Workplace Diversity at Shell Oil: Interview

Diversity is a major factor to reckon with at Shell, a force in the worldwide energy industry and a constant magnet for the brightest business school talent. We talk to Nimai Swaroop, Marketing Manager For Recruitment, Europe And Africa Region, about how the company's increasingly diverse workforce is integral to its global success.

More and more corporations are recognising the economic case for recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce. Is this Shell's vision?

Yes, absolutely. Diversity is not a separate issue for us: it's fundamental to the way we work because of the global nature of our business. As an energy company, we are diverse in terms of geography and function and this means our workforce is likewise diverse. For instance, our recruiting operations span over 18 locations " from Houston to the Hague, from London to Qatar, from Bangalore to Melbourne. We believe our workforce is much more creative because of its diversity. We've found that it's diversity that has led to many of our new ideas at Shell, purely because there are many different minds trying to solve the same problem. Creativity is stunted when people do not feel valued for who they are, or when they are diverted from tasks by barriers like the acceptance of their gender or race. All individuals need to be involved, supported, respected and connected at Shell for business to succeed. In terms of recruitment, our aim is to always engage the best minds from every personal and cultural background. We want to recruit MBAs who will become the company's future leaders and our efforts to find the right people should never be limited by our understanding of diversity.

What are your strategies for recruiting a diverse workforce?

Our recruitment processes are standardised worldwide and they incorporate clear policies to encourage diversity. All staff involved in recruitment receive regular training for this purpose. This includes learning the dos and don'ts for every recruitment stage, from first meetings with graduates to interviews and final selection. For example, when we visit a business school campus, we always ensure that we have a diverse team representing Shell, whether it's in terms of ethnic background, gender or skillset. Diversity goes right through our recruitment process, even before we meet candidates. It feeds into our advertising, the language we use and our approach to all forms of recruitment marketing. It's all done with diversity at the back of our mind. This has led to relative success, in the recruitment of women, for example. In the UK in 2006, 40% of Shell's recruits for technical roles were female - this is actually 10% higher than the proportion of women that study science and technology degrees at British universities.

How do you retain this diversity?

We've got a number of initiatives in place across the organisation. Our aim is that every member of staff, whatever background, can reach their potential in terms of both personal and professional development.

In terms of gender, for example, we've have instituted Shell Women's Networks, which encourage the company's high-calibre females. These networks are not just based in Europe and the UK " there are Women's Networks in Malaysia and Dubai. Each network is designed to ensure females receive enough support to inspire them to move on in the Shell group. For example, each network holds conferences where prominent female speakers " somebody who has demonstrated mastery in a particular field  gives a motivational speech. It is also a good opportunity for everyone there to network, share experiences and consider any corrective action in terms of diversity that needs to take place. This initiative was one of the reasons we were recently ranked 14th in The Times Top 100 table of graduate employers for females. To make sure that all people reach their potential, we have a key step in our appraisal process when managers estimate what level a staff member should reach in the future. We then put support in place so that the person reaches this potential level, whatever background they are from, and this process can be monitored. Company-wide training is fundamental to its success. Shell has Diversity and Inclusiveness practitioners employed across the company and they run workshops for all staff, by region and by business, on subjects including gender, nationality, race, sexual orientation and disability.

What do you see the main challenges facing workplace diversity in Shell?

One challenge is the tensions that can come with cultural diversity. In Shell, as with all energy companies, individuals will often work away from home in a different country. There can be a strain between the individual's personal culture from their home country and the values of the new country they are working in. For example, in Japan and India, relationships come first and that leads to business. But in the UK and USA, the workforce is often more task-orientated and this creates the business which then develops relationships. However, as I mentioned before, this divergence also creates new ideas and perspectives. And one begins to realise over time that the fact that everybody at the company is so different is itself a great commonality. What are the personal benefits for an MBA who joins such a diverse workforce?

I can speak from personal experience here, as I completed an MBA 9 years ago at Cardiff University in Wales. For me, the most exciting part of my job is working with such a diversity of geography and nationality. You learn so much from other people and I'm often introduced to new ways of working. A typical day for me might start with a call to Melbourne, because it's 11 hours ahead. Then I'm engaged in a teleconference with colleagues from France, Germany and the Netherlands, and in the afternoon, when the US wakes up, I connect to colleagues in the US by video-link. All this happens at the same time as I work closely with my team in the London office.

Do you think that attitudes towards diversity differ throughout the globe? For instance, Scandinavia is considered more diverse than the UK.

As a global group, Shell ensures that there is a consistent understanding of diversity across all our offices. But, in each country as a whole, yes, there are differences in attitudes. In the Middle East and India, (diversity) commonly means gender, while in the UK it means a whole range of issues, including acceptance of sexual orientation, race and disability. In countries like Norway, the debate has moved on to the extent that we don't describe Shell there as an "equal opportunities employer"  equality of opportunity is a given in all companies there, and advertising it in that way would seem strange to by people.

What kind of graduate would best succeed at Shell?

A good academic record is vital, as competition for all positions is very tough. We had well over 500,000 applications for our 5,900 roles last year. It is a very selective process and we assess graduates ability to absorb information, analyse problems and deliver results. However, honesty, integrity and respect for others are also fundamental. These values form the basis of our diverse culture and it is these values that will ensure a candidate can have a lasting and successful career within Shell.