Transforming Oil & Gas Culture

Transforming Organisational Culture in the Oil & Gas Sector

The pursuit of a robust and positive organisational culture is paramount for any industry, and the Oil & Gas sector is no exception. Transforming a culture, however, is not a superficial undertaking; it requires deep introspection, strategic planning, and consistent execution. For professionals in this demanding field, understanding how to foster an environment of psychological safety and high performance is key to unlocking the full potential of their workforce.

The Crucial First Step: Self-Reflection and Goal Setting

Before embarking on any cultural transformation, it's essential to critically examine your current state. This involves more than just acknowledging potential issues; it demands a thorough self-reflection. Start by assessing the diversity within your executive management team. A lack of diverse perspectives can often perpetuate similar thinking and attitudes, hindering genuine cultural evolution. Ask yourself:

• Do we have a truly diverse and inclusive team that encourages respectful debate, or are we primarily composed of similar profiles?
• How have we defined and do we embody good leadership?
• Are our company values actively demonstrated in our daily operations, or are they merely aspirational statements?
• How much time does management dedicate to discussing cultural risks versus commercial risks?

Leadership teams that are brave enough to engage in this level of self-assessment can objectively identify their current cultural landscape and implement necessary remedial actions. The industry has long applied rigorous diligence to process safety and reliability; the same level of commitment must be directed towards cultural transformation. Following this introspection, it's vital to map out your ideal culture. Consider:

• The desired management structure: hierarchical or flat?
• How individuals should connect and collaborate across teams.
• Whether the culture needs to vary by site or remain consistent.
• The specific diversity and inclusion initiatives to be implemented.
• The importance of psychological safety, ranking it alongside physical safety.

If your core values do not support these envisioned cultural elements, they must be updated. It's a common observation that many organisations publicly promote their values, yet a closer examination reveals a significant disconnect between these stated ideals and the lived reality of the workforce. This gap highlights the critical need for authenticity in cultural change.

The Foundation of Change: Psychological Safety

At its core, changing an organisation's culture involves altering deeply ingrained mindsets, beliefs, and behaviours. Our experience suggests that this transformation is both faster and more concrete when built upon a foundation of psychological safety. This concept is not merely an outcome of cultural change; it is an ongoing enabler of continuous improvement, driving altered behaviours over the long term. The ultimate goal is to cultivate a psychologically safe environment that empowers a high-performance culture.

But how do you achieve this? How do you create a culture where every individual feels empowered to contribute fully to the organisation's human, operational, and financial well-being? The factors influencing an individual's personal values are largely within their control, but they are significantly shaped by the broader context. The constant interplay between individuals and their environment creates fluctuations in how each person impacts the company's culture, and vice versa. This dynamic requires ongoing management to ensure the organisation's culture remains aligned with its intended vision.

Four Pillars of Individual Values and Cultural Influence

Understanding the factors that govern an individual's personal values is crucial. While largely within a worker's control, these can be influenced by several external elements:

1. Rules and Procedures: Clarity in expected behaviours is vital. Are rules explicit? Do procedures align with your definition of 'good' practice? Are these elements integrated into employee performance reviews, KPIs, and exit interviews? Crucially, do employees feel confident in the incident reporting system, or does the burden fall heavily on the reporter?
2. Behaviours: Endorsing culture-aligned behaviours is critical. Which actions are actively rewarded, and which are explicitly corrected? How do you verify adherence to psychological safety rules and procedures? Fostering an 'okay to try and fail' mindset is essential for innovation and growth.
3. Beliefs and Attitudes: Beliefs are the drivers of behaviour. What we truly think shapes our actions, even when unobserved. While influenced by life experiences, beliefs and attitudes can be challenged, particularly when individuals witness different behaviours in others. Organisations must actively promote a growth mindset to encourage adaptive thinking.
4. Situational Awareness: Recognising risks to psychological safety is paramount. The ability to call out unsafe situations and behaviours is critical. Even in predominantly psychologically safe cultures, unconscious bias and blind spots can emerge. Genuine inclusion and diversity are key to building situational awareness and guiding culture change.

The Impact of the Physical and Social Environment

Your surroundings speak volumes about your commitment to a particular culture. The physical environment encompasses everything from equipment and facilities to uniforms and the messages conveyed by posters on the walls. Does your environment reflect your aspirations for a psychologically safe, diverse culture, or does it echo the past? Seeking input from diverse team members can offer invaluable insights on how to make the environment more inclusive. Similarly, the social context, including unwritten rules around worker interactions, can be difficult to challenge because people naturally desire to fit in. Encouraging employees to reflect on observed behavioural patterns and consider them within the context of your desired culture is an effective strategy.

Leadership: The Catalyst for Change

Leadership commitment is arguably the most influential factor in cultural transformation. All levels of leadership must unequivocally signal that a culture shift is a strategic priority. Leaders shape the physical environment and define acceptable social contexts, and therefore, they must approach this process with an open mind. When selecting leaders, their ability to model the desired mindsets and behaviours is a critical consideration. This commitment must be visible and consistent, with senior leaders actively demonstrating the required behaviours through selective, symbolic actions. Enrolling key influencers throughout the business to provide coaching and developing a compelling case for change, clearly articulating what success looks like, are vital supporting actions. Furthermore, enabling frequent, interactive, and informal communication, with a strong emphasis on the personal relevance of the change, is crucial for buy-in.

Practical Implementation: Turning Theory into Reality

Translating psychological safety theory into tangible reality requires concrete actions. Positioning culture as a safety issue can significantly accelerate adoption and change, especially within an industry that has long prioritised safety as a core value. Like physical safety, psychological safety is a shared responsibility. In a psychologically safe culture, all workers feel they have a voice that is valued and respected, leading to an environment where everyone can flourish and contribute their best towards company objectives.

Embedding a high-performance culture involves several critical elements that enable sustained improvement over the long term. Psychological safety is one of these essential enablers. The extent to which these elements contribute to the overall outcome can vary, making refining the approach an ongoing process.

At a practical level, developing an action plan is essential. This plan should encompass company-wide, site-specific, and individual-oriented initiatives, ensuring all aspects of the business, from head office to exploration and production, are included. Here are some initial action options:

• Gather Employee Feedback: Direct conversations with those who experience the culture daily are invaluable. While survey fatigue is a concern, surveys, structured interviews, and focus groups can still provide critical insights. Using external moderators can facilitate candid communication.
• Establish Feedback Loops: Leaders should actively seek performance feedback through diverse methods and groups to encourage a range of views. Be prepared to receive constructive criticism and be open to positive feedback on actions you may not have realised were impactful.
• Be Visible: Demonstrate your commitment to the change process by being present and engaging with your teams.
• Formalise Learnings and Initiate Change: Aggregate insights from various data sources to identify immediate improvement opportunities while developing a comprehensive transformation plan.
• Hire for Culture Alignment: Beyond technical skills, seek candidates who embody your organisation's values. Identify and interview for the soft skills that may be lacking in your current team.

Measuring Success: How You'll Know It's Working

Cultural shifts are a marathon, not a sprint, and will inevitably involve periods of progress and potential setbacks. Measuring long-term progress requires the implementation of a cultural health management plan. However, in the short term, simple observation and engagement can provide valuable indicators. Walk around your sites and offices, engage in impromptu conversations, and make a point of interacting with those who might typically remain in the background. Create safe spaces for sharing dissenting or constructive perspectives. You should begin to sense a greater sense of optimism and hear anecdotes from early adopters, indicating that the message is resonating. This positive momentum will build over time, with resistance primarily coming from those accustomed to the old ways.

Some leaders may find this challenging, as senior leadership may not always practise active listening skills. However, if leaders expect the workforce to embrace change, they must be willing to do the same. Transforming your culture will ultimately pave the way for high-performing teams, adept at delivering on your company's objectives across human, operational, and financial dimensions.

Case Study: Connecting Culture to Production Goals

A global LNG processor, aiming to nearly double its production by 2027, embarked on a comprehensive roadmap that included operational turnarounds, capital projects, and a significant culture change initiative. A baseline cultural maturity assessment revealed a gap in employee involvement, highlighting a need to develop supervisory capabilities. Through a structured, five-phase approach, the organisation successfully addressed these gaps. Their cultural maturity was assessed against 14 critical elements, with key areas for improvement identified. A capability development programme was then rolled out, effectively linking the organisation's Vision, Mission, and Purpose to the daily operations of frontline teams. The team also aligned around foundational practices, establishing a shared understanding of 'how we do things around here'. Initially focused on the operational team, subsequent phases integrated support functions, aligning everyone with common safety and production goals. A key outcome of the program was the removal of cultural roadblocks and the intentional shaping of team interactions.

By systematically addressing these elements, Oil & Gas professionals can indeed transform their organisational culture, creating environments that foster innovation, safety, and ultimately, superior performance.

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