ms Woods said.
“These have really helped me in my new role.”
Opportunities to grow and thrive
Interflow’s shift in focus from technical to transferable skills has been proven to encourage more women through the door. Just as important is providing clear career pathways that enable women to stay and thrive once they get there.
“One of the factors that made me interested in the role was that I could see the progression here,” Ms Woods explained.
“That came from conversations I’d had and from looking at who was already at Interflow and where they had come from.
“It made the risk of changing industries so much easier, knowing there was so much room to grow.”
Interflow’s simple change of approach has solved two problems; it has opened the talent pool in a competitive market, and it created a pathway for women to enter the water industry.
Mr Godsil explained that the benefits extend even further in practice.
“Exposure to different leadership styles gained from other industries will unlock potential in our teams and enable them to be their best,” Mr Godsil said.
“At a time when our industry faces complex issues like water affordability, water security, climate change, the more diverse our thinking, the better position we’re in to tackle them.”
Also apparent is the impact that value and behaviour-led recruiting has had on the culture at Interflow.
“We have seen a real uplift in culture and retention,” Mr Godsil said.
“You walk around the office and there’s this really nice buzz because people feel they are working towards something they truly believe in. That’s pretty special.”
Featured image: Sam Woods, Project Coordinator at Interflow (left). Image: Interflow
For more information, visit www.interflow.com.au.
