AWARDS FINALIST: Octopus Energy NZ – Empowering futures through squiggly career paths

Octopus Energy's "squiggly" drive to get more people into the energy business is proving so successful that 35 of the 37 people hired in its New Zealand operation in the past year were new to the sector.

The programme was developed in response to what the electricity retailer describes as two long-term challenges facing the sector - an ageing workforce and a need to attract people from a wider range of backgrounds as electricity systems become more complex.

"The energy sector has traditionally struggled to attract a workforce that reflects the diversity of the communities it serves, and the existing talent pool is ageing," it says.

"To build the 'futureforce,' we had to look beyond industry experience and invest in creating roles that support long-term sustainable careers for the energy leaders of tomorrow."

Growth

Octopus employs about 118 staff in New Zealand, less than 20 per cent of whom worked in the energy sector before joining the firm.

It is a finalist in the FutureForce category for this year's Energy Excellence Awards.

Rather than recruiting primarily for industry experience, Octopus says it hires for skills like communication, problem-solving and customer engagement. It then provides technical training, starting with five weeks of intense immersion in energy markets and company culture.

Thirty-five of the 37 people recruited as energy specialists over the past year had no previous energy-industry experience, the company says. Of those, 36 remain with the business.

Half the new hires were aged between 18 and 26, 46 per cent were aged between 27 and 35, and 4 per cent were aged between 46 and 50.

The programme aims to not only get people from outside the sector in the door, but to also get them moving up in the company.

"We champion 'squiggly-path' careers - a non-linear approach where you aren't stuck in one lane," it says.

Moving up

Once an employee has built up a solid base, they can specialise in tech, handle generalist enquiries or transition into global roles like data, finance or marketing.

"By supporting internal mobility, we grow leaders who understand our business from the ground up."

Within the Octopus Group's global organisation, the New Zealand team has a disproportionate reputation for getting things done, with 80 per cent of its customer operations team upskilling to become experts in, or transition into, specialised areas such as data analysis, software engineering, technology delivery, finance, marketing, smart-energy products, and commercial energy supply.

Some have also gone into roles with Kraken, the Octopus technology platform.

The company tracks employee feedback through monthly internal surveys. Over the past year, its New Zealand operation reported average scores of 8.5 out of 10 for relationship with manager, 8.3 for relationship with peers, 7.8 for alignment, 7.6 for engagement, and 7.5 for personal growth.

Octopus says it will continue developing the programme as new groups of employees move through training, with curriculum changes informed by participant feedback and evolving workforce requirements.

The annual Energy Excellence Awards will be held in Wellington on 19 August. The FutureForce Award is sponsored by Ngākau Hihiko.