Contracting Strategies for Oil and Gas Companies
General
The oil and gas industry is more dynamic than ever but the demands on a limited number of people resources continues to increase. The traditional approach of hiring and training staff is becoming ineffective as the current workforce is increasingly mobile and investing in training and development provides limited return as the frequency of people changing employers increases. The popularity of contracting technical and project management among oil and gas companies continously increases and new contracting arrangements are being created. It is commonplace for a company to hire a person to fill a role in an organization without providing a long term employment contract but a fixed term assignment. Referred to as an advisor, 2nd party labour, or in-house support, this arrangement requires active recruitment and management as an employee but typically without the training requirements. This can be a short term solution but has a risk of creating a gap in the organization if the specific person chooses other employment. However, given the transient nature of employees, the commitments, obligations, and potential risks are very similar. Occassionally a company has a short term need for a specific task or project and the best fit is a skilled person who is contracted directly. This "Classic-Consulting" model is driven by finding the correct skill set and provides the flexibility for the contracted person to start and stop when tasks are complete. It is normal for the specific person to be used repeatedly, but works for others during "down-time". This provides oil and gas companies with flexibility on work commitment while still maintaining a high degree of control over the day to day activities.
Contracting Strategies for Oil and Gas Companies
General
The oil and gas industry is more dynamic than ever but the demands on a limited number of people resources continues to increase. The traditional approach of hiring and training staff is becoming ineffective as the current workforce is increasingly mobile and investing in training and development provides limited return as the frequency of people changing employers increases. The popularity of contracting technical and project management among oil and gas companies continously increases and new contracting arrangements are being created. It is commonplace for a company to hire a person to fill a role in an organization without providing a long term employment contract but a fixed term assignment. Referred to as an advisor, 2nd party labour, or in-house support, this arrangement requires active recruitment and management as an employee but typically without the training requirements. This can be a short term solution but has a risk of creating a gap in the organization if the specific person chooses other employment. However, given the transient nature of employees, the commitments, obligations, and potential risks are very similar. Occassionally a company has a short term need for a specific task or project and the best fit is a skilled person who is contracted directly. This "Classic-Consulting" model is driven by finding the correct skill set and provides the flexibility for the contracted person to start and stop when tasks are complete. It is normal for the specific person to be used repeatedly, but works for others during "down-time". This provides oil and gas companies with flexibility on work commitment while still maintaining a high degree of control over the day to day activities.