Introduction
Superior Energy Services is an oil and gas corporation that operates in different countries, backed by its engineering experts that map and devise resolutions for clients. The company has a record of setting up particularized tools and expertise with the purpose of satisfying the requirements of its customers.
During the initial times of operation, Superior Energy Services established the application of rigless plugging, in addition to desertion services (Dinger & Schell, 2014). From its establishment in 1980, the company has retained a leading position in numerous developments that profit oil and gas customers and producers.
As a consultant in Human Resource consulting firm, Superior Energy Services has hired our firm to carry out a Human Resource Management analysis and give recommendations to improve its alignment of Human Resource practices to the major business projects of the company.
Despite its leading position, Superior Energy Services encounters a number of Human Resource Management issues that it requires addressing to ensure that it upholds success and boosts performance.
History
The remarkable development of Superior Energy Services was attained in a comparatively short period and could be attributed to hard work, tactical possessions, and a concentration on satisfying customer anticipations. Superior Energy Services began its operations in 1980 (Dinger & Schell, 2014).
From its inception, Superior Energy Services has developed from 125 workers and 12 million dollars in profits to a publicly traded corporation that has more than 4.5 billion of profits per year and about 14,000 workers across the globe.
At around 1995, Superior Energy Services provided a comprehensive inventory of particularized instruments for boring, production, and well workover actions. To fund enhanced development in its operations, the company started an initial public offering (IPO) of stock in mid-1990s.
After the IPO, the company developed rapidly through acquisition of over ten small and medium-sized companies in a period of 3 years. Before the end of 1999, the company had combined with Cardinal Services, the market leader in the Gulf of Mexico and the biggest holder and user of liftboats in the area.
By around 2005, the marketplace in the Gulf of Mexico was alive with congestion and encountering low product prices. To boost asset exploitation, the company turned global.
In 2006, the company extended its onshore activities in Northern America via acquiring of Warrior Energy Services, which made Superior Energy Services the best Northern America production improvement company.
In 2008, the expansion of Superior Energy Services intensified with its progression in the offshore market (Superior Energy Services, 2015).
With the constant expansion of the capabilities of Superior Energy Services, its reach similarly expanded and it was ranked position fifteen by FORTUNE Magazine in the list of the highest growing 100 companies. In early 2010, the company declared David Dunlap its new Chief Executive Officer.
Strategy
The winning strategy employed by Superior Energy Services in its development has been making the most of industry successions, expanding its reach, acquiring other companies, and adapting to varying situations.
Such endeavors have been strengthened by the dedication of the company to customer service and offering resourceful, lucrative services anywhere they are required.
For instance, in 2012, the company, in accordance with its proactive advance to development, started shifting its endeavors to land markets and global expansion via a couple of objectives, the sale of some of its liftboats and the fusion with other companies, such as Complete Production Services.
Attributable to merger with other companies, Superior Energy Services attained greater access to other markets (Dinger & Schell, 2014). The merger of Superior Energy Services with other companies and the ensuing surplus cash flow have made the company hasten its efforts to meet its rising global opportunities.
Market Position
Superior Energy Services operates offshore in its Gulf of Mexico market, onshore in the US, and in numerous global marketplaces. Superior Energy Services has locations in different strategic positions in Texas as well as Louisiana for gas and oil endeavors in places such as Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Pennsylvania just to mention a few.
The drilling products and services division of Superior Energy Services carries out activities in Northern America, the Middle East, Europe, and West Africa among other areas, and encompasses pressure management tools, distinctiveness tube-shaped supplies, encompassing drill tube, linking iron, and handling devices amid others.
The main customers of the company encompass independent gas and oil companies, for instance, Chevron Corporation and BP to mention a few. The main competitors of the company include other growing companies, for example, Global Industries and Helix Energy Solutions Group (Dinger & Schell, 2014).
Attributable to their global expansion, other rivals in the sector such as Weatherford International and Schlumberger have posed great competition to Superior Energy Services.
In the production of gas, in addition to oil, the company encounters competition from the above named companies, over and above other companies, for instance, ENSCO International and Transocean, which concentrate on offshore drilling along with production of oil.
Area of Alignment
Superior Energy Services is entailed in carrying out the drilling, completion and production associated requirements of gas and oil companies internationally via oilfield services and tools that are employed all through the fiscal development of gas and oil wells.
Superior Energy Services works via 4 sections that encompass Drilling Products and Services, which rents, produces, and trades particularized devices and instruments for application in well boring, manufacturing, conclusion, and workover actions.
The second section is the Onshore Completion and Workover Services, which provides fluid management, servicing of wells, as well as pressure pumping (Superior Energy Services, 2015). The third section is Production Services, which comprises of intervention services, in addition to specialized pressure management devices.
The fourth section is Subsea and Technical Solutions, which provides services and products handling client-specific requirements with functions characteristically necessitating particularized engineering, production, and mapping of projects.
Superior Energy Services provides services to the energy sector clients who center on producing and increasing gas and oil internationally.
Job Pricing and Compensation Package
Due to the need for modern expertise in the company to decrease risk, boost completion effectiveness, and capitalize on production, the pay rates amid most employees in the company is based on external competitiveness (Dinger & Schell, 2014).
The company, as well as its subsidiaries, acts as a fair and Affirmative Action boss where minority groups, veterans, individuals with disability, and women are given employment opportunities based on merit.
Via involvement in the E-verify plan, the company automatically authenticates the employment qualification and legality of Social Security Number of every one of its new employees.
The job positions in the company provide an excellently-supported compensation package encompassing a high basic salary, in addition to a bonus plan. The employees also get excellent benefits package that includes Dental, Health, Life, and Vision insurance to mention a few.
Achieving Organizational Objectives
Superior Energy Services improved its earlier targets and established new targets to enhance continued advancement and direct the company towards its leadership objectives with the purpose of better aligning the performance of the company with environment, health, safety, and social responsibility strategy.
A number of the targets encompass end-of-process targets, for instance, enhanced safety performance, decreased air emissions, and concentrating on the outcomes of its strategies. Further targets are the in-process targets that concentrate on the best manner in which the company could carry out its endeavors (Guest, 2011).
Even though adherence to environment, health, and safety is still the major section on the company’s operational anticipations, the company comprehends that its activities have to be centered on offering a significant involvement in the interests of the societies where they function.
Additionally, with the requirements of enhanced transparency, it is vital to have a strong practice of stakeholder involvement in position. With the state-of-art skills, Superior Energy Services will achieve its organizational objectives.
In this regard, the concentration of the company is developing and attaining new outcome targets, considerably boosting the overall performance and setting up methods to emphasize line management accountability. This will necessitate the company to turn its approach into a game plan and ensure accurate assessment of its performance.
Technology Deliberations
To accomplish productivity with respect to the organizational goals, Superior Energy Services requires offering strategic management and guidance in the creation of consistent, organized, responsive, and lucrative best practice expertise.
The company should address Architecture Governance to make sure that the application of technology is in line with the overall planning roadmap, technological values, and present and rising best practices in the sector while coordinating with Information technology to ascertain that the applied technology encompasses every applicable contribution and viewpoint.
The managers should cautiously guide, mentor, and supervise a technological team of experts such as engineers and architects while watching over the establishment of technological policies and systems.
Such professionals in the company will establish and suggest policies for technological resolutions anchored in the evaluation of the company’s aims and future objectives (Buller & McEvoy, 2012).
Labor Marketplace and the Suitable Labor Law
The stresses of oil and gas companies in the labor market are turning greatly evident. Such stresses keep on affecting the set project outlays with some of the plans being interrupted or abandoned. A common difficulty for oil and gas companies lies in infrastructural limitations.
The varying competitiveness and rising technologies and skills have turned into a great challenge to many companies. With increased demand in the labor market, companies encounter the unparalleled pressures to maintain and develop talent.
To stay abreast of the exceedingly vibrant and competitive labor market, Superior Energy Services requires developing a strong talent channel (Tooksoon, 2011).
With different challenges in the labor market, labor laws are devoted to safeguarding working families that have the heaviest burden in case of violations. For instance, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) normally deals with violations arising from inappropriate compensation of overtime.
The FLSA demands that every covered worker has to be compensated a minimum of 7.25 US dollars per hour, in addition to time and 50% their normal rates for each hour they operate past forty each week. The law also forbids employers from hitting back in opposition to workers that apply their rights in accordance with the law.
The FLSA affirms that employers that go against the law are liable to workers for redress (Weissbrodt & Mason, 2013). Another applicable labor law is the occupational safety and health (OSH) Act, which is interested in the security and wellbeing of employees.
Additionally, the OSH Act is also set to safeguard co-workers, members of the family, clients, employers, and other people that could be distressed by the workplace setting. For instance, employers have the task of taking sensible care for the wellbeing of their workers.
Companies Preparing To Embrace Change
Apart from Superior Energy Services, other companies preparing to address changes in their Human Resource Management practices include Citrus Energy, Anadarko Petroleum, and Chesapeake Energy.
These companies possess the mining rights and safeguard the technological and specialized labor force required to identify extraction locations, build them up, finish drilling, and get wells set for production.
In alignment of Human Resource practices to the main business projects, the companies are employing subcontractors for nearly all operations in the drilling or well locations. The employed subcontractors do extraction and geological activities, land renting and acquirement, and oilfield backing services.
Human Resource Concerns
Cutthroat competition for talent in the industry is compelling Superior Energy Services to mull over its human capital requirements and the policies needed to maximize its approach to and maintenance of professional and experienced employees.
Since some of the necessary skills are highly transferable to other sectors, the oil and gas sector might get itself competing with other industries for required talent while as well struggling to create new talent (Alfes, Shantz, Truss, & Soane, 2013).
The requirement for competent employees will compel Superior Energy Services to sharpen its focus with respect to hiring, training, and retention of talent, in addition to establishing a lasting inclusive human resource policy. Devoid of execution of excellent strategies, Superior Energy Services risks losing for poor performance in the sector.
The gains will be immeasurable if the company centers on developing and fostering its talent team, and difficulties overwhelming if it takes a more lackadaisical advance to its human capital.
Recommendations
Ensure Retention and Stability of Workforce
To ensure the development and retention of a stable labor force, Superior Energy Services should promote a competitive skill-based pay and offer inducements to workers that demonstrate inventiveness and leadership attributes.
This will persuade the employees to attain the necessary skills and offer the company the flexibility to handle the varying needs of the clients (Tooksoon, 2011).
Enhance Training
The required understanding and responsiveness of employees varies with time and market demands. To ensure a lasting, competent labor force, the company should change its training approach with varying market demands and offer fresh training to old employees as a way of updating them for improved effectiveness (Dreher & Dougherty, 2002).
Keep Employees Safe and Occupied
For competitive advantage in the struggle for skilled labor, Superior Energy Services should concentrate on first-rate, safe, and encouraging environments for its employees. One way would be through ensuring growth by fair promotion of employees from new hires, supervisors, to senior managers and offering seniority-based pay (Tooksoon, 2011).
Conclusion
From its establishment in 1980, Superior Energy Services has retained a leading position in numerous developments that profit oil and gas customers and producers.
Nevertheless, regardless of taking a leading position, the company has Human Resource Management issues to handle to ensure that it sustains its success and improves its performance.
The stresses in the labor market are turning greatly evident and could affect the set project outlays resulting in interruption or abandonment of some plans. Aggressive competition for talent is compelling the company to mull over its human capital requirements.
Some of the recommendations offered encompass enhancing training and seeking ways to ensure retention and stability of the workforce.
References
Alfes, K., Shantz, A. D., Truss, C., & Soane, E. C. (2013). The link between perceived human resource management practices, engagement and employee behavior: A moderated mediation model. The international journal of human resource management, 24(2), 330-351.
Buller, P. F., & McEvoy, G. M. (2012). Strategy, human resource management and performance: Sharpening line of sight. Human Resource Management Review, 22(1), 43-56.
Dinger, E., & Schell, T. (2014). Superior Energy Services, Inc. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, Cengage Learning.
Dreher, G., & Dougherty, T. (2002). Human resource strategy: A behavioral perspective for the general manager. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
Guest, D. E. (2011). Human resource management and performance: Still searching for some answers. Human Resource Management Journal, 21(1), 3-13.
Superior Energy Services. (2015). Web.
Tooksoon, H. (2011). Conceptual framework on the relationship between human resource management practices, job satisfaction, and turnover. Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, 2(2), 41-49.
Weissbrodt, D., & Mason, M. (2013). Compliance of the United States with International Labor Law. Minnesota Law Review, 98, 1842.