ONGC toning up workforce

ONGC is re-organising its workforce by benchmarking company's HR norms and practises with global majors to realise its ambition of becoming an international player in the oil and gas sector.

The company will soon appoint a consultant to formulate a roadmap for implementing the new plan. A K Balyan, director (human resource), ONGC, said: "We are in the process of assessing the manpower norms and work practices. We are matching it with the technologies that exist today. The consultant will be appointed within weeks."

Sources said number of leading HR consultants like BCG, Ma Foi, McKinsey, Mercer have submitted their proposals to grab this lucrative deal.

To begin with, it will be a six month exercise. However, it is likely to take three to four years to correct the imbalance that has set in the system.

The biggest HR challenge before the company is to gel its bumbling workforce with present day technologies. The staff cost for ONGC is now reaching double digit.

Due to populist recruitment policies and liberal promotion, it now has 23,000 officers, obviously much more than required by a company which wants to be technology driven.

"Over the years technology has changed but norm had remained stuck. As a result there are multiplicity of work practices. Examining the requirement, mapping competencies and redeployment of workforce are critical importance for the company," Balyan pointed out.

The company has also recently engaged TV Rao Systems for the Assessment Development Centre in association with IIM Ahmedabad for competency mapping of 70 key executives of the company which include basin managers, asset managers, plant managers and institutional heads. The exercise will now percolate down to lower level staff.