What do we mean by diversity?
In Gassco, diversity refers to how each and every one of us are different from the rest. We believe that being unique is a strength, and that diversity in terms of background, skills and gender is important and will allow us to succeed and achieve our strategic goals together.
In addition to general guidelines for employment and working conditions, we have country-specific guidelines aiming to promote equality, diversity and inclusion.
In order to best understand how we are performing in the various areas, as well as what we should work on to improve further, we regularly examine what our employees think about the working conditions in the company. This is done by carrying out employee surveys on a regular basis. In addition to answering the questions in the surveys, we emphasize that employees can give feedback on other matters. This is in order to catch any reprehensible experiences, which could result in whistleblowing.
We hire employees of all ages through our recruitment process. In this process, we gather all the necessary expertise, but also make sure to help create a good basis to continue working towards the development of the organisation’s diversity and culture.
Competence
Gassco’s mission is to ensure maximum value creation of the gas resources on the Norwegian continental shelf. We carry out our tasks professionally and with a high level of integrity. Millions of people depend on us to deliver the gas through our systems.
At Gassco, competence is about acquiring the necessary knowledge to run and develop the company. Personal skills, experience, characteristics and formal professional knowledge make up the employees’ competence. We hire at a high academic level where the education provides skills in applying knowledge and expertise. The aim is for everyone to experience development in a healthy business culture and within a positive social environment.
Through various education and development initiatives, we are working on making improvements in communication, feedback and recognition of employees. The goal is to ensure that we make use of the expertise that exists in each individual.
We value talent and positivity in each other. At Gassco, employees should experience that each individual’s competency is cultivated and developed in line with the company’s strategic goals.
From a sustainability perspective, the competence found at Gassco is both unique and built up over several decades. It is unique in the sense that certain competencies within the company are highly focused on subsea gas transport. This is a competency that very few people have. It is also an area of knowledge that has been built up over a long period of time, and which has been systematically continued as younger colleagues have started at the company.
Due to the company’s geographical location, we also experience low turnover. This gives the organisation a competitive advantage, and enables a continuous competence development. This, however, requires a high degree of awareness and systematic professional educational updating.
In addition to the company’s own expertise, Gassco collaborates extensively with other companies. This is done in order for us to acquire the necessary cutting-edge expertise in areas that lie outside our core expertise. This need varies in time and scope, and occurs across many different fields.
Gender equality
We particularly emphasise equal treatment of the sexes in our company. Women are to have the same opportunities as men throughout their careers at Gassco.
We must recognise that we are part of an industry which traditionally has been male-dominated, and that within some professional areas is still skewed in its gender composition. The oil and gas industry in Norway has, however, worked systematically to make itself more appealing to women, which in turn has resulted in major investments in young women in technology subjects and advanced industry-specific education.
Gassco has participated in this work for over 20 years, and has throughout this time worked to increase the number of women at all levels in the company.
Our long-term goal is to achieve at least 40 percent women in the company. We have currently reached 38 percent so far in Norway and we have introduced new initiatives to increase the proportion of women in all disciplines. We aim to have a fair gender balance in all of our groups and teams. Our management group currently consists of 40 percent women. Additionally, we aim to have women in all the management groups of the company.
Age diversity
We believe having a wide mix of age groups in the company ensures both productivity and well-being.
In order to succeed in achieving this, we have measures in place that facilitate the inclusion of different generations, and have working conditions which are adapted for the different generations. One example is how Gassco facilitates home offices and flexible working hours for its employees. This is crucial to ensure that younger people and employees with small children experience flexibility at their workplace. We also ensure competency transfer by having employees with senior competency work closely with new employees. Additionally, the younger employees provide up-to-date information and competence to senior employees.
The life cycle of our employees consists of many different phases, where the individual’s needs, commitment and prerequisites will vary over time. We arrange for employees to develop and grow throughout their careers. This is done through employee interviews and development. Furthermore, we place great value on creating a dynamic organisation through rotation and mobility arrangements. In this way, we ensure that employees can develop and learn throughout their career.
Goal: Our goal is to have a balanced age composition at Gassco.
What do we mean by inclusion?
Inclusion is about belonging, openness and equality, and meets several of our core values.
In order to experience ownership in areas of responsibility and decisions, all employees must be included in the relevant processes and forums. The established forums at Gassco are the company’s Working Environment Committee and the Company Committee. Gassco furthermore has three employee representatives on the board. A similar selection can be found at our receiving terminals in Europe.
Gassco aims to create a work environment where everyone can realise their potential. We care that working life and family life are equally important aspects of the same whole, and make arrangements to help employees in different life phases and situations adapt their work tasks and receive closer follow-ups in order to be at their best in both areas. Furthermore, we promote equal treatment and do not tolerate discrimination, bullying or harassment in any situation or context. This is made clear through our guidelines. We respect and support the individual’s right to organise and the right to collective bargaining.