Global benefits challenges: SLB case study
Investment in sustainable wellbeing and in technology, maximising impact and return on investment, and adopting a benefits team structure that is “effective in the current environment” are energy technology company SLB’s priorities.
Its head of benefits and mobility Delphine Boyer told the Multinational benefits strategies that will mitigate business risk REBA webinar on 15 May 2024 that it could see new risks coming.
The company – formerly Schlumberger – works to accelerate decarbonisation and develop innovative technology for the oil and gas industry. It faces myriad global people challenges – attraction and retention, the safety of its employees, many of whom work in hazardous environments, and how to manage a mobile workforce in a decarbonised world.
“SLB has worked in a very volatile and high-risk environment for decades. We also see that risks that are coming are new, and the pace of [economic] cycles is getting shorter,” Boyer said. “Today the concept of safety has taken on a much broader meaning. We are changing and evolving the culture to have more [focus on] psychological safety.”
A poll conducted during the webinar found that 15% of attendees assess the health and resilience of their people in all regions as part of overall business risk, 40% partly do but need to improve, 18% don’t but intend to, and 26% have no current plans to.
Another challenge for SLB is maintaining the balance between benefits centralisation and localisation, and aligning compliance and governance with its global strategy. “[We also need to] provide the right level of flexibility and customisation, because we don’t have the same kind of employees everywhere in various regions,” Boyer added.
