Attracting & Retaining Top Talent

Nexen is a knowledge-rich company where the talent, commitment and expertise of our employees provide a competitive advantage. That’s why we offer challenging, interesting careers with competitive rewards that attract a skilled and engaged workforce. At the end of 2010, we had more than 3,000 employees worldwide (not including fixed-term employees).

Measuring Engagement

Nexen has participated in the AONHewitt Best Employers in Canada study since 1999. The feedback we receive from this survey is shared with management who utilize the information to improve our human resource practices, including programs aimed at strengthening individual performance, career opportunities and recognition. Specifically, employee feedback has resulted in:

  • Training managers to use the performance management process more effectively, setting measurable goals for their departments that are aligned with the corporation’s objectives.
  • Supporting increased transparency around communication and decisions through Fair Process Leadership training, a new framework being made available across the organization.
  • Increasing face-to-face communication with senior management company-wide through various means including more town halls, site walk-abouts and CEO operational tours.
  • Developing initiatives to empower staff to develop skills and advance their long-term careers.
  • Plans to develop a more structured career management process. 

Supporting Communities though Employment

Nexen is committed to providing meaningful employment opportunities to Aboriginal people. This means striving to hire Aboriginal people in numbers that reflect the proportion of Aboriginal people in the communities we serve as well as ensuring Aboriginal people are hired at all levels of the organization.

To do this, we utilize targeted recruitment strategies such as summer student employment programs and campus visits. In addition, Nexen assists Aboriginal communities to build capacity for educational success, providing scholarships for Aboriginal students and supporting educational programs such as Sunchild E-Learning, The National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation and the Banff Centre's Aboriginal Leadership and Management Program. While these organizations and the Aboriginal communities they serve benefit from our involvement, Nexen also benefits through what we learn from the diverse cultures of the Aboriginal people of Western Canada.

We also support employment through the Nexen Yemen Scholarship Program which has awarded 130 scholarships to young Yeminis. Graduates tend to have their pick of careers often with Nexen in Calgary or Yemen, or elsewhere in the industry.