Finding a solution to the oil and gas industry’s impending personnel shortage is critical. By 2010 as much as 60% of the industry’s experienced managerial workforce will retire, says Robin Athey, Deloitte Development LLC research director of organizational performance.
Industry leaders realize that a combination of strategies is needed to address the talent shortage. Possibilities include offering more scholarships and internships; assigning international students to global positions; promoting the high-tech, fast-advancement aspects of the industry; and conducting internal training (OGJ Online, May 10, 2005).
During a Jan. 18 webcast, Deloitte presented a method of dealing with the problem: what it called the develop, deploy, and connect model.
The “develop” portion of the model deals with the training and growth of industry workers. “Deploy” deals with the need to allow experimentation, and “connect” addresses relationships among colleagues.
Current workers fall into age groups popularly known as the baby boomer generation, generation X, and generation Y. Jim Sowers, Deloitte’s organizational and people performance practice director, said workers in generation X and especially generation Y tend to want more nonmonetary rewards, balance between work and life, flex time options, a sense of belonging, and ability to participate in decisions.
The industry views generation Y as a potential solution to the personnel crisis. But generation Y differs from its predecessors. Generation Y has grown up with technology and adheres to a notion that it should be able to work flexibly in terms of time and place and be evaluated solely on work product, regardless of when and where the work is done, Sowers said.
With generation Y, Athey said, traditional talent-management models focusing on the two ends of the personnel-management spectrum-acquiring and retaining-fails.
Those models’ main flaw is in requiring more money to be spent recruiting, when the reality is that monetary rewards do not get results, she said. Oil and gas companies must discover ways to meet the needs of generation Y.
‘Develop’ segment
The “develop” segment of the Deloitte model attempts to knit learning into everyday business experiences, Athey said. “Develop” incorporates processes such as “peer-assist” and “action reviews” to improve workers’ competency and skills, reducing their discontent in the workplace.
Peer-assist enables workers to learn before doing. It brings together experts in a task with a team about to launch a complex project. If the team is to drill a deepwater oil well, expert veterans such as petrophysicists, geologists, and engineers assist the team for 1-2 days of brainstorming procedures involved in the task and in understanding potential risks.
Action reviews allow workers to reflect on a completed project and related experiences by expressing expectations, surprises, and challenges faced.
These processes, according to Deloitte, enable personnel to learn quicker, make better and faster decisions, and improve strategic execution.
‘Deploy’ segment
The “deploy” segment attempts to help workers find their niches. When a professional discovers passion in his or her work and is not just filling a position based on skills, he or she is more enthusiastic, driven, and optimistic. For the employer, this reduces turnover and training costs.
Companies need to allow employees to experiment with different tasks to unleash their passion. Permitting experimentation or mobility, Athey warns, must be balanced with stability to ensure proper execution and completion of projects.
‘Connect’
Oil and gas companies are most interested in the “connect” segment of the Deloitte model because it is an area with which they have been the least concerned, Athey said. “Connect” deals with building intentional networks and relationships.
Because the oil and gas business is complex, workers increasingly depend on each other. Also, many oil and gas professionals work with colleagues around the world, and contacts between differing cultures and ethnicities tend to impede performance, Athey said. This dynamic requires high-quality interactions and relationships. She said companies need to create mechanisms, such as expertise directories, to allow workers to recognize each individual’s skills and improve collaboration.
To tackle the personnel solution, Athey said, companies need to ensure that they connect with people just as they are able to connect technologically across geography.✦