Development Centre for Control Room Technicians

Client Overview

Chevron

A multi-national organisation, this company is headquartered in California, and active in more than 180 countries.

They are engaged in all areas of the oil and natural gas industries, including hydrocarbon exploration and production; refining, marketing and transport; chemicals manufacturing and sales; and power generation.

Client Objectives

Following an audit into this organisation’s internal recruitment practices, People Solutions were approached to develop a more rigorous selection process. This particular role was identified as a ‘popular’ next step for many employees in their career, due to the perception of it being ‘behind a desk’ and ‘away from the elements’.

The role of a control room technician, however, is paramount. They are responsible for monitoring gas levels, initial emergency response coordination, initiating public announcements and blow downs of the gas plant. This role was identified to require prolonged and sustained concentration, endurance, resilience, clear and assertive communication, as well as situational awareness.

Whilst the technical capabilities of candidates have been sound, the measurement of critical behaviours has been previously lacking. People Solutions Psychologists were approached to assist in designing and delivering a day where these behaviours could be assessed.

People Solutions have previously worked with this organisation on an ongoing basis as a part of their psychometric assessment for selection services. Internally to the organisation, it was advocated for People Solutions to be involved in the development centre process.

Situation

The customer requested an in-depth process, whereby candidates’ behaviours were measured across multiple settings. The process would not only select people ready to move into the role ‘right now’, but to also identify future talent and development needs.

Challenge

To accurately and objectively assess the candidates’ match to the control room technician role, as well as to design a development centre that would clearly highlight areas of development for each candidate to help with succession planning and further training.

Solution

People Solutions worked alongside an emergency response training organisation in order to design a bespoke development centre for the control room technician role. Simulations were designed alongside the training organisation in order to create a ‘work sample’, where critical behaviours would be elicited by the candidates in a real-play setting.

Additional activities, interview guides, and day plans were also designed by using best practice methods. These were all created to assess the behavioural capabilities that were required for these roles.

Not only did this process provide a clear indication to the organisation on who would be best suited for the CRT role, it also facilitated some clear and targeted feedback for candidates on areas for development. The process acted as a step in the training pathway for the CRT role.

On the day, People Solutions facilitated this session and provided on-hand support for assessors to assist them in objectively measuring the candidates’ behaviours. All assessors were trained by People Solutions prior to attending the development centre day.

After the day, People Solutions provided verbal and written feedback reports to all candidates to help them understand their performance and guide in their development planning.

Result

This development day was run as a ‘pilot’ by the organisation. People Solutions and the project sponsors met with senior leaders of the business to discuss the outcomes and success of this process.

The development days have been approved and endorsed by senior leaders and is now used annually as a part of the training and development pathway for employees progressing into the control room technician role.

Testimonial

Feedback from the candidates advised that they enjoyed and saw the value in the process. Candidates advised that the development centres allowed them to showcase their skills, and the customer felt confident selecting who would be a good fit for the role, as well as providing some targeted development suggestions in order to support, engage and grow their workforce into the future.

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