Commitment to Competence

In recent years it has become evident that one of the main ways an organization can achieve competitive advantage in business is through its people. Dalma Energy recognizes that having the processes in place to provide employees with the skills and knowledge necessary to carry out their jobs safely and efficiently ultimately leads to a well developed, motivated and loyal workforce. The benefits for individuals, the company as a whole and clients are invaluable in such a competitive industry.

With the above in mind Dalma Energy decided to invest heavily in increasing the effectiveness of its capability development activities. In parallel to the establishment of the Dalma Energy Training Centre came the development of a competence assessment framework for all technical, field based employees. The concept borne out of this is known as DECADE (Dalma Energy Competence Assessment and Development for Employees). DECADE is supporting Dalma in a major cultural shift from purely training compliance to assuring genuine job competence through assessment and training activities.

Dalma Energy Training Centre works in perfect partnership with the competence framework by providing standard, position specific, technical and leadership training, which is completely focused on competence requirements of the present and the future.

Moreover, by having this training facility in-house it means that courses can be tailored to focus on closing specific competence gaps that groups of employees, or individuals, may have.

How Competence Works in Dalma Energy

All field based employees are provided with position based competence booklets. These booklets contain the required skills and knowledge required to carry out their jobs safely and efficiently. They also provide guidance for achieving the next possible position.

Employees must assess their own abilities before being assessed by their supervisor and are encouraged to seek help whenever they encounter areas of uncertainty. This ensures strong channels of communication between colleagues both horizontally and vertically.

To ensure the process is not biased everyone is assessed on a final level by an independent assessor.

From the assessment process development plans are put in place for employees to follow in order to increase their competence levels. Competence is then reassessed until an acceptable level is reached. This works seamlessly with our performance management process to guarantee regular reviews and continuous development.

Promotion is based on competence as well as performance and attitude.

Commitment to Nationalisation

One of the biggest challenges in the GCC is nationalization. As a company operating in the MENA region we have a responsibility to nationalize positions where possible and we must adhere to the quotas imposed by the governing authorities. We acknowledge that one of the major obstacles in this process is lack of support and training.

Dalma Energy is dedicated to achieving the nationalization quotas and we understand that to be successful in this area we need to be able to achieve two main goals:

• Develop and motivate our employees to the highest standard in order to retain exceptionally competent nationals therefore enabling effective internal succession. This also creates outstanding role models.
• Become employer of choice for local talent in the market.

Our dedication is made apparent through our constant striving to develop new initiatives, from new technical, HSE and leadership courses to comprehensive competence requirements and transparent career paths.

In addition to these initiatives we have developed an Accelerated Graduate Engineer Programme. This involves hiring high performing degree and diploma holders, from the countries in which we operate, and providing them with a full development programme, which aims to fast track them to the first step of the senior ladder.

The development programme involves on-the-job training and experience coupled with competence assessment and HSE and development training in our training centre. We also provide structured coaching and supervision to ensure the trainees feel a sense of belonging.

Commitment to Leadership

It is too easy to forget the importance of leadership in such an operational environment. However, without strong leadership an organization will lose its way and wrong decisions can result in catastrophic mistakes.

Dalma Energy is committed to providing the correct level of leadership support at the right time in an employee’s career. We recognise that our leaders need to be confident, effective decision makers with an acute sense of HSE responsibility. To successfully achieve this we have built a Leadership Development Ladder which enables the right leadership issues to be introduced at the different senior rig based positions.

• Leadership 1 - Basic HSE Leadership
• Leadership 2 - Effective Leadership
• Leadership 3 - Leading for Results
• Leadership 4 - HR & Finance Leadership

At Dalma Energy we want to grow competent leaders and build a culture of leadership which encourages our leaders to teach leadership and which can be felt from the ground up.

Commitment to Career Development

By providing competence guidance, delivering effective development opportunities and growing outstanding leaders Dalma Energy is able to provide employees with a highly transparent career ladder.

An employee on any rig in Dalma can see clearly where his career will take him if he achieves the required level of competence, attends the necessary training, gains the essential practical experience and displays the right attitude and performance characteristics.

At Dalma Energy we want to make employees feel responsible for their career and we therefore provide them with the tools to do this effectively.