The oil and gas industry is no stranger to economic crises. Price fluctuations, political unrest and shrinking supplies have all lead to upheavals in the industry. But at Shell International, the multi-national petroleum company based in The Hague, Netherlands, it has also led to the recognition that project management competencies are a critical component of the company’s long-term global business strategy.
“The company’s continuity relies on executing projects successfully,” says Hans Wierda, head of Shell’s Project Academy, an organisation within Shell dedicated to improving the competency of the company’s pool of 2,200 project managers. “If we can’t execute projects in a controlled manner, we waste money and we can’t be competitive.”
Until ten years ago, he says, project management skills were largely neglected in the industry. But as “easy oil” reserves were tapped, and projects were launched in more complex environments, project management competencies became a top priority. As a result, Shell launched the Project Academy, during the oil reserve crisis of 2004. “At the time we felt we were not as successful delivering projects as we used to be, and we needed to improve our competencies.”
The Academy now offers a five-phased approach to project management development. It includes career planning; communication and culture building in the project management community; coaching and mentoring; skills assessment; and formal training for all project managers. And while the Academy declines to link its efforts directly to the company’s bottom line, early benchmarks conducted by third-party associations show Shell scores well against other project management training programs across the industry, indicating the Academy offers a more thorough and competitive level of training and development for project managers than its peers.
The Academy stands out in other ways as well. In many companies, the financial crisis has led to cutbacks in training programs as part of cost-cutting measures. At Shell, however, demand is increasing. “People have more time to focus on competency development right now,” says Mr Wierda.
But he also sees it as a reflection of the leadership’s recognition that project management competencies are a fundamental part of maintaining a competitive advantage in the future. “The company recognises that executing projects well is the lifeblood of our business.”
