Social Human Capital Development
Basic Approach
Our culture has always been to put people first and treat everyone with dignity.
We promote equity, diversity, and inclusion, as we believe a diverse workforce is the driver of creativity and innovation and is critical to our long-term success. Best practices are implemented locally in keeping with our global strategies across our operating operations, from manufacturing to sales and project development.
Canadian Solar is an equal employment opportunity employer (link) and does not tolerate discrimination of any kind, including, but not limited to, race, color, ethnicity, gender, religion, political or other opinion, sexual orientation, age, disability status, or other distinguishing characteristics. We hire, promote, and reward employees based on their qualifications, experience, development potential, and performance, and also take diversity into account, with the goal of assembling a group of talented and skillful individuals with diverse aim to increase female representation in our global workforce to 40% and in our middle management to 30% by 2026.
We also aim to increase the share of employees with special needs to 1-2% in 2026 from 0.8% in 2021.
Talent Strategy, Training, and Development
Our people are our most important asset.
They are the driver of our sustainable competitiveness and key to achieving our goals and mission.
As such, we recalibrate our talent strategy and monitor progress annually to ensure that we remain on track with our short, medium, and long-term goals.
Training, Skills and Career Development Programs
Talent Review and Succession Planning
To prioritize talent skillsets that we have identified as critical for the long-term success of our business, we build out and review our talent pipeline on a regular basis. Our human capital development team helps employees develop skills and knowledge sets that may not be readily available in the market. We have also established a succession planning process based on business needs, talent availability, and employee feedback.
Leadership and Key Talent Development Programs
Initiatives such as the Business Leader Development Program, where we partner with prestigious universities to provide online lectures, webinars, and project assignments, meet this need by providing training and development opportunities for all different levels of leadership.
We also have a Middle Manager Development Program and a Frontline Leadership Program, where we partner with Franklin Covey to deliver leadership, individual effectiveness, and business execution training to our business leaders.
Canadian Solar University program
CSAM utilizes Canadian Solar University (CSU), a training program provided by the Canadian Solar Group. CSU provides employees with learning resources covering all key business functions, including project development, project sales, energy storage, asset management, O&M, and EPC management.
Each topic has different levels, from entry level 101 courses to expert level 401 courses.
Currently, Canadian Solar is in the process of developing a CSI solar curriculum focused on solar module products and R&D, which is expected to launch later this year.
CSU aims to help CSAM employees gain a broader understanding of the business of the Canadian Solar Group not just CSIF’s asset management, drive innovation, and stimulate more effective collaboration within the company. It also helps further develop employees’ expertise across disciplines, both within and across business functions.
17 courses launched in 2020, including:
- Project Finance 201: Financial Modeling Case Studies
- Development 201: Multi-Discipline Approach
- PPA 201: Global Power Markets & EMEA Case Studies
- Energy Storage 201: Provding an easy-to-uderstand explanation of energy storage as a solution for “EPC 201: System Design – Energy Modeling”
Almost all employees of Canadian Solar’s Global Energy, including CSAM, join these courses and the average employee satisfaction score so far is 4.5 out of 5. Canadian Solar Group also provides regular on-the-job training on EHS, compliance, markets and industrial development, professional skills, and trade knowledge.
Mr. Ismael Guerrero, Corporate Vice President and President of the Global Energy introducing intermediate level 201 courses at Canadian Solar University
Realization of diverse work styles
In the Canadian Solar Group, women constitute 19% of top management team members. The Group strives to practice management without prejudice based on gender, nationality, age, appearance, and other attributes, in its efforts to create a workplace environment that is free from discrimination。At CSAM, which has inherited the Group’s DNA, about half of all employees are women. In addition, based on the belief that human resources are its greatest assets, the Canadian Solar Group seeks to improve employee health, labor management, crisis management, and other aspects by conducting employee satisfaction surveys and stress checks. Thus, the Canadian Solar Group strives to improve the workplace so that it is comfortable for employees in this era of diversity.
Introduction of flextime system
From April 2021, CSAM introduced a flextime system, with core hours of 11am to 4pm every day, to improve productivity while ensuring the diversity of employees.
Encouraging remote work
Remote work was introduced at CSAM from March 2020 as a measure to combat the spread of COVID-19. It was later introduced permanently as a new style of working.
Employee engagement surveys
The Canadian Solar Group including CSAM conducts engagement surveys every two years to gauge the employee engagement level relative to internal and industry benchmarks and to consider employees’ feedback on areas of positive performance and areas for improvement.
(Source) Canadian Solar Inc. Sustainability Report 2021