In my previous blog post, I shared how Statoil's innovative finance organization has eliminated budgets in support of their approach to strategic management. Their case study was part of a contest on management innovation called the Beyond Bureaucracy Challenge being conducted by the Management Information Exchange (MIX) in conjunction with the Harvard Business Review and McKinsey's M-Prize.
I am excited to report that Statoil is one of seven companies to be declared winners. See the announcement of all the winners here.
Two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to speak with James Tastard, HR director for Statoil's North American operations. He has an unusual challenge that is completely opposite from what you would think most HR directors are doing during this recession.
Tastard, who recently was awarded his doctorate, is hiring -- and not just a few people. In North America, Statoil is seeking to double its staff in 2012, double it again in 2013, and double it a third time in 2014. Tastard and his team are attempting this in the oil and gas industry, which is already facing tight supply of human capital. As the head of HR in North America, Tastard is introducing U.S. energy workers to Statoil's unique culture, which leaves most traditional bureaucracy behind. Statoil has eliminated annual budgeting and recently moved away from the annual calendar.
All this talent acquisition must be achieved while maintaining Statoil's innovative culture and strong performance record. Statoil empowers its team through a series of “Ambition to Action” statements, which use a balanced scorecard type approach to articulating goals and the action steps to be taken to reach those goals. As the award noted above testifies, their management innovations are already finding pay dirt.
You can see Dr. Tastard at the upcoming 11th Annual Beyond Budgeting Conference hosted by MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston on April 18-20, 2012. We hope to see you there. And if you have experience in the energy industry (or want to move that direction), you might also bring your resume as we know someone is looking to expand.
