Covanta's leadership vacancies are primarily filled by external candidates due in part to a lack of successor talent in the pipeline. Realizing that creating a pipeline of Covanta's future leaders will not occur instantaneously, Covanta reenergized and enhanced its Internship program to establish a foundation to build a more diverse, and inclusive future workforce.
In 2018, Covanta reenergized and expanded its internship program to increase participation and maximize organizational impact. Aligned with Covanta's corporate goals to attract high quality candidates with potential, and to build a pipeline of diverse, innovative talent, the internship program's objectives are:
Promote a culture of innovation and inclusion.
The 2018 internship program consisted of over 50 participants. The interns were recruited from over thirty-five colleges and universities across the US and over sixty percent of them were rising seniors. Twenty-eight percent of the participants were female and twenty-eight percent represented racial/ethnic diversity. The majority of the internships we hired within the Supply Chain organization, which is the key target area that will benefit most from this program.
Highlights of the enhanced program include: (1) an uptick in internship participation within Covanta's field and regional locations; (2) improved quality of the onboarding process by the additions of "intern week" and "lunch and learn" training sessions; and (4) providing opportunities for the interns to interact with members of the senior team.
Future plans to increase the effectiveness of the internship program include: (1) adding a University Relations Specialist position as a dedicated talent acquisition resource; (2) developing a list of targeted colleges and universities, aligned by business unit and geographic locations; (3) assigning "campus executives" to serve as executive sponsors to the program; and (4) incorporating a formal evaluation process and the conclusion of the internship, to convert the interns to full-time employees.
Sandra J. Jackson
At Covanta, we believe that people are our most valuable asset and the diversity and inclusion of our workforce is key to our success. By embracing diversity, we are fostering a work community that opens minds and opportunities - which helps Covanta grow stronger as a company. I'm proud to sign on to the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion pledge as we continue work towards a complete culture of acceptance, tolerance and individuality so we can all learn and grow together.