As new technology spurs growth across a wide span of industries, companies are clamoring for a skilled, solid workforce to help maximize that growth.
LyondellBasell, Chevron, INEOS seek ‘values,’ practical skills for workforce
Pictured from left are Jim Griffin with San Jac’s CPET, Tifanie Steele with Chevron, Tony Wood with LyondellBasell, Eric Bass with INEOS and Jeremy Osterberger with BIC.
According to Tony Wood, site manager for LyondellBasell’s Channelview complex, a potential hire’s sense of values can be just as important as the actual skills they bring to his site.
"Values are one of the key things that is so different in the workforce today," Wood said. "When you go back 20 years ago, people would jump to another company for pay; they would chase that dollar."
Conversely, as industry evolved, Wood said he sees people leaving companies not necessarily because of compensation.
"They leave companies because they don’t feel valued, so that’s a whole different way of working — to try to make sure that everyone feels valued," he said as a panelist discussing challenges facing the petrochemical industry at the 2023 Gulf Coast Industry Forum, in Pasadena, Texas. "I think that’s a key aspect of educating ourselves — especially people like me who have been in the industry for quite a while."
Wood noted that it’s easy for personnel managers to encounter "blind spots or biases" in the hiring process.
"That’s human nature. It’s not intentional, but you can educate yourself on what your biases are so that you can relate to newer generations coming in and make sure they feel valued," he said.
Wood estimates LyondellBasell’s Channelview complex hires approximately 75 to 100 operators a year, and looks for a mixture of factors in employment candidates.
"The students coming out of Pathways in Technology Early College High Schools [a school model education reform initiative] have the technical capabilities, but sometimes what we like to see is … more practical applications, so that when they come out to a plant setting, they have some knowledge of how things work in the field. We want technical ability and practical application, and we want to blend in experience."
In addition to also welcoming "experienced operators that are out there looking for work," Wood said ex-military personnel are especially desirable.
Tifanie Steele, GM for Chevron’s Pasadena refinery, reflected on the "wide variety of folks" it takes to maintain a successful workforce within any given company.
"A lot of times we think about the operations staff or the technical engineering staff that it takes to run these kinds of facilities, but we hire IT, HR, supply chain procurement, finance, too, so it’s really a far-range of functions that it takes to run these places," Steele said. "What we traditionally call ‘soft skills’ are actually critical skills. I want people on my team who are good problem solvers and good collaborators."
Steele also said people who can build relationships, work across boundaries, are comfortable with new technology and innovation, "and the way processes are implemented" are often the most successful candidates for employment.
"It doesn’t matter to me what function they are in," she said. "Those are the types of things I want people to be able to bring to the workforce at our site."
Eric Bass, plant manager with INEOS Styrolution’s Bayport plant, observed that "a good cultural fit" goes a long way in finding new employees and promoting retention.
"You may have some companies that are very rigid in structure, and other companies may be a little more entrepreneurial, so you’ve got to make sure you’ve got the right person that fits your culture," Bass said. "Try to dig that out in the interview. It can be very challenging but try to ask probing questions that extract that information."
