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Australian Energy Producers Journal Australian Energy Producers Journal Society
Journal of Australian Energy Producers
RESEARCH ARTICLE (Non peer reviewed)

Leadership and talent attraction and retention – an existential risk to our industry

Scott Hastie A *
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A dss, Perth, WA, Australia.




Scott Hastie is the Head of Oil, Gas, and Energy with dss+. He has 20 years’ experience leading large scale and complex transformation programs that have delivered significant results to his client’s bottom line. He has led numerous large multi-disciplined consulting engagements across Australia, Asia, Canada and the USA. Scott is a passionate and highly respected executive leadership coach. He believes in helping leaders to become change agents and works side by side with them to drive business transformation. He firmly believes that change can only be sustained when engaging the frontline. Prior to joining dss+ Scott held senior operational and commercial roles with Tier 1 resource companies and led transformation programs that delivered >$1 b of value.

* Correspondence to: scott.hastie@consultdss.com

Australian Energy Producers Journal 64 S69-S72 https://doi.org/10.1071/EP23065
Accepted: 3 March 2024  Published: 16 May 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of Australian Energy Producers.

Abstract

Political, social, shareholder – and increasingly talent – pressure is driving a seismic shift as oil and gas operators are required to transform into diversified energy companies. Attracting and retaining the required leadership and talent to drive this transformation is an existential risk to our industry. 10.5% of the total workforce left the industry during the 2019/2020 oil price crash. Since 2020 the experienced oil and gas industry workforce has aged and will take critical skills and experience with them into retirement. 40% of Australian oil and gas recruiters believe retaining this knowledge and replacing these skills are the industry’s biggest challenges. In parallel, events in August 2023 in Western Australia have demonstrated the immediate market impact workforce unrest can have. Concurrently, it is becoming harder to attract talent to the industry. The competition for adaptive leaders and high-skilled workers has been accentuated as the oil and gas sector continues to evolve and now competes for these skills sets with other industries. Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance is increasingly becoming an important factor in the industry’s ability to attract and retain talent. In a recent global talent index report, 85% of respondents stated ESG is a factor in whether they will stay or leave an oil and gas organisation. Interestingly, 55% of those open to switching sectors would be interested in switching to renewables. In this paper, I provide oil and gas companies with pragmatic guidance on how to quantify the impact of these challenges, adapt the industry narrative, and re-position as an employer of choice.

Keywords: leadership, net zero, oil and gas, sustainability, sustainable operations, talent, transformation.

Biographies

EP23065_B1.gif

Scott Hastie is the Head of Oil, Gas, and Energy with dss+. He has 20 years’ experience leading large scale and complex transformation programs that have delivered significant results to his client’s bottom line. He has led numerous large multi-disciplined consulting engagements across Australia, Asia, Canada and the USA. Scott is a passionate and highly respected executive leadership coach. He believes in helping leaders to become change agents and works side by side with them to drive business transformation. He firmly believes that change can only be sustained when engaging the frontline. Prior to joining dss+ Scott held senior operational and commercial roles with Tier 1 resource companies and led transformation programs that delivered >$1 b of value.

References

Australian Government (2021) Gas and Petroleum Producers. Available at https://labourmarketinsights.gov.au/occupation-profile/gas-and-petroleum-operators?occupationCode=399212

Bennington K (2021) What Is Adaptive Leadership: Definition & Heifetz Principles. Available at https://wdhb.com/blog/what-is-adaptive-leadership/

Brunel (2023) Energy Outlook Report. Available at https://www.brunel.net/en/energy-outlook-report

GETI (2022) Global Energy Talent Index. Available at https://www.getireport.com/reports/2022/

Harvard Business Review (2020) 5 Principles to Guide Adaptive Leadership. Available at https://hbr.org/2020/09/5-principles-to-guide-adaptive-leadership

University of Houston (2019) Insights into the Oil and Gas Workforce of the Future. Available at www.uh.edu/uh-energy/research/white-papers/white-papers-files/insights-into-oil-gas-workforce-future-03-2019.pdf