The Evaluation Services team (known as EVS inside the company) is one of the most mysterious ones of EcoVadis, both to our candidates and even sometimes EcoVadians themselves! Why? Well it’s less obvious what our EVS colleagues do on a daily basis, compared to Sales, Engineering or Finance for instance.
Externally, we do our best to explain each EVS role in detail in our job descriptions. We also had one of our EcoVadis Insiders live chats dedicated to one of the key roles in the EVS team - sustainability analyst.
What about shedding more light on the EVS team internally? The company is composed of a very diverse set of people and we thought it would be an interesting idea to give others a sneak peak into the “engine room” of EcoVadis.
Discover a testimony from Stian Sandbekkhaug.
Stian is a Sustainability Ratings Team Leader at EcoVadis, part of the EcoVadis Evaluation Services team, and he’s based in Paris.
Here at EcoVadis, we have an incredible mix of people - in the diversity of what we do and who we are. This has always been one of the company’s strong points and I am extremely proud that the company has ingrained this into our core values. Here in Paris, there are people in the office that I pass by every day, but something is missing - I have no idea what they do for the company! This isn’t completely true, I know their job titles and what department they operate in, but what else? What do I really know about their job and contributions to EcoVadis?
Do I really want to ask my colleagues to explain in detail one-by-one? Yes, but there has to be a better way to do this… right? This is where the Evaluation Services team in Barcelona identified an opportunity to present EVS in depth to other teams over the course of 1 week. It was well received, and after hearing the Team Leader over there talk about its success, I did the natural thing and stole her idea. Stealing is a strong word, as we share the same regional lead who supported both the initiatives, but credit should go to Cindy Jansen and the Barcelona EVS team!
In Paris, we asked around to see if there was anything specifically that other teams wanted to know about us. Comparing their requests with an overview into the EVS processes led to a full schedule, including six 30 minute sessions over five days. We explored topics ranging from the analysis process itself, to some more specific sub-teams’ responsibilities. Employees from other teams were free to drop in to whatever session interested them, or to show up daily and see what the topic of the day was.
What I really liked about these sessions was the involvement and engagement from people within the Evaluation Services team, the ability to explain the daily processes to other teams - but even more importantly it was an opportunity to directly connect with other teams. The number of people who wanted to spread the knowledge was a positive sign and it was a challenge to condense all the content into one short week. That being said, the Evaluation Services teams are always able to answer questions or support other EcoVadians!
What the others really enjoyed about these sessions is the fact that they were able to ask live questions, especially hyper-specific ones. It showed that there was definitely some sort of knowledge gap, but we were able to provide answers and explanations. It also was nice to see how natural the analysts felt and the ease of which they were able to answer everything. I think some of them realized they know more than they let on, while others “forgot” how to be nervous while presenting. It’s opportunities like these where people can escape their comfort zone without even realizing it!
I’m sure we could have given more time to the presenters or removed any time constraint, but the conversation has not stopped there. Since the success of this week, I’ve spoken to other team leaders and members of other teams to see if they would be willing to do something similar - but still keep it open to all members of the Paris office. The EVS team did a great job in a short notice, and the reception from our colleagues helped tremendously.
Wherever you are at EcoVadis, both physically and professionally, you should know that you have a chance to make an impact at the company. It may not be saving the world in 24 hours, but you can still educate and enlighten those around you. I hope this initiative will encourage others to follow suit, I look forward to hearing about others in the future!
To find out more about life at EcoVadis, our values, perks that we offer, and current job opportunities visit ecovadis.com/careers.
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