Work Force Planning, Recruitment and Development
We continue to develop a strong global work force with the
right skills locally available to achieve the company’s strategic
objectives. Today, the energy industry has a high number of
skilled employees approaching tradititonal retirement age. One
of the industry’s challenges is to retain and transfer existing
knowledge to new talent.
At the end of 2006, we employed 38,400 people worldwide,
compared with 35,600 in 2005. This increase was largely attributable
to the addition of employees through the acquisitions of
Burlington Resources and the Wilhelmshaven refinery.
(fig. 29)
As part of our focus to help retain and attract employees, in
early 2007, we implemented a global exit survey of people
who voluntarily leave the company. The results of this survey
help us to understand reasons why employees choose to leave
and to identify ways to better retain and attract employees.
Our business and staffing groups have planning tools that
provide ready access to data characterizing current workforce
skills and demographics and forecasting future work force
needs in conjunction with the business processes of budgeting
and long-range planning. Programs that supplement our college
recruiting effort include a strong internship program, scholarship
support and a heavy focus on early-year development.
Students play the Ignite board game developed by ConocoPhillips’
U.K. employees. The game challenges their business and decisionmaking
skills. |
Investing in the Future Work Force
As part of our future work force planning, we are actively working
to increase student interest in key professions. In the United
States for example, our SPIRIT Scholars Program provides
educational and financial support to top students majoring in
business administration, engineering, science and geosciences.
The program helps us identify, develop and build relationships
with the best students in vital disciplines. Eight U.S. universities
participate in the program, which provides financial support;
offers students mentoring partnerships with ConocoPhillips
employees; summer internships involving participation in
leadership, team-building and other self-development activities;
and ultimately, the opportunity of full-time employment with the
company. Employee mentors meet with their student partners
several times a year, participate in scholar activities and offer
counsel, guidance and real-world experiences.
In Scotland, our employees mentored young students in a
new industry project to demonstrate how science, technology,
engineering and mathematics can be applied to oil and gas
industry challenges. The students took an active part in geology,
drilling, production and financial workshops, and were given
the task of producing a development plan for an oil field.
In the United Kingdom, a group of recent graduates newly
hired by the company developed a board game for students
considering a career in the energy industry. The game, called
Ignite, exposes students to exploration, economics, drilling,
production, marketing and trading scenarios, and challenges
their business and decision-making skills. It encourages them
to work in teams and think about issues such as available
resources, risk assessment and environmental responsibility.
Graduates of the Energy Pathways program at the Los Angeles refinery. |
The Los Angeles refinery (LAR) partnered with the United
Steelworkers Union, South Bay Center for Counseling and
Los Angeles Harbor College to offer scholarships and refinery
employment opportunities for graduates of local high schools
through a program called Energy Pathways. Students work
part-time as interns while attending school at night; after
graduation, they work full-time as interns until supervision
determines they are ready to be hired as employees. From the
2006 class, LAR hired 14 operators. Over half came from the
surrounding neighborhoods. From the 2007 class, LAR hired
12 operations interns and 10 maintenance interns, also
primarily from local neighborhoods.
The Ferndale refinery in the state of Washington sponsors the
Road Less Graveled, an event to encourage more women to
consider careers in the oil and gas industry. Now in its 16th
year, the event invites women to explore trade and technology
careers at a half-day trade show.Women currently working in
these fields offer guidance at seminars. Educators display
available training programs and employers share tips on
applying for available jobs. Refinery representatives talk with
attendees about the types of tasks undertaken by operators at
the plant and encourage women to attend the local technical
college’s process technology degree program.
Managing Work Force Talent
At all of our locations across the globe, we seek to attract and
develop local talent, build capability and identify local and
global leaders. To support this, we have Talent Management
Teams (TMTs) for key disciplines. More than 20 TMTs help
identify future business needs for their discipline, assess
current gaps in skills and recommend actions to close those
gaps. The teams create career maps that outline the critical
skill sets and expectations required for each career path. They
evaluate staffing on a global basis and consider qualified
candidates from all regions. For the past three years,
exploration and production TMTs, with representatives from
around the globe, have met to share best practice.
For employees in disciplines not covered by a Talent
Management Team, procedures are in place to achieve
developmental goals by working with supervisors through the
performance management process.
In 2005, the company introduced the Global Recruitment and
Development (GRADS) program, which provides short-term
development assignments in global locations for exploration
and production recent graduate new hires. This program allows
the “GRAD” to experience a different work environment
and culture early in his/her career and partners established
business units with growth areas to provide the relevant work
experience needed to meet future growth needs.
Project Development College
ConocoPhillips launched a Project Development College in
mid-2007. The college is targeted toward members of project
management teams and employees working in major capital
projects. The curriculum develops current and future managers
of major capital projects. In the training, attendees of all
experience levels work together to share best practices with
their peers and learn updated processes and trends.
Career Development
We believe employees learn and grow largely through their
work experiences, along with coaching, feedback and formal
development programs.
(fig. 30)
We develop employees by providing diverse experiences
through job rotations or assignments, supplementing these
assignments with feedback and coaching that enhance
self-awareness and reflection, and formal learning programs
that provide critical knowledge at the right time. By offering
targeted courses that contain consistent, yet locally adaptable
content across the organization, our learning programs foster a
strong company culture and common language on employee
performance and development.
Supervisors are the key to successfully motivating and
retaining employees, and we have invested significantly in
learning programs to build solid people management skills in
our current and next generation of leaders. One-third of all our
supervisors participated in a variety of developmental training
courses in 2006.
Global online staffing tools are available to assist employees
in sourcing internal job opportunities to continue their career
development. There also are online tools that allow employees
and managers to work together on performance management
and development planning.
An online learning management system facilitates delivery
and tracking of participation in all our learning programs.
Employees and managers can stay up-to-date with required
training and track their development-driven training. This
technology also enables us to gather global information on the
time and money invested in training. In 2006, we invested over
$40 million in training for our employees.
Our development programs also accommodate local efforts. In
China for example, employees expressed a strong interest in
improving English-language skills. Therefore, the business
unit expanded the English-language training program beyond
the corporate office to offshore locations. During a three-year
span, more than 100 employees were trained by two experienced
English-speaking instructors who worked on 28-day offshore
rotations, teaching English to individuals or small groups eight
hours a day, six days a week. In addition to improved English
skills, participating employees also have gained confidence,
both of which can help career advancement.
Go back to top
