DRILLING AHEAD • DEPARTMENTS
Talent report: Industry will need
to compete on more than salary
BY LINDA HSIEH, EDITOR & PUBLISHER
Recruiters and hiring managers know: It’s
an employees’ market right now. Multiple
industries are experiencing widespread
skills shortages, and everyone is compet-
ing for a shrinking pool of experienced
talent. Just recently I saw an article come
across my news feed highlighting the
aviation industry’s woes trying to fill bag-
gage handling and customer service posi-
tions. Recruiting and retention tactics that
they’re now trying range from providing
onsite childcare services to giving out free
iPhones and even free cars.
The oil and gas industry is facing big
talent gaps, too. This has been evident
across conversations I’ve had with vari-
ous industry leaders while working on
this magazine, as well as in presentations
I’ve seen at industry events over the past
six to nine months. Not only are compa-
nies encountering difficulties attracting
new workers, but they are also having a
much harder time, compared with previ-
ous cycles, trying to hire people back.
A highly coveted workforce
According to the 2023 Global Energy
Talent Index (GETI), the oil and gas sec-
tor is “leaking talent in all directions. Its
multi-skilled, mobile workforce is increas-
ingly high prized by other industries.”
The report is based on surveys conduct-
ed in late 2022 with more than 10,000 pro-
fessionals in five energy sectors, includ-
ing oil and gas. It found that 80% of oil
and gas employees have been tapped for
another job in the past year. Staggeringly,
10% of employees said they have been
approached 16 or more times to apply for a
position outside of their current company.
So, what can our industry do to become
more competitive?
Yes, we can still compete on salary.
In the surveys, the single factor that oil
and gas workers cite as having the most
positive impact on their job satisfaction
is their remuneration. However, having
employee job satisfaction so highly depen-
dent on financial benefits – when there
are such big skills shortages in multiple
sectors – means that spikes in labor costs
are certain to continue. This is unhealthy
at a time when organizations are already
dealing with serious inflation pressures in
their supply chain. There have to be other
differentiators. What can we do?
For one, companies really have to get
better at listening to their employees. We
already know that the younger generation
seeks to work with a sense of purpose. But
the surveys still found many oil and gas
employees who say their views and values
are ignored and do not influence com-
pany policies. “Companies must shift from
retrospective snapshots of workers, such
as job satisfaction surveys, to continual
employee engagement,” said Janette Marx,
CEO of Airswift, the company behind the
talent survey.
Secondly, don’t scrimp and save on
employee training and upskilling. Not only
is it a cost-effective way for an organiza-
tion to boost its capabilities, the report
said, but it’s also associated with higher
talent retention.
Keeping pace with wider ESG trends
may be another step companies can take.
When oil and gas employees were asked
if they believe their job has changed as a
result of the energy transition, the largest
percentage of respondents (38%) not only
said yes but also said they enjoy their job
more because of the change.
It’s also worth noting that, when asked
which other energy sector they’re most
considering moving to, nearly half (49%)
picked renewables.
In conclusion, the report makes it clear
that oil and gas employees are a highly
attractive bunch to many other technical,
high-paying industries. We can try to con-
tinue competing on pay, but that may no
longer be enough. DC
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E-mail Linda Hsieh at linda.hsieh@iadc.org.
D R I L L I N G C O N T R AC T O R • M A R C H/A P R I L 2023
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