Recruitment agents and HR personnel have revealed to Oil & Gas Middle East this month that many of the deep cuts local firms made in 2008 and 2009 appear to have been too deep, and hiring is firmly back on the agenda.
Whilst on the one hand a return to the good old days of hiring and recruiting from all over the world is a sure and healthy sign that the industry has bounced back from a period of inactivity and lean times, these individuals are concerened that a buoyant market will quickly ascend into a frenzied round of class-act poaching, which plagued managers and section heads from 2006 right through most of 2008.
Finding talent in the region should, in theory, be easier than ever, they say. When companies had to slash overheads and manpower, the people who were let go were inevitably not their most prized assets. As harsh as it sounds, managers will do everything possible to retain their best performers, and let the deadweight go.
This means that companies willing to start poaching know that by looking locally they will find the cream of the crop, without having to bother with the pesky matter of relocations. Whilst every contractor out there will be delighted to see the downward pressure on margins easing, the more astute account managers will be concerned how the perceived bounce-bak in the energy business will impact the prices they are currently getting from suppliers.
One Abu Dhabi executive recently told me that in the wake a a decent quarter of busines, all of a sudden he was facing the unexpected challenge of staff retention.
“It’s madness. After 18 months of belt-tightening suddenly I’m seeing a return to the antics of 2007, and frankly that wasn’t good for business.”The pervading feeling throughout the upstream community has certainly become more optimistic of late. This is clearly a great relief to some, and should be celebrated. However, managers will do well to stay in tune with what’s happening outside their own firms, or end up paying the price. Ensuring job satisfaction might never have been so important.
Staff Writer
Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and...
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Poaching suggests upstream co’s have bounced back
Industry activity and recruitment drives are both up
Recruitment agents and HR personnel have revealed to Oil & Gas Middle East this month that many of the deep cuts local firms made in 2008 and 2009 appear to have been too deep, and hiring is firmly back on the agenda.
Whilst on the one hand a return to the good old days of hiring and recruiting from all over the world is a sure and healthy sign that the industry has bounced back from a period of inactivity and lean times, these individuals are concerened that a buoyant market will quickly ascend into a frenzied round of class-act poaching, which plagued managers and section heads from 2006 right through most of 2008.
Finding talent in the region should, in theory, be easier than ever, they say. When companies had to slash overheads and manpower, the people who were let go were inevitably not their most prized assets. As harsh as it sounds, managers will do everything possible to retain their best performers, and let the deadweight go.
This means that companies willing to start poaching know that by looking locally they will find the cream of the crop, without having to bother with the pesky matter of relocations. Whilst every contractor out there will be delighted to see the downward pressure on margins easing, the more astute account managers will be concerned how the perceived bounce-bak in the energy business will impact the prices they are currently getting from suppliers.
One Abu Dhabi executive recently told me that in the wake a a decent quarter of busines, all of a sudden he was facing the unexpected challenge of staff retention.
“It’s madness. After 18 months of belt-tightening suddenly I’m seeing a return to the antics of 2007, and frankly that wasn’t good for business.”The pervading feeling throughout the upstream community has certainly become more optimistic of late. This is clearly a great relief to some, and should be celebrated. However, managers will do well to stay in tune with what’s happening outside their own firms, or end up paying the price. Ensuring job satisfaction might never have been so important.
Staff Writer
Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and... More by Staff Writer
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