Corporate Culture

By Jamie Ferguson, VP of Global Business Development, Maxwell Drummond

In an effort to overcome the skills shortages in the oil and gas industry, there has been much debate about the image of the industry and how it can be improved to attract the next generation of talent. While this is an incredibly important cause, oil and gas leaders must look beyond the industry’s image and ensure that their own companies are exuding stellar corporate cultures as well. Doing so can play a vital role in retaining top talent.

What defines a company’s culture? Corporate culture encompasses all the factors that determine how the people within a company think and act, both as a group and as individuals. It is the mindset, beliefs and shared values of a company. These are often translated through a company’s mission statement and values but the key is to act on these and uphold the set standards and attitudes internally as well as externally.

Corporate culture is an increasingly important area within a company’s HR department and has become essential to attracting, recruiting and retaining talent. Where compensation and benefits play a large factor in individuals’ decisions for employment, so does the company’s culture. A study by Personnel Journal demonstrated that candidates for executive roles inquire about corporate culture almost as much as benefits. Creating a pitch-perfect branding strategy that successfully communicates the culture of an organization is key to recruiting individuals in the war for talent the industry is facing. People want to work for a company they can be proud of, empowering them to pour their best efforts into helping it succeed. Companies with strong cultures have employees that know and believe in their companies’ vision and are committed to fulfilling it. Organizations with clearly defined cultures also benefit from labor cost advantages. Through its culture, companies become better places to work and they become well known among prospective employees. Turnover of current employees decrease, thus decreasing the amount spent on recruiting and on-boarding.

Creating a successful corporate culture is difficult in one office.When companies become multinational, as is often the case in today’s world, it is even tougher.Leadership is crucial in developing and maintaining an organizational purpose, values and vision. This process should begin by examining past earnings and looking forward to where the company wants to be in relation with its stakeholders and environment. Developing a clear vision for how the company will progress in the future is extremely important. Company leaders must also be committed to communicating the vision through their actions and set an example by living the elements of their company’s culture-the behaviors, measures and actions that are set through their values. Seeing top executives portray their company’s standards will cause employees at all levels of an organization to notice and validate the elements of culture. They must also invest the time, money and manpower to see the culture through to every employee within their organization and ensure buy-in over time.

There have been several examples throughout the years of companies developing strong corporate cultures and their success in attracting and retaining talent is proof of their strength. When an organization consistently builds and reinforces such a culture, it creates a tangible competitive edge.The strength of Apple’s corporate culture is infamous and its’ late, but renowned, leader Steve Jobs played a critical role in personally embodying this.A great corporate culture can transcend industry and sector boundaries and generate results that will pay-off for years to come.;

About the author
Jamie Ferguson joined Maxwell Drummond’s Aberdeen team in 2006 and by July 2011 was promoted to Vice President of Global Business Development. Jamie has extensive experience managing executive level searches for clients spanning the oil and gas value chain and has deep industry networks developed from working on assignments in over 20 countries on 6 continents.

Maxwell Drummond International is a world leading retained search consultancy offering professional search services to clients in all sectors of the energy and natural resources industries.