VEIR Team Q&A: Caitlin MacDonald, Head of People & Culture

Welcome Caitlin MacDonald onald to the VEIR team! Caitlin joined the team earlier this year as Head of People & Culture where she manages all aspects of people initiatives which enable the VEIR team to thrive. Caitlin is passionate about developing people and teams, and creating a positive, high performing culture in high-growth environments.

Prior to VEIR, Caitlin built and led the people & culture functions at Revolution Space, a space technology start-up, and RISE Robotics, a green technology start-up. She also spent time at Google working as a team lead on the hiring innovation team. Before going into tech, she spent 15 years at two workforce development social enterprises – Year Up and Genesys Works.?

We sat down with Caitlin to learn more about her role and hear what she has in store for the VEIR team and company culture.

Tell us about your role at VEIR. What have you been working on since you joined?

As I’ve been settling into this role, the goal is to really understand the current company culture and which parts of it we want to invest in and develop as we scale. Equity is an extremely important piece of company culture - for both current and future employees. Over the last six months, I’ve spent a lot of time putting a performance management system in place and ensuring that we have a consistent and inclusive hiring process. For new hires, any candidate who comes through the door should be able to really shine and show what they can bring to VEIR, without being judged on things like where they went to school or the last company that they worked at.

How would you describe VEIR’s culture?

The first thing I always say is that VEIR has an incredibly kind culture. The people who work here are very nice and respectful to each other, and that's across every level. We've had outside facilitators working with our leadership team say, “wow, what a respectful group.” It’s so obvious that we really care for each other and respect the expertise that each teammate brings to the table. That is so critically important to preserve as we continue to scale.?

Describe the ideal VEIR employee. What do you look for in a candidate?

While the buzzwords that are often in job descriptions can sound cliche, in this case they are true - we really are looking for people who can thrive in ambiguity, shift priorities quickly and easily make order out of the chaos. This truly is an exciting and dynamic environment and the folks who are most successful are masters at prioritizing and can adapt to changes quickly. Speed is critical right now, but we have to be able to move fast without compromising on quality.

We are incredibly mission driven at VEIR. People are here because they care about bringing renewable energy into the grid and making it safer, and ultimately want to have a positive impact on climate change. We look for new team members who share that passion for our mission.?

You’ve mentioned that equity is very important to you and VEIR. Can you expand on that?

In addition to all of the work that is underway to drive inclusive hiring practices, transparent career stages and salary bands, and consistent performance management, we have been investing in educating our team more broadly about DEI, and creating more opportunities for staff to build meaningful connections with one another.

We also have a very active DEI committee spearheading many trainings and culture work at VEIR. Our leadership team leverages the committee as an advisory board to ensure the entire VEIR staff is represented when making important decisions as well as making recommendations on different programs or initiatives.?