In today’s increasingly complex energy industry, the clear communication of Shell’s activities and commercial objectives, to all our stakeholders, is of the utmost importance. Whether the information is directed towards the general public to let them know what Shell is doing in their region, towards our commercial partners to ensure that they are kept abreast of our strategy, or internally to staff, we must adopt a consistent, clear message if we are to work effectively with our host governments and communities.
When I took up my position as Regional Communications Manager for Shell in 2007 it was with a mandate to consolidate the communications function for all Shell businesses in the Middle East region. As my remit expanded to include North Africa, we were able to unite the communications teams in the Arabic- speaking countries in which Shell operates, with their regional colleagues, to share experiences and best practices and broaden our community of professionals and expertise.
We are confident that our new structure will contribute to greater consistency in the way Shell communicates across the region and greater cost effectiveness for our function. Ultimately, our goal is to ‘join the dots’ across the region and ensure a common approach to managing Shell’s reputation while acknowledging country- specific characteristics and features.
Every year Shell tracks its reputation within various countries and across regions using an externally managed survey called the Shell Reputation Tracker. In 2007, the Tracker revealed excellent performance for Shell, confirming it to be one of the best-known and best-regarded international oil companies in the region.
The reasons stated for this were the quality and trust that the general and special publics had in Shell’s people, products and brand. The Tracker revealed that Shell’s contributions to local communities were of particular importance when assessing the reputation of the company. This in an opportunity on which we believe Shell can build by interacting effectively with the communities in which we operate and by focusing on sustainable social investment initiatives that are aligned with local development agendas.
Today many regional development programmes are focused on the development of human capital, with a view to creating jobs and technical skill sets that can further fuel the significant growth within the region.
Shell is particularly well placed to support these goals in the energy sector. The recent opening of the Qatar Shell Research and Technology Centre [see pages 16-17] is a case in point where scientists from across the region will be given an opportunity to participate in world-class R&D [Research and Development] projects. Similarly, the Shell Technology Oman Centre is working with local expertise to find solutions to the technology challenges of the sector.
Shell is also active in industry dialogue and supports workshops organised by the Society for Petroleum Engineers, such as the recent Abu Dhabi-based initiative on Corporate Social Responsibility which examined how energy companies can more effectively adopt sustainable approaches to social investment.
Shell has historically always been keen to support the growth of small and medium sized enterprises [SMEs] and private sector entrepreneurship – a critical enabler of overall GDP growth. Shell’s global LiveWire programme, has been running across the region for many years, developing entrepreneurial skills to contribute to the growth of SMEs. Intilaaqah [the regional name for LiveWire], also allows Shell to work closely with local governments and support their private sector growth initiatives.
In the UAE, Shell is working with the Emirates Foundation on the local government-sponsored Tawteen initiative, aimed at supporting local capacity building. Specifically, Shell’s pilot project for Tawteen, in Sharjah, in co-operation with Tatweer, aims to create local mentors for local business entrepreneurs with a view to offsetting the need to rely on non-Emirati expertise and boost local private-sector activity. We are pleased with the first stage of this project, not just because of the enthusiasm of the local participants, but also because it is a real example of sustainable development – creating long-term capacity – in action.
Among all these activities, we are especially keen to see how we can help encourage female participation in the energy sector and encourage our own female employees to act as ambassadors in this respect. Shell’s active Attraction and Recruitment process is all about identifying and growing local talent and working with local organisations to progress this.
I am proud to say that Shell’s Communications Department in the Middle East and North Africa has grown from a relatively small team of 15 people in its Exploration and Production business to a single cross-business team of some 50 individuals. More than 90 per cent of the team comprises local staff members that are well-connected within their local communities and understand the needs of their people and countries. They are able to provide strategic advice and guidance to Shell’s business managers on how to operate locally in an informed, sustainable and collaborative manner.
"As we continue to build our regional communications team, I am confident that communications with our stakeholders will become more prevalent, more open and more consistent, allowing us to operate even more effectively in the region’s market and ensure a concerted contribution to the development of the regional energy sector."
