Human Resource Department

Human Resource Department of Shell Petroleum Company

Introduction of Shell

Shell is a worldwide group with oil, gas and petrochemical companies and deals with hydrogen, bio-fuels, solar energy and wind (Shell.com). Shell aspires to fulfill the energy requirements of the world that are cost-effective, socially and environmentally friendly to hold up.

Values of Shell

             Shell is engaged basically in oil, gas and chemicals. It also develops other sources of energy to fulfill the world’s demands and its customers. It desires to maintain long-term and high standard performance to compete well with others. Its objective is to provide full satisfaction to customers and work well with partners and policy-makers for more advancement in their field.

Recruitment Process

What does Shell look for in its employees?

Shell looks for a strong academic record when assessing the application of employees. Past experience shows that academic skills are seldom sufficient to be a successful professional within a company as challenging, dynamic, diverse and global as Shell. Therefore, Shell has identified four skills and qualities as being essential to performing to the high standards that they expect from their employees. Capacity, achievement, relationships and technicality are these skills identified by Shell. Capacity is the diagnostic ability to put problems in an extensive but in a relevant view. Achievement is the ability to get things done. Relationships refer to the ability to work efficiently with others in a team and technicality is the ability to understand and approach technical issues coupled with an enthusiasm for technical challenge. The HR management refers to these qualities throughout their assessment and selection process, looking for candidates who can show them to a greater degree than their contemporaries (Business Wire , 1999).

Applications and Resumes

Shell offers an amazing range of fields in many different fields. Shell requires people from diverse backgrounds. Every year Shell examines its business requirements and accordingly they conduct external recruiting. They advertise in the leading newspapers and shortlist the candidates suitable by interviewing them. They select candidates on the basis of their degree, although work experience really counts, and also on the basis of their answers and intelligence (Oiloffmar. (2008). All applications are assessed and candidates based on the above mentioned qualities and both internal and external selections are done. Applications can be sent at any time of the year because jobs are open for everyone. The candidates can send in their application at their own convenience because interviews for recruitment take place the whole year round. The current employees at Shell welcome the external recruitment process. Shell also encourages these employees to apply for alternative positions by using job-posting system, if they want to change their job roles (Jayaswal, 2008).

The Interview Process

Vallejo in his article has written that once the recruiters have reviewed the candidates’ application forms and CVs/Resumes, they may either conduct telephonic or face-to-face interview. The Recruitment Team at Shell use structured interview techniques. They ask questions to determine the personality of the candidate. They use situational interviews by asking questions like e.g. ‘A person in your team is disrupting information. How would you handle the situation?’ They also use another approach, the behavior description interview, in which they inquire about the candidates’ achievements and any challenges they have faced e.g. ‘Please tell us about a time when you were under great pressure? How did you cope? What was the outcome?’ The content of the responses to the questions asked is assessed by Shell. In the end of the interview, the candidates are offered a chance to ask some of their own questions e.g. ‘Will I have the chance to work overseas?’

Shell Recruitment Day

Madiha Khalid, who is the HR Manager of Recruitment and Learning at Shell Pakistan, says that there is no specific test system in the organization. However Shell does conduct performance tests. (M Khalid, personal communication, 2007) They establish an assessment center by organizing a Shell Recruitment Day (SRD). This is to see the candidates in action in a variety of different work scenarios, allowing the organization to assess the extent to which the candidate can demonstrate the elements of Capacity, Achievement and Relationships that Shell is looking for. Shell Recruitment Days are usually scheduled in March and November once a year. Here the candidate is joined by seven other contenders and four assessors. The organization just wants to observe the individual performances of the candidates. The performance test comprises of case studies, group discussion and Business Scenario Interview/Technical Presentation/Technical Interview.

           The case study exercise assigns the candidate of a role within a fictitious company, which requires the candidate to identify the issues facing the company and the key actions that they have to take. At the end of this exercise, the candidate will have to explain the assessors about the potential implications of the company’s short, medium and long-term strategy and direction.

            This case study exercise will be followed by a group discussion. In this the candidate will be working in a team of 4-7 other candidates, and all of them will be asked to imagine themselves as community representatives for a committee that sits on the Review Board with responsibility for recommending  how  Shell should allocate the funds it makes available for investment in social projects.  The assessors who are interested in learning about how team works with one another and how they manage discussions in order to meet the desired objective will observe the exercise. The last part of the Shell Recruitment Day is the Business Scenario Interview. In this the candidate will be given a list of four business relevant problems from which they have to choose one to analyze and think about potential solutions. They will have fifteen minutes of preparation time after which they will discuss their analysis informally with the assessors who are interested in their ideas on how they would manage the topic, the purpose, actions and their ability to support their plan. The business scenario interview is for those who were applying for commercial roles within the organization, e.g. marketing. The technical presentation is for those applying for technical roles in the organization with a PhD or experience of conducting original research. If the candidates are without a PhD, then they are called in for the technical interview. The HR assessors stress that candidates should be well prepared before attending the SRD (Business Wire , 1999).

Offer and Onboarding

Once the candidates have been successfully selected to work in the organization, they will be called in for a management trainee program.

Offer

To give their candidates the best value they can get from the organization, Shell makes sure that it provides the job that the person wants. If the employee is more flexible about their preferred job and location, the more likely Shell will be able to give what the employee want.

Once Shell finds a suitable vacancy, the employee will be invited to a ‘Get to Know You’ session. This is for them to meet the business managers they’ll be working with, as well as some of their team, and find out more about the position. It also gives everyone an opportunity to double check whether there’s a good match. If there is, they’ll be made a formal offer of employment. Should a suitable match be lacking at this point, Shell will continue to explore other opportunities with the employees over the following one year.

Onboarding

This is when the employees’ career begins with Shell. Onboarding programs are carried out so that employees can get to know their organization better. Shell is ready to guide its employees in the best possible way, so that the employees can have a feel of what their job role is in the organization, what they are supposed to do, and find out how Shell operates itself.

Training and Development

Maria Rehan, Retail Manager at Shell Pakistan, said that the skills and performance of employees and managers must be upgraded continually (M. Rehan, personal communication, 2006).

Meeting this requirement involves training and development activities and appraising performance for the purposes of giving feedback and motivating people to perform at their best. Training usually refers to teaching lower level employees how to perform their present jobs, while development involves teaching managers and professional employees broader skills needed for their present and future jobs.

Training Process

Shell provides training programs to their employee that is important for the employees who are new to their jobs. Shell focuses on its performance, so it provides training to the employees needed to improve their performance. It is at the peak because of its employees and their skills. Shell develops its employees’ skills according to company’s needs.

Skill Development

Shell invests in training to enhance individual performance and organizational productivity. It focuses on developing management skills/development and supervisory skills, technical skills and communication skills. It also provides training to the lower-level employees who are new to the company for their better performance to get good results.

Orientation Training

Shell designs orientation training to new employees because it is typically used to familiarize them with their new jobs, work units and the organizations in general. Shell introduces its employees to the company and familiarizes them with policies, procedures, culture and the like. All this results in reputed benefits including lower employee turnover, increased morale, better productivity, lower recruiting and training costs and the like.

Team Training

Shell considers team training more important because it recognizes to facilitate individuals working together. It teaches employees the skills they to work together and also facilitates their interaction. It has developed a team training program that focused on technical, interpersonal and team interaction skills.

Diversity Training

This focuses on building awareness of diversity issues as well as providing the skills employees need to work with others who are different from them. This facilitates to reduce hidden biases and builds up skills needed to manage a diversified workforce efficiently.

Training Methods and Effectiveness

The training Shell gives its employees includes certain steps. First, shell conducts analyses to identify the jobs, people and departments for which training is necessary. Employees’ performance is measured due to this. Not just this but Shell plans out the training program for its employees and objectives of this program after which decisions about the training methods are taken. Mostly, Shell provides on-the-job training. It uses certain methods for that purpose, like lectures, role playing, case discussions, conferences, and job rotation. Finally, Shell evaluates the programs effectiveness in terms of employee reactions, learning, and behavior transferred to the job, and bottom line results.

Performance Appraisal

Neha mentioned in her article that performance appraisal is done for the purpose of promotions. It is the assessments of an employee’s performance. It serves for administrative and developmental purposes. Administrative purpose provides information for making salary, promotion, lay-off decisions and documentation. Developmental purpose can be used to diagnose training needs and career planning. Shell appraises its employees because feedback and coaching based on appraisal information provide the basis for improving day-to-day performance (Neha, personal communication, 2007).

Trait

Shell does not use this category because trait scales tend to be ambiguous (as well as subjective) they often lead to personal biases and may not be suitable for obtaining useful feedback. Trait scales are easy to develop and implement but they are often not valid.

Behavioral Appraisal

Shell does not even use this category because they were actually developed in response to the problems of trait appraisals.

Results Appraisal

Shell mostly appraises its employees’ performance. Results appraisals tend to be more objective and can focus on production data such as sales volumes, units produced or profits.

Management by Objectives

A process in which objective set by subordinate and supervisor must be reached within a given time period. This is another name given to “Results appraisal.”

Aim of MBO

Shell uses MBO to achieve a set of goals that is clear, specific and reachable, and when managers want to empower employees to adapt heir behavior as they deem necessary in order to achieve desired results. The standard of performance at Shell is based on job analysis after which performance standards are notified to its employees.

Managers and Supervisors

Shell uses its managers and supervisors as a source of appraisal information because they are often in a best position to observe an employees performance.

Internal and External Customers

Shell uses its internal and external customers as sources of performance appraisal information because shell focuses on TQM, and also it is a god idea for employees to evaluate their own performance.

360-Degree Appraisal

Shell also uses a multiple sources of appraisal to gain a comprehensive perspective of one’s performance because each source of performance appraisal information has some limitations, and different people may see different aspects of performance. Neha says that 360-degree appraisal is beneficial and would be accepted by employee if not linked with increments. (Neha, 2005)

Performance Appraisal Interview

Employees want to know how they are doing, but typically they are uncomfortable about getting feedback. Shell also conducts performance appraisal interviews thoughtfully. It summarizes the employees’ specific performance, and then supports the employees who are not performing well and appreciates those whose performances are good(Boyle, 2002).

Rewards and Benefits

Rewards and benefits are major set of HRM activities. Shell provides their employees rewards and benefits like pay, fringe, etc. The most common rewards given to the employees are worker’s compensation, social security and unemployment insurance. By focusing the employee’s performance it provides benefits to its employees, which are considered by the staff members, executives and managers of the company.

Reward System

Reward system serves as a strategic purpose of attracting, motivating and retaining people. Shell provides huge benefits to their employees in order improve the performances of the employees.  By taking a look to the performance of the employee or his sincerity with the organization take the decisions that how much and what type of reward should be given to the employee. They give rewards like incentives, tours tickets, promotions etc(Mabey, Salaman, & Storey, 1998).

Pay Level

Every company has to set their pay level; it refers to the choice of whether to be a high, average or low paying company. Pay has always been a primary interest. Mostly employees are content from their pays and the rewards and benefits that are given to them. Shell offers a competitive pay considering the market conditions and the skill and experience of the employees.

Pay Structure

Pay structure is the difference of pays of employees within the organization. Shell provides same pays to the employees having same designation .The pay is different for employees only on the basis of their performance. The senior executives and Head of the department in the organization get paid more than others employees(Mabey, Salaman, & Storey, 1998).

Individual Pay Decisions

To promote the employees Shell makes individual pay decisions as well. The company ensures that employee’s individual contribution is recognized and rewarded through performance-related pay and bonuses.  It increases the pay of the employees for a week, month or a year. It provides number of facilities to their hardworking employees. It has also developed a class for students in the town to enhance their technical knowledge and get jobs on the nearby plan.

Group Incentive Plan

Shell also provides group incentive plans to their employees. The group which performs a particular task well, they give them incentives and different facilities. Equal incentives are given to men and women employees.

Health and Medical benefits

Shell provides their employees health and medical benefits. All the employees get free medical services. Even a one week employee and his family get free medical services from the company. Shell has a contract with some special hospitals and healthcare centers which provide these services to the employees.

Labor Relations

Labor relations are the system of relations between workers and management. Shell thoroughly considers the demands of their employees. Unions, recruitment members, collect dues and ensure that employees are treated fairly with respect to wages and other issues(Mabey, Salaman, & Storey, 1998).

Training Provisions

Training is important in all stages. To facilitate their employees Shell assists their employs by giving them a provision for fees, study leave or revision courses.

Sports and Social Activities

A variety of sports and recreational events are organized by Shell for employees and their families. Different activities, conferences and away days are also organized. Vacations are also planned for employees over holidays and weekends.

Security

Shell also provides security to their employees. Employees are invited to join their valuable benefits programs’, which include pension/retirement plans and healthcare coverage.                                                                                                                                                 On retirement they provide their employees a sufficient amount of money so they can use this money after the job. In case of any accident, if the employee loses his life, the company provides money to the family of the employee in order to help them.

Reference

1.      Boyle, E. (2002). A critical appraisal of the performance of Royal Dutch Shell as a learning organization in the 1990s. The Learning Organization: An International Journal, Volume 9, Number 1, pp. 6-18(13)
2.      Business Wire. (1999). JWT Specialized Communications Fills up with Shell.Retreived from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_1999_Nov_12/ai_57535332 on July 28, 2008.

3.      Jayaswal, R. (2008). Shell International Petroleum Co executive VP David Pirret says Shell to focus on India and China for future growth. Retrived from http://royaldutchshellplc.com/2008/04/17/shell-international-petroleum-co-executive-vp-david-pirret-says-shell-to-focus-on-india-and-china-for-future-growth/ on July 28, 2008

4.      Mabey, C., Salaman, G. & Storey, J. (1998). Human Resource Management: A Strategic Introduction (Management, Organizations and Business). 2nd Edn, Wiley-Blackwell.
5.      Oiloffmar. (2008). FRAUDULENT Job Contract said to come from Shell.Retreived from http://www.zimbio.com/Oil+Offshore+Marine/articles/567/FRAUDULENT+Job+Contract+come+Shell on July 28, 2008.
6.      Shell.com. on the Road Retrived from http://www.shell.com/home/content/products_services/on_the_road/dir_on_the_road.html on July 28, 2008

7.      Shell International Petroleum Company Limited. (1968). Natural Gas Terms and    Measurements, Paperback.

8.      Shell-BP Petroleum Development Company Nigeria Limited. (1977). Statement of general

Business principles. Unknown Binding.

9.      Stanford Law School. (n.d.). Royal Dutch Petroleum Company (Shell): American Depository Receipts (ADR’s).Retrieved from http://securities.stanford.edu/1029/RD04-01/ on July 28, 2008.

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