In response to a comment from yesterday, retention is indeed the word. However, your comment does not apply to Schlumberger as much as it does many other companies. Consider that these 15 people make up the executive management of Schlumberger. The general population doesn't have access to this information, but only one of them has less than 16 years with the company and at least 10 of them started as field engineers. (I say at least because I couldn't get certain information on a couple of them.) Suffice to say, Schlumberger promotes from within more so than many other companies.
This is not to say that I have any delusions about how many people end up becoming top line managers. Schlumberger has an age distribution that skews towards the relatively young. Considering age and seniority and the number of positions it takes to manage the company, there is a reasonable attrition rate out from the field engineer ranks. Much of that occurs while people are still field engineers because they realize that the work and lifestyle are not a good fit for them. Plus, a fair number go into non-managerial career paths since industry-leading technology takes continuous research. However, there is another path that some take and that is to go work for operators. There was a good Business Week about Schlumberger and its personnel development and retention practices. Unfortunately, it's not free online, but it made for a good read, even if I already knew almost everything in it.
By the way, another credit card offer in the mail today makes it four to date.
5 comments:
Just four? Ever since the credit card companies uncovered your real address, my shredder has been taking a break.
Wow, you have become a "Company Man" in a short time. Convince me that the Company will keep you on it's payroll while it also pays your tuition and other expenses while you attend one of those Sloan programs!
EADS (European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company) will deliver 500 airbuses to 2 (yes, two) countries alone in the next few years. It'll take a lot of fuel to fly those planes. Both China and India will need a lot of oil & gas not just for those planes, other sectors will be using as much. Too bad that Boeing missed out on this deal. It would keep a lot of people employed for quite a while in the US. Our plane manufacturers such as Lockheed & Douglas, all go to the wayside like our automobile industry.
The people at the "political correctness" camp is at it again. You no longer can call the "March Madness" like it has always been known. The new name is "March Bipolar Disorder." Can't wait to watch those games.
Alfie
You clearly did not read the second paragraph.
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