Welcome to another instalment of Leading the Way. Today we’re joined by Slava Kozlovskii, Founder & CEO of evee, who talks us through his career journey, key environmental sustainability initiatives in his business and its benefits, and advice he has for those also embarking on a sustainability journey. Let’s get into it.

What inspired you to create evee and what is the company’s vision for the future?

Growing up, I was obsessed with cars, dreaming of driving a Lamborghini one day. As I got older, I realised the environmental impact of fossil fuels, and my childhood enthusiasm waned. In university, I gravitated towards entrepreneurship, eager to make a real difference through my work. With electric vehicles (EVs) becoming more viable – yet remaining costly – an idea began to take shape.

When it was time to have kids of my own, my thoughts turned to creating a better future for them. And instead of buying a house, (my now-wife) Lorena and I bought a Tesla! And we started a car sharing company with a mission to make EVs more affordable, accessible and, ultimately, accelerate the uptake of zero emission transport.

At evee we envision a future where electric vehicles powered by renewable energy are the norm and our mission is to bring that future forward.

What does a day in the life look like for you?

My typical day starts with a morning run before the kids and family get up and start getting ready for school. It’s followed by a morning rush trying to get everyone out of the house on time. We have a daily meeting with the team, which helps us outline tasks and priorities for the day. I would then work on my one or two priorities for the day, whether it’s a particular partnership, or a new key hire. I strive to make myself available to all team members throughout the day, but prefer to leave the emails and Slack comms until the afternoon. I like to delegate and empower the team to make decisions. However, in a growing startup, I still maintain oversight on many elements of the company including product, marketing operations, customer support, and more. The trick is to keep the big vision in mind while aligning the day-to-day activities with that vision.

What are you most excited about as you look forward to the next five years in sustainability/clean tech?

The progress we’ve made in the electric vehicle space in the last decade alone is staggering, and the rate of improvement is continuing to accelerate with battery technologies continuing to improve by the day. It makes me feel excited about the opportunities ahead meaning even more affordable EVs on the roads.

I’m also looking forward to electrification of air and water transport as a result of these advancements. I feel that the overall move to renewable electric energy is something that will ultimately align all industries on a path towards a better future. What’s exciting is that the transition is now taking place on both the generation and the consumption ends of the energy cycle.

In our sustainability report, 42% of candidates disagree with the statement that “businesses are currently doing enough in the way of environmental sustainability”. What are the key environmental sustainability initiatives that you are implementing in your business & what have the benefits been?

It’s great to be supporting the uptake of electric cars and we absolutely want more of them on the roads as a replacement for internal combustion engines. However, we recognise EVs still have their own environmental footprint and a clean environment for future generations is not one in which every person has their own vehicle. It simply isn’t sustainable and causes a huge drain on resources, which isn’t necessary given that nobody is driving their car 100% of the time – about 95% of the time a car is usually parked. It’s about maximising what’s already in circulation. Also, electric vehicles alone aren’t enough, we encourage the use of renewable energy to power them, which we do across our customer base. This comes into play throughout partnerships and the way we communicate with our customers and employees.

Environmental considerations are built into our company constitution, we track and offset our operational carbon footprint, we survey our suppliers and prefer the more sustainable ones when possible. We have employee travel policies encouraging less corporate travel and use sustainable options whenever possible. We have just submitted our B Corp certification, which has helped us align our values with our policies and procedures.

What advice do you have for leaders/organisations who are embarking on their sustainability journey?

1. Identify what initiatives are aligned with your overall business objectives and mission. It can feel overwhelming to act on a sustainability initiative because there are simply too many to choose from. Once you’ve identified the area that’s most suitable to your long-term vision, whether it is renewable energy, or conservation or other – focus on that one area and eliminate the rest.
2. Create a framework that will help you survey and understand your current position. You need to understand where you’re at on the map before planning a route. Using a carbon accounting platform could be a good start.
3. Map out where you want to be but focus on one or two initiatives at most. B Corp assessment has been very helpful for us to create this plan and put it into action. Whether you decide to submit your B Corp application or not (I hope you do), I would recommend looking at the assessment and the framework to help crystalise your sustainability roadmap.
4. Listen to your team. It is likely that your employees are already aware of many sustainability initiatives available to your business. These could range from government incentives targeted at increasing the uptake of electric vehicles to renewable energy and recycling projects that can help your organisations. They may also be involved in local community groups supporting some of these initiatives.

From team management to networking to corporate strategy, there are a variety of duties a successful recruitment manager will have to take on. But, what makes someone a truly outstanding recruitment leader?

There are many key traits often shown by leaders in this industry – and results speak for themselves. Here are our top 5 successful recruitment leader skills, along with the benefits of implementing them into your own management strategy. How do you stack up?

1. Be data-driven

Without quality data to analyse, how will you identify the areas that need improvement? Or the areas that are growing most successfully?

Collecting and analysing data is crucial to keep track of your processes. You’ll be able to efficiently identify any roadblocks hindering progress – and can use this information to take action in making your entire operation more streamlined. You’ll deliver better, more targeted service to clients and candidates as a result (and, of course, achieve more sales!).

2. Take a step back from recruitment

If you’re spending too much time focusing on your own technical recruitment skills, how will you efficiently lead your function? There simply aren’t enough hours in the day.

Being in a leadership position means accepting that your role is no longer laser-focused on technical recruitment. Instead, setting the vision for your team, hiring good people, and providing mentorship is where you should focus most of your time.

Effective recruitment leaders should be able to set an example – and deliver guidelines needed for their recruiters to do their job well.

3. Prioritise collaboration and teamwork

Collaboration and teamwork typically deliver better results than individual working. From improved problem solving to higher chance of innovation, encouraging your recruiters to work as a cross-functional team is likely to be far more successful. Knowledge and insight will be shared more effectively, creating broader scope for the team (rather than individuals) to achieve success together.

Many top recruitment leaders regularly encourage their people to share, learn, and help enhance each other’s skills. Basing most incentives on team performance (rather than individual achievements) will naturally encourage collaboration, too.

4. Focus on diversity within your strategy

Diversity, equity and inclusion is a prevalent topic right now – but DEI is far more than buzzwords on a page.

Focusing on DEI will not only keep your recruitment strategy updated, but will also help create a more inclusive culture within your organisation. There’s no denying how important a positive company culture is, especially in today’s candidate-driven market. If you aren’t showcasing your commitment to DEI (both internally and externally), you run the risk of losing your best talent.

5. Nurture other leaders

Your mentorship process shouldn’t just focus on helping your recruiters develop their technical recruitment skills. You should also work to nurture their leadership skills, helping them develop into future leaders of your function.

This will not only help more members of your team operate with better autonomy, ownership and responsibility, but will also help identify areas for improvement too. If others in the team are equipped with the experience to analyse your recruitment process, you’ll have more support in improving your overall long-term strategy.

Want to learn more?

While these 5 skills are undeniably important, being a successful leader certainly doesn’t stop here. There are an endless range of leadership qualities that will help boost business, improve your company culture, and build a better world of work.

To discover more leadership-focused insight across a variety of industries, take a look at our new Leaders Building a Better World of Work list. Featuring exclusive takeaways from some of today’s most inspirational leaders, you’ll discover a range of perspectives and knowledge on multiple facets of leadership. Click here to find out more.