Z Energy was created in 2010 when Royal Dutch Shell sold its local downstream business. It supplies fuel to retail customers and large commercial customers such as airlines, trucking companies, mines, shipping companies and vehicle fleet operators.
Right from the beginning, Z decided to do things differently. They set out to be known as an extraordinary, world class kiwi company with ambitious goals. Ambitious goals required a market strategy that would allow Z to differentiate itself in a generic competitive local market place. The key to doing this, senior leaders concluded, would be through its people; extraordinary people would deliver Z extraordinary results.
Challenge
In 2012 Z’s Aon Hewitt engagement data analysis indicated that career development needed to become a key area of focus. At that point, Z looked to partner with Fuel50 in order to increase its career related Aon Hewitt scores and overall engagement. What has unfolded has been a three year journey of concentrated and sustained focus on personal growth and career development.
Attracting and growing a team of extraordinary people meant that personal growth had to become a key strategic business driver. Personal growth and achievement would allow extraordinary results to be delivered through its people.
Z believe that personal and career development is for everyone in the organisation and like to think that the work environment is more closely experienced as a personal growth experience rather than just “work”. They care deeply for their people while pushing them to achieve their best as individuals and collectively as an organisation.
Solution
CareerDrive™
Branded Fuel50 CareerDrive™ license using all 5 exercises and career planning
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Workshops
Fuel50 supported Z Energy to harness the power of the CareerDrive™ with effective leader workshops, which helped leaders understand personal career drivers and how they could facilitate effective conversations with their people using the Fuel50 outputs.
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Surveys
Regular surveys were used to measure the quality of career conversations sparked by Fuel50, leading to individual leadership performance results.
Focus
The underlying career belief at Shell was “perform well in your job and Shell will take care of your career”. However, Z Energy is vastly different structurally to the historical Shell, flatter structures and no global roles meant that employees need to be able to grow in their current role and seek out customised career development in creative ways. That means taking full ownership for your career, and being in the driver’s seat determining where you go.
Spearheaded by Sharne Fairbrother, OD Manager, Z targeted 2 areas of focus to build a career engagement shift during the first year:
- Create a shift in personal career ownership
- Give people personal insight
The above would be measured by specific engagement questions, and Z worked closely with internal engagement champions to get clear on the specific career questions that they wanted to impact in the engagement survey and by how much.
Continuing the journey over the next 2 years, Z Energy’s focus progressed towards:
- Understand at a deeper level what regular and meaning career conversations meant to people
- Education on what ‘career opportunities’ look like at Z
- Help people to map out potential career paths in the business, encouraging creative career moves.
- Tailored individual support for leaders who wanted further help with more difficult or tricky career development conversations.
66%
Engagement increase
Z Energy increased engagement from 66% to 78% between 2013 and 2015
#100
Most preferred brand
According to recent surveys, Z Energy has become the number one favourite brand in the industry.
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NPS increase
Between 2013 and 2015, Z Energy saw a 34% point increase in NPS, 34% above the industry average!