Trends and Strategies in Recruiting and Retaining Talent

Abstract

Talent & Technology The upstream oil and gas industry faces unique issues and challenges in today's changing global economy. Despite the recent downturn, multinational companies still will need to augment staff and expand the technology used in critical areas of the world to meet the growing needs of energy hungry countries. These companies face a number of challenges in meeting the human capital demands needed to meet the heightened demand throughout the world. These unique challenges include attracting highly skilled employees to sometimes remote locations with extreme weather conditions and retaining these employees as competing companies seek to relocate top talent to new regions requiring similar skills. In addition, the shifting workforce will create additional strains in meeting staffing requirements. As other sectors have seen, senior level workforce personnel in the baby boomer generation are beginning to retire and vacate high-level positions that require experience and specific expertise. This workforce adjustment will mandate that younger employees quickly learn skills and gain the necessary experience to maintain production quality as highly experienced employees retire. Trends in Recruitment Companies that will need to attract and recruit employees in the future will need to implement new strategies and tactics to address the immediate as well as long-term needs of reaching a targeted group of prospective employees. For instance, today's workforce is looking for more than a just a job. Younger job candidates are much more interested in creating solutions to daily challenges, working with new science and technology, and in seeking career growth and development. These individuals choose a career path on the forefront of innovation and find immense job satisfaction being a part of this. Therefore, employers must also "sell" the position to a prospective hire during the recruitment and interview process. Companies must start by looking internally to identify what makes a successful employee. An understanding of the motivation for the best workers will help to create a picture for what to look for when hiring. This will include what attracted this employee to the company, what makes him/her successful in the organization, as well as the factors that cause this person to stay with the company. Applying this information to the company's business model of retaining and strengthening the current workforce will create a solid foundation.