According to Rich Harbison, executive VP of refining for Phillips 66, the ambitious commitment to the transition to cleaner power sources is important not only to the economy, but also to the continuation of a long-lasting business.
Harbison emphasized Phillips 66’s commitment to transitioning to cleaner energy sources while maintaining the supply of traditional fuels essential to society.
Part of Phillips 66’s "making sense" includes continuing to provide "traditional fuels to the marketplace as well, which are currently needed to sustain our standard [of living]. Our energy demand as a society is very high," Harbison said. "We have a lot of infrastructure in place that we believe can add value as we look to transition opportunities in the future."
As a panelist at Reuters’ Energy LIVE conference in Houston, Harbison highlighted that "the human factor" is of utmost importance in successfully achieving these ambitious transition goals.
"As everybody knows, people are the most important asset we have in our companies and cultures in our societies, so it is important to attract the right folks and retain them," he said.
Harbison said utilizing a combination of three key factors are fundamental in attracting those "right folks" to Phillips 66, and to any company.
P66: Balancing clean energy goals with sustaining essential fuel supplies
Rich Harbison, executive VP of refining with Phillips 66, speaks during Reuters’ Energy LIVE conference.
"You have to have a strong culture inside your organization and a good compensation and benefits package that keeps folks around. But beyond those, folks need to have a vision of where they are in the company — where the company is heading, and where they are as individuals and where their careers are heading."
This sense of purpose, Harbison said, equates to job satisfaction and then career satisfaction.
"You have to do it in a way that’s progressive and people understand," Harbison continued, reiterating the importance of aligning employees’ roles with the company’s mission and vision.
"And we have our values, which are safety, honor and commitment, which sound familiar to those who are in the military," he said. "And then we have our ‘Energy into Action’ [focus] which explains our expectations of how people should work."
Harbison explained that missions and values set up a framework that increases job satisfaction because folks feel empowered to actually add value.
"The key is they have to be able to tie their job to this vision. We work very hard through our company to tie that job back to the vision and to the future, and to their careers," he reiterated. "We have found it’s very important for folks to understand where they are and where they’re headed."
Harbison reflected on the lasting impact the COVID-19 pandemic left on the workforce, noting that it accelerated workforce changes, prompting Phillips 66 to emphasize skills and leadership training.
"We’ve pushed people into roles that they may be a little early in their career for, which also pushes people underneath them up a little early."
This rapid acceleration caused Phillips 66 to shift from their original approach to leadership, placing greater emphasis on training in two key areas.
"One is skills training and how to do your job. The other is leadership training," Harbison said.
Both of those types of training are powerfully beneficial when it begins early in a workers’ career, Harbison said.
"They’ve just come out of college and they’re ready to go, but everything they’ve learned in college does not have a clear, practical application."
Harbison explained that Phillips 66 has found success with internship programs that attract "the right talent," by offering students practical experience and evaluating their potential fit.
"That process has worked out real well for us," Harbison concluded.
