How to Combat Oil, Gas Relocation Challenges

• Provision of location/country guides
• Organized site visits
• Cultural awareness seminars
• Relocation coordinators to support with setting up local accommodation, schooling, financial institutions, medical providers
• Meet-and-greet services on arrival at the new work location

“The larger the language barrier, the more coordinated the support service for the relocation needs to be,” said Groeneveld.

This can extend to providing accelerated language programs prior to deployment as well as providing employee and dependents with ongoing language classes on the work site or in the local community after deployment. Some countries even allow for a driver or similar service to help the employee navigate language and cultural gaps.

Differences Among Blue Collar, White Collar and C-Suite

Groeneveld described the types of relocation packages typical for certain groups of workers, which can vary.

Blue collar workers (typically hourly employees who perform manual work) who are indefinite period direct hires usually receive:

• Travel to work location for family
• Expenses reimbursed for shipping personal items
• Interim accommodation (two to four weeks)
• Hire vehicle (two to four weeks)

Blue collar workers on short-term assignments or project hires usually receive:

• Mobilization allowance or mileage to get to the location
• Depending on mobilization allowance, there may be interim accommodation or a site allowance paid per day worked
• Per diem in accordance with local legislation

White collar workers (typically salaried employees who work in an office) generally receive an enhanced version of the blue collar workers – longer periods of benefit provision (three to six months interim accommodation) as well as higher likelihood that the company organizes much of the shipping and travel directly.

With international relocations, some families receive support toward school fees and enhanced employee benefits.

“Before the downturn in the market, it was also quite common for the employer to pay the costs of closing or realtor fees on housing transactions resulting from the relocation,” Groeneveld said.

For C-suite and senior level executives of an organization, relocation packages tend to be much more comprehensive, in which housing can at times be provided for the entire duration of employment in the new location or larger cash values can be provided for each component of the package. Additionally, it’s more common for these employees to receive annual allowances for travel back to their home destination.

While it’s not a given that all oil and gas workers will experience a relocation during their career, it’s good to remain open to the possibility, especially considering the industry’s current climate.

“It’s a really tough market out there. There are plenty of jobs coming up, but they will often be in remote locations or areas where there is not an abundance of local talent,” Groeneveld said. “Taking time to travel early when joining the industry is going to increase both the chances of securing a role and also the speed of career development – largely because roles in destinations that face talent shortages often require an individual to grow more quickly and become exposed to a wider variety of duties and challenges.”

Still, workers need to be committed to a relocation.

“Employees need to ensure that the work location or environment is going to meet their family requirements, as failure to complete a job assignment early in their career – due to not settling in a location – can create problems getting a good reference and may negatively impact future employment potential in this industry.”