Shell defines diversity as all the ways that people differ. Rob Routs, Royal Dutch Shell plc's Executive Director Downstream discusses how this perspective on diversity and inclusiveness plays a part in Shell's continued success.
The creation of the Royal Dutch/Shell Group 100 years ago, the result of a merger between a Dutch company and a British company, was a unique act of diversity and inclusion. From the moment it was formed, the circumstances of Shell’s creation made it an organisation with a diverse workforce and an inclusive philosophy.
In the 1990s, we began looking for ways to take even greater advantage of our human energy. Increasingly fierce global competition had made attracting, developing and retaining the brightest employees - and using the best ideas from around the world - more important than ever.
To take our diversity efforts to the next level, we developed a vision of the type of workplace we wanted to create and shared it widely. We defined diversity as all the ways we differ, including age, gender, ethnicity and physical appearance, as well as underlying differences such as thought styles, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, and education. And, in our view, inclusiveness meant making the best use of all our employees, by eliminating barriers to full participation. We saw it as the critical next step needed to fully leverage our diversity.
To achieve our vision, quantitative and qualitative measures were agreed on and put in place. Leaders from around the world were engaged in discussing the business rationale for diversity and their resulting accountability. We explained that one of the key qualities we are looking for from them is the ability to value differences.
Shell has three diversity objectives:
- to raise, over time, the representation of women in senior leadership positions to 20%
- to fill the majority of senior positions with local people from their own country
- to increase continually the percentage of staff who feel their workplace is inclusive
To further reinforce the seriousness of our diversity and inclusiveness efforts, they were included in our Shell People standards and endorsed by our Executive Committee. These standards make clear the expectations of every Shell business around the world.
We also have specific programmes around intercultural awareness, including support and sponsorship of employee networks for women, ethnic groups, people with disabilities, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered individuals, and others.
Building the skill base
To reduce the number of expatriates in our business, and to ensure that we deploy them for the right reasons, we have plans in place for the development of local staff. In some cases this means going beyond our own employees to invest in building the skill base of the wider community.
In addition to actively seeking a diversity of talent, we are also seeking a diversity of thinking, and a more inclusive culture. We are adding more external assessments of our performance, strengthening our relationships with universities around groundbreaking research, and engaging new employees - from interns to seasoned professionals - in a way that values their perspective.
We believe a diverse workforce and inclusive work environment will help us attract and retain top talent, increase productivity, better understand our customer base, and build stronger relationships in the communities we operate in. By not just tolerating differences but also valuing them, we believe we will be well placed to survive and prosper into our second century.
This feature was added to the Innovations section in December 2007
Questions and answers
Do you have any questions to ask or comments to make in response to this feature? If so, please click on the button below. We will publish a selection of questions and answers on the Q&A tab here in the near future.
