Strategic human resource and leadership
Part 1
Theoretical framework
Introduction
According to the case study context, the oil and gas sector is evolving, and efficiency and improvements are needed to steer growth and productivity. The department of human resources is an essential part of the industry since it is responsible for implementing innovative strategies, manage internal activities and handle the challenges facing the sector. The major areas that human resource practices are needed include; recruiting, retaining workers, create organizational structures and cultures, implement technology and digital tools, maximize efficiency, and reduce turnover, offer training and development among many other roles. It is important to understand that HR role in the oil and gas industry is different compared with other industries since workers work in a harsh environment and poor working conditions. Skilled human resources are also needed in order to work in oil and gas reservoirs. Despite these demanding roles, human resources management is facing challenges in trying to improve and maintain better management. They are experiencing a shortage of engineers, scarce resources and qualified applicants, and lack of local talent pools. With reference to the case study context, the main areas of HR activity that need further attention are:
Areas that need further attention
Recruitment
According to the case study, the oil and gas industry demands a high skilled workforce who can tolerate the hostile working environment. Today, human resource managers experience challenges in selecting and recruiting suitable workers. In the oil and gas industry, human resources managers are responsible for selecting employees with valuable experiences, skills, and ability for them to work in the sector (O’Meara & Petzall, 2013, p. 6). Since technology is changing, the human resource team should conduct planning and analysis to determine the tasks and responsibilities, and the knowledge and skills needed in the sector. They should also evaluate the current qualified workers in order to determine the number of workforces required. It is important to understand that there is high competition since there is very few highly skilled workforce. In addition, individuals have many job opportunities and this means that employees have more power to compare wages and working arrangements and the best job to apply (O’Meara & Petzall, 2013, p. 6). Thus, the human resource team should ensure positive communication and consider cultural sensitivity in order to attract workers and sustain growth.
Training and development
According to the case study context, emerging technology has transformed the oil and gas industry. For example, Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) have been implemented in the industry to support in drilling, subsea construction, and deep-water exploration. To operate the ROV technology, employees require problem-solving skills, technical skills, teamwork skills, and communication skills (O’Meara & Petzall, 2013, p. 285 2013).Thus, the human resources managers should offer training to the workforce for them to acquire the skills and abilities needed to operate the new technology. Managers should not only recruit and retain but they should also allow them to learn and develop knowledge applicable in the actual work situation.
Capacity building and motivation
According to the case study context, oil and gas industries are associated with many challenges such as challenging reservoirs and harsher environments. Thus, human resources managers should focus on rewarding workers for them to improve performance while in the midst of the challenges. Note that workers may lack commitment and lose morale regardless of the higher salary rates. To create a long-term relationship, commitment, and higher performance, HR manager should motivate workforce through providing them with skills needed, tools and resources, ensure safety environment, maximize their well-being, provide insurance and provide reward and recognition (O’Meara & Petzall, 2013, p. 30).
Part 2
Proposed Strategy
Today, the oil and gas industry is experiencing changes and challenges that demand industrial skills in order to enhance performance and increase productivity. According to the case study context, oil and gas industry operate globally and their goal is to achieve sustainable development. For the workforce and managers to achieve sustainable development, improve performance and move the company to the next level, they require both hard skills and soft skills (Dhopte & Sinha, 2017. p. 121). Hard skills are technical skills gained through education and soft skills are the skills gained through experience. In the oil and gas industry, the combination of these skills will give amazing results since managers will have the ability to deal with the diverse workforce and organization managers. With soft skills, they will contribute to organization accomplishment by providing effective practices in promotion, training and development, and recruiting workers. Hard skills will also enable the managers to manage the industrial operations by implementing proper corrective actions, and tools and resources for the completion of the projects (Dhopte & Sinha, 2017. p. 122).
However, knowledge and skills are not only applicable to the human resources managers but the workforce should also be qualified for them to execute industrial operations effectively. Note that employee plays the most important role in the organization since they are responsible for managing the business, and growing the organization through improving performance and increasing profitability. Thus, Employees need soft skills such as good communication, decision-making skills, problem-solving skill, time management, and teamwork (Robles, 2012, p. 457). Soft skills will enable the workers to promote respectful interaction, collaboration, adhere to work ethics and portray a positive attitude. In addition, the workforce should possess hard skills for them to solve industrial problems and monitor equipment. Today, technological advances are demanding technical skills such as project management, programming, software proficiency, and big data analysis in order to perform both technical and nontechnical tasks (Robles, 2012, p. 458). Human resource managers should ensure that the workforce have the required aptitude and knowledge to perform the task.
To ensure that the workforce in the oil and workforce industry have the essential skills, the human resource managers need a strategic role or in other words, they should develop programs designed to provide training. The latter will help the workforce improve both soft and hard skills and as a result, they will increase performance. The managers should also encourage teamwork so that workers can share knowledge, make decisions and solve problems (Robles, 2012, p. 458). Mentoring and coaching should be an integral element to enable the workforce to overcome obstacles, improve skills and perform the task effectively.
Conclusion
Technology and innovation have improved the oil and gas industry thereby promoting reliable operations. However, the industries are suffering from skills shortage since the current workforce are unable to apply technical and managerial skills in carrying out their daily operations. Several factors such as aging workforce and inexperienced workers are causing the skill shortage and the human resource managers should address these challenges in order to move the company to the next level. There is a need for proactive role aimed at supporting the workforce through the provision of training and development for them to drive future growth. Human resources managers should also employ talented workers, offer career development, good working conditions, ensure satisfaction and morale and reduce employee turnover through reward and recognition. These strategies will not only increase job performance but the qualified workforce will make difference in the oil and gas industry.
References
Dhopte, S. and Sinha, M. (2017) ‘A Study of Essential Components of Corporate Skills’, Journal
of Commerce & Management Thought, 8(1), pp. 120–135. doi: 10.5958/0976-
478X.2017.00006.4.
Robles, M. M. (2012) ‘Executive Perceptions of the Top 10 Soft Skills Needed in Today’s
Workplace’, Business Communication Quarterly, 75(4), pp. 453–465. doi:
10.1177/1080569912460400.
O’Meara, B. and Petzall, S. B. (2013) Handbook of Strategic Recruitment and Selection : A
Systems Approach. United Kingdom: Emerald Group Publishing Limited. Available at:
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=683413&site
=ehost-live (Accessed: 30 January 2019).
