KOC implements new programs to increase development & improve overall work environment

In a voluntary initiative that had the complete support of senior KOC officials, a series of Human Development Awareness Programs were delivered at the Induction Center by Mariam Ashkanani, Senior Technical Assistant at the Health, Safety and Environment Systems Team and Certified Human Development Coach.

The series of lectures began in 2018 with five awareness programs. This year, six programs covering various topics were chosen in an effort to improve the performance of KOC employees and contractors in their efforts toward personal development and career advancement.

Unfortunately, and due to the Coronavirus pandemic, she was not able to complete all the programs, and she is currently working on exploring the best way to move forward with the schedule, while taking all the necessary measures.

2017: The Beginning

Ashkanani said the idea began in 2017 when she took courses in human development with the aim of developing herself, and when she succeeded in her effort, she sought to help her family and those close to her.

She then wanted to share this information with others more broadly, and she noticed that KOC offered courses related to human development at the Petroleum Training Center (PTC), where there are a variety of courses, including special courses for Team Leaders and Managers.

The HSE Group's Induction Center specializes in providing programs to employees, which prompted Ashkanani to speak to her Team Leader, Fahad Al-Qattan, about the possibility of hosting awareness programs in the meeting room inside the Group's headquarters. He welcomed the idea, so she began offering programs to the Group's employees. At the beginning, the number of attendees ranged between five and ten people.

The Team Leader also discussed the programs with the Group's Manager at the time, Ali Al-Failakawi, and invited him to attend. The latter welcomed the invitation as he sought to develop and ensure a well-organized and integrated workflow. He also suggested that awareness programs be offered to him with the Team Leaders in the main building. The Safety Team Leader at that time, Yousef Al-Qallaf, suggested the awareness programs take place at the Group's Induction Center, which would enable all employees to register, attend and benefit. This meant that the number of attendees would increase, so Ashkanani sought to develop her abilities by obtaining a Coaching Certification in Human Development. She also developed a plan with the center to provide voluntary awareness programs, in addition to its basic job tasks.

Ashkanani has maintained that this support from Company officials has continued even after the change of the Group Manager, the Safety Team Leader, and the person in charge of the Induction Center, as everyone encourages these programs because they help a larges number of employees in the Company. Moreover, this initiative plays a large role in helping KOC reach a number of its strategic goals.

Increasing the Number of Programs

Ashkanani said that many employees enjoyed the programs, and that 70% of those who register actually attended, which signifies great promise for the program.

The number of programs has been increased from one to two times every month, so that employees who miss the program the first time can attend the second time. However, circumstances occurred which forced Ashkanani to stop the programs for a year, which then returned in 2020.

Ashkanani said that when she started presenting the awareness programs at the Induction Center, there were five programs, the first of which was titled Neuro-Linguistic Programming, or NLP. The program aimed to help participants understand the mind's tasks in its two sections: conscious and unconscious, and how they received information. Some of the topics put forth included how the mind deals with and programs information based on previous experiences, how individuals can work on themselves, how individuals modify, receive, and filter information, and how individuals can process and reprogram information in order to reduce exposure to misunderstanding by others.

The second program, entitled “Managing Emotions", provided an overview of how an individual learns to manage his or her feelings and control behavior and reactions. There is a common mistake in believing how certain reactions are produced. The reaction comes out based on the programming of each person because of the beliefs, values, and experiences of the individual that he already has, and the program also shows the individual the reasons and methods of change to help himself in positive development.

Ashkanani also discussed the third program, entitled “Smart Goals." The program aims to help the individual reach positive change by setting a smart goal to change a certain habit or behavior or plant a new habit or plan to reach a specific goal. The individual must know the foundations that must be followed and the unintended mistakes that prevent him from reaching his goals.

The fourth program is the indicator of personal moods. It deals with knowledge of the individual's personality temperament and depends on his behaviors, talents, strengths, weaknesses, and the tricks he uses in case he is tense or suffering psychological pressure. In part, the program covers what things can be used to treat these moods, what causes disruption of relationships and incompatibility with certain personalities, and what will give the individual the ability to understand others more and be more empathetic.

The fifth program is entitled “Self-Esteem" and allows the individual to understand certain concepts that will aid in the development of their self-confidence. In turn, the individual will obtain self-esteem, peace, and psychological satisfaction, and all this will be reflected in his relationships and life in all fields.

The sixth and final program was titled “Methods of Thinking." It explains the four types of thinking that each individual has. Each particular method of thinking affects the personality of the individual, and governs his behavior and learning methodology, in addition to how he interacts with others. The program also shows ways to develop the rest of the weak thinking styles of each person to reach a high level of intelligence and thinking in dealing with himself, his relationships, his work and his life.

Improving Job Performance

Regarding the foundations for choosing the subjects of the awareness programs, Ashkanani explained that the basis for selection is that these programs serve the work and have a role in improving job performance. They are directed at anyone seeking positive change and development for the better, because every human being has a leader inside them. If the employee is exposed to personal and social pressures outside of work and cannot deal with it or ignore it, this will affect his job and his relations with his colleagues, so he will not accept new pressures at work and will not be able to deal with any sudden event or problem facing him.

She pointed out that all of these awareness programs are presented every two months, with each program lasting for one day over a maximum period of three hours. Ashkanani said that the turnout is excellent for these programs, as there are those who participate more than once in the same program and there are those who participate several times in different programs in an effort to develop themselves. These awareness programs represent an opportunity for some people to develop themselves within working hours, due to the lack of time to attend similar courses after work.

Ashkanani added that the attendees at the beginning was between 25 and 30 people, which is the fixed number of attendances inside the Induction Center, but sometimes the registration reaches 35 people. In the last year, she determined a maximum of 20 attendees, to control more numbers and ensure access to the program's objectives of understanding and utilizing information in line with the specified time.

She said that she is working through its awareness programs to communicate information in a simplified way so that the employee can understand himself and others to improve his job performance within the Company. There are many participants who have remained in contact with her to obtain consultations and seek more knowledge, and they have talked about changes in their lives after participating in these programs. There are also those who depend on themselves and strive outside the framework of the awareness program.

Improving the work environment

Ashkanani called on the Company to adopt the interview method to better understand the personality of each applicant before employment, so that employee achievement is better and the rate of career development is greater. When the employee is gradually promoted to appoint him after a period in a senior leadership position in the Company, he will be able to deal with employees in the best way, he will be able to make correct decisions, and he will be able to separate between his personal life and his career. There is a big difference between a successful leader and a successful manager, so it is necessary not to allocate such courses only for senior officials.

Every employee must learn within the training plan from the beginning of his work and develop himself intellectually and psychologically so he can help others and influence those around him, and this helps each group to be distinguished. The groups will be in a competition to ensure reaching the Company's goals in terms of achievement and development, thus increasing profits. This will greatly help in achieving the 2040 Strategy.

In conclusion, Ashkanani said that when every employee understands himself well, knows his strengths and weaknesses, and understand how to develop himself and his relationships, his job performance will be greatly affected in a positive way, leading to an improvement in the overall work environment.

Coronavirus effects

Ashkanani pointed out that not all the programs scheduled for 2020 were done, due to the circumstances imposed by the Coronavirus pandemic, which led to the cessation of all works and meetings.

She indicated that there was a proposal to organize remote courses, noting that the Induction Center of the HSE Group, continues to offer its programs online.

She also explained that only 4 programs were organized in 2020, namely, Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Emotion Management, Smart Goals, and Personal Moods, adding that the rest of the programs have been halted awaiting for things to return to normal, because these programs require direct communication and reactions.

Accordingly, she confirmed that she prefers direct interaction with the trainees, because the message addressed to them will be clearer.

Nonetheless, she hoped to return strongly in 2021 with the improvement of conditions and the adoption of new procedures, as she plans to start a training program specified for women only entitled "Psychological Freedom" to help them forget a specific experience they may have lived.