Assessing and Addressing the Talent

Gap In Aberdeen.

A few of the of the

participants

Research

methodology

Why and how we went about this

research

• We wanted to understand the key resourcing challenges facing the

Aberdeen Oil & Gas community

• To identify essential learnings and suggest recommendations moving

forward

• In consultation with some senior HR people, a framework of

questions were created across four broad subject areas

• An offline questionnaire was compiled with the aim of adding

maximum value through the insights it would uncover

• The questionnaire was delivered over the phone to resourcing

professionals within the Aberdeen Oil & Gas sector

• This is the first look at those insights and their potential implications

The Talent

Attraction

landscape in

2012: facing

the talent gap

Recruiting talented candidates has become

more challenging over the last 12 months

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

Completely disagree

Slightly disagree

Broadly agree

Completely agree

The recruitment of talented individuals will

become more challenging over the next 12

months

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

Completely disagree

Slightly disagree

Broadly agree

Completely agree

By what sort of % do you expect the recruitment market

to become more competitive over the next 12 months?

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

It will broadly stay the

same as this year

By up to 40%

By up to 30%

By up to 20%

By up to 10%

Retaining talented candidates has become

more challenging over the last 12 months

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%

Completely disagree

Slightly disagree

Broadly agree

Completely agree

Neither agree nor

disagree

There are talent gaps in the following

engineering & specialist areas

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Head Office

Operations

Offshore

Engineering

The inability to recruit sufficient talent into our

organisation is impacting on business performance

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%

Completely disagree

Slightly disagree

Broadly agree

Completely agree

Neither agree nor

disagree

This talent gaps puts a strain on our workforce

and impacts employee engagement

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Completely disagree

Slightly disagree

Broadly agree

Completely agree

Neither agree nor

disagree

talent gap

Learnings

Learnings

• The Talent Gap is real, and is forecast to get wider

• The Talent Gap means that business performance is suffering

• It is impacting on your existing workforce and has a knock-on affect

throughout your business

• The additional strain on your people will impact on productivity,

engagement and retention

• You risk falling into a vicious circle

• The talent gaps within Engineering are of particular concern

Transferable

skills

We seek talent from outwith the Oil & Gas

industries

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%

Completely disagree

Slightly disagree

Broadly agree

Completely agree

Neither agree nor

disagree

We seek talent from outwith the Aberdeen

region

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

Completely disagree

Slightly disagree

Broadly agree

Completely agree

Neither agree nor

disagree

Which industry sectors provide the sort of

talent that Oil & Gas could benefit from?

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

No idea

Construction

Transport

Energy

Food Manufacturing

IT

Chemical

Automotive

Armed forces

Nuclear

We have talent mapped our organisation

against other industry sectors

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Completely disagree

Slightly disagree

Broadly agree

Completely agree

Neither agree nor

disagree

The Aberdeen Oil and Gas sector is not great at

recruiting in talent from other industries

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

Completely disagree

Slightly disagree

Broadly agree

Completely agree

Neither agree nor

disagree

Aberdeen’s location is a key factor in this

struggle to recruit

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%

Completely disagree

Slightly disagree

Broadly agree

Completely agree

Neither agree nor

disagree

The buoyancy of the sector is not well known

outside the region

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

Completely disagree

Slightly disagree

Broadly agree

Completely agree

Neither agree nor

disagree

The global Oil & Gas sector tends to view the

North Sea as a mature, even declining,

resource

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

Completely disagree

Slightly disagree

Broadly agree

Completely agree

Neither agree nor

disagree

The Aberdeen Oil & Gas industry should jointly

promote opportunities within the region

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%

Completely disagree

Slightly disagree

Broadly agree

Completely agree

Neither agree nor

disagree

Transferable

skills:

Learnings

Learnings

• Efforts are being made to attract from outside the immediate

geographical & sector talent pools - but over 90% think that the

industry is poor at attracting from other sectors.

• And 100% have not mapped their needs against the external market

• Other sectors have the skills you are looking for – nuclear & the

Armed Forces are seen as good hunting grounds – areas facing real

challenges

• Your location is seen as a factor in the talent gap – however, you are

not alone in facing such pressures

• The early career pipeline for tomorrow appears patchy & liable to be

switched on & off

• There seems interest in but not consensus around combining

communications activities

Attracting

talent

We have an attractive employer brand which plays a

key role in driving our recruitment initiatives

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%

Completely disagree

Slightly disagree

Broadly agree

Completely agree

Neither agree nor

disagree

We use our employer brand in order to drive

internal communications

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%

Completely disagree

Slightly disagree

Broadly agree

Completely agree

Neither agree nor

disagree

We have a fair amount to learn about how social

networking and how it can be used for recruitment

purposes

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

Completely disagree

Slightly disagree

Broadly agree

Completely agree

Neither agree nor

disagree

We have a robust graduate recruitment programme

designed to develop the talent for tomorrow

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%

Completely disagree

Slightly disagree

Broadly agree

Completely agree

Neither agree nor

disagree

We recruit and train our own apprentices

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

No

Yes

Attracting

talent:

Learnngs

Learnings

• There is uncertainty as to what a well defined Attraction Strategy looks

like.

• You need to reach out with more confidence to the global Oil & Gas

sector that you remain a viable choice.

• Investment in, and understanding of, the Employer Brand is not as

good as it should be.

• As attraction from other sectors becomes increasingly important,

domestic candidate audiences need to feel there is real opportunity on

their, relative, doorstep.

• Employer Brand is not used to any great extent as an internal

communication or employee engagement tool.

• You have a strong story to tell (and a strong need to tell it). One that

would resonate with many candidates.

Talent

management

We have an excellent website which

communicates our employer brand values

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

Completely disagree

Slightly disagree

Broadly agree

Completely agree

Neither agree nor

disagree

We have a full online candidate management

system with reporting functionality

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%

Completely disagree

Slightly disagree

Broadly agree

Completely agree

Neither agree nor

disagree

We deliver the best possible candidate

journey & experience

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%

Completely disagree

Slightly disagree

Broadly agree

Completely agree

Neither agree nor

disagree

Talent

management:

Learnings

Learnings

• The focus on the candidate journey needs to improve.

• It is so important that the Employer Brand is communicated through all

candidate touchpoints, from applicant, to candidate, to joiner, to

inductee, through to employee and even alumni.

• Use of technology to aid the process is poor in comparison to other

sectors.

• Websites are seen as poor. To attract the best this needs to change,

particularly if other sectors with a more sophisticated candidate pool are

to be targeted.

• Many UK talent pools are characterised by caution and apprehension –

even great talent needs reassurance and confidence to move in the

current market

In summary -

What do you

think you

could do

better ?

In which of the following areas could your

organisation up its game?

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Forward resourcing planning

Pipeline knowledge

Assessment process

Application process

Induction

Alumni comms

Retention & engagement

Onboarding

Employer brand definition & promotion

Social media knowledge

Thank you

for your

time