Our people deliver

At Tullow we believe that people should be allowed to play to their strengths. Our culture is based on giving individuals the freedom to operate and the skills to perform in an entrepreneurial environment that balances autonomy and accountability.

To expand our organisational effectiveness we enhanced our HR capability with the appointment of a Chief HR Officer, Group Talent Manager and Group Reward Manager, providing essential support to a growing business. We have also developed and rolled out a Group-wide HR strategy.

Culture and engagement

Our culture is entrepreneurial and innovative. We provide a creative environment which encourages taking on challenges and rewards performance. As we grow it is important that we maintain and foster the unique characteristics that have supported our growth and development to date.

As a result, we continue to articulate and link the Group’s strategic aims, objectives, ways of working and values across Tullow. In 2008, we rolled out Tullow’s strong vision across the Group and enhanced our induction processes. Maintaining strong levels of engagement is vital to employee retention and in 2009, we will undertake a global staff survey to test engagement across Tullow. Highlights from the 2008 surveys were: 81% of employees felt valued; 95% said they were proud to work for us; and 93% would recommend Tullow to their friends as a good employer.

Talent development

Our focus in this area is on delivering development and training throughout the Group so that each employee can reach their full potential. In our fast-growing business we must ensure all our staff – at every level – are fully equipped to do their job. We identify leaders and managers of the future to ensure they have the skills they need to contribute to our continued success. Every employee, new or experienced, has the opportunity to grow and develop.

Performance management

Our performance management process is a key tool in maintaining a high performing team. We have a common process of managing performance and setting challenging goals for the business with all locations participating. This creates an environment where leaders and staff give open and honest feedback with the aim of achieving continuous improvement in all that we do.

Reward and recognition

We conduct salary benchmarking surveys to ensure that we know what competitors are doing in terms of salaries and benefits. Our reward packages are highly competitive in the external marketplace and relative to our peer group. Every Tullow employee has a stake in the business and its success through share options. Our performance bonus arrangements are designed to reward the best performance, both corporate and individual. These are open and transparent, making a direct link between good performance and reward.

Organised for growth

A new management structure was formed in 2008. The senior management team is responsible for delivering the annual budget and plan and ensuring we are properly resourced to do so. This new structure serves as an important conduit of information to Executive Directors and to the functional and operational teams throughout the business. This in turn helps improve internal communications, integrates decision-making and builds organisational effectiveness.