Our approach

Our approach to attracting and retaining employees is covered in our Business Principles, where we set out our responsibilities in three key areas:

To respect the human rights of our employees and to provide them with good and safe working conditions, and competitive terms and conditions of employment.
To promote the development and best use of the talents of our employees; to create an inclusive work environment where every employee has an equal opportunity to develop his or her skills and talents.
To encourage the involvement of employees in the planning and direction of their work; to provide them with channels to report concerns.

Below we provide more details about how we meet each of these responsibilities.

Respect for human rights, providing good and safe working conditions and competitive terms and conditions of employment.

Human rights: Respect for fundamental human rights has been enshrined in our Business Principles since 1997. We turn our commitment to human rights into action in many ways such as providing employees with a safe and healthy workplace, access to unions, grievance procedures and staff councils, and avoiding the use of child labour. We have made a specific commitment not to exploit children, through direct employment or indirectly through joint ventures, contractors or suppliers. We report annually on our progress. We have translated our commitment to human rights into guidelines and tools that provide practical guidance to our managers on the ground. More details can be found in our section on Human Rights.
Safety: Ensuring the safety of employees is paramount. Our goal is that all our staff and contractors return home safely every day. More details can be found in our section on safety.
Competitive terms and conditions of employment: We aim to reward employees according to their personal performance and team achievements. We regularly benchmark our terms and conditions against peer companies and provide benefits packages that are attractive, competitive and flexible to personal needs. No employee is paid less than the minimum wage. With the rise in globalisation, traditional work patterns in many industries are changing, requiring more people to work outside traditional working hours or in remote locations. In recent surveys of staff, many say they find it difficult to maintain a healthy balance between home and work. We are working to address this by offering flexible working, promoting video or teleconferences to reduce travel, organising midweek meetings to avoid weekend travel and have a code of conduct to improve efficiency. For more information on career opportunities, training and development in Shell visit www.shell.com/careers
International codes: We believe it is important to be aware of, and keep pace with, the overarching global principles or codes that help shape our business environment. We support the following codes related to employment issues and human rights: International Labor Office (ILO) Declaration on the Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (1998) ILO Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy (2000); Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and the United Nations Global Compact (2000).

Development and best use of talents, an inclusive work environment

Recruitment: We are starting to see results from our increased recruitment efforts. In 2006, we hired almost 6,000 people – nearly 50% more than in 2005 and more than double our hiring levels in the late 1990s. Over half were from technical disciplines and, for the first time, we recruited more people in Asia than in any other region. We strive to recruit locally and in ways that are sensitive to local conditions. For instance, to help build new skills in Algeria, we are hiring and training local graduates, rather than recruiting experienced staff from the national energy company. In 2006, we hired just under 200 local university graduates and 75 experienced Indian professionals to support the establishment of Shell Technology India. In Nigeria, we recruited more than 350 graduates and experienced professionals, record numbers including the largest number of Nigerians returning home from abroad for many years.
Building skills: To help this wave of new staff understand our values from the start, our introductory training programmes have been improved. New employees are offered a series of training sessions and workshops including courses on the Business Principles. We provide a balance of on- and off-the-job learning. In 2006, about 10,000 staff participated in our company-wide leadership development courses. Sustainable development issues are integrated into the courses that are run jointly with leading business schools in Asia, Europe and the USA. Our Project Academy, launched in 2005, is a dedicated learning programme including ongoing assessment and support for project managers to help them build skills, learn from Shell and external experts and apply our standards and approaches. In 2006, the Commercial Academy was launched for commercial staff. For more information on career opportunities, training and development in Shell visit www.shell.com/careers
Diversity and inclusiveness: We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace that values differences. This includes equal opportunity in recruitment, career development, promotion, training and reward for all our employees. Visit our Careers website find out more about our commitment to equality.

We have three diversity and inclusiveness targets. Read about these and how we are performing against each target in our performance section.

Case study: Diversity on the Forecourt in India.

Open communication and involvement

Channels to report concerns: The success of our business depends on the full commitment of all employees. We encourage the involvement of employees in the planning and direction of their work, and provide them with safe and confidential channels to report concerns.

Shell employees can raise grievances through formal procedures, staff forums, confidential advisers and a global helpline available 24 hours a day. Staff are free to join a union wherever permitted by national law. According to our annual internal questionnaire of senior country representatives, an estimated 12% of staff, in countries where that information is legally available, were union members in 2006.
Communication and consultation: We use a wide range of methods to communicate and consult with employees on matters of concern to them and to raise their awareness about the performance of Shell. These include face-to-face communication through targeted e-mails and intranet sites, focus groups, staff councils and webcasts. The Shell European Forum, for example, is a consultation body of management and staff, representing more than 35,000 staff from 25 European countries.

Every two years, we survey all employees on their feelings about Shell and their experiences at work. This helps us to identify problems and assess staff morale. Overall results from the 2006 Survey were generally positive and better than the previous one in 2004, which was conducted soon after the recategorisation of our proved oil and gas reserves. We have communicated detailed results of the 2006 Survey to staff. Plans are being put in place to address the areas of weakness identified at local, business and company-wide levels.

→ Shell Sustainability Report 2006

Visit the online Shell Sustainability Report 2006 and learn about our approach to our people- opens in a new window.