Amid relentless business disruptions and on the need for alchemists who will lead corporates into the complex terrain of technology advancements and revolutionizing workplaces, Shell Philippines has been proving its mettle as an organization that can vigorously navigate transformative changes to fortify its long-lasting success story.

Shell already clocked in more than 100 years of history in the Philippines; and it is now well advancing into its targeted next century of business operations in the country – and behind the serene façade of the organization, the unequivocal ‘secret formula’ as well as the heart and mind of its corporate longevity had and will always be the people running and working in the company.

Shell Philippines, which currently has more than 5,000 employees, is not just focused on its energy ventures, but it also runs the ‘Shared Services’ business unit that has been catering to various Shell offices globally.

In the driver’s seat when it comes to traversing the treacherous waters of talent acquisition that will fit perfectly into the business culture as well as corporate values of Shell – not just in the Philippines but also other countries like South Korea and Japan, is Paulo Angelo N. Arias, the company’s Vice President for Human Resources.

With his acumen and unyielding determination, Arias is the executive within the sacred corporate walls of Shell who’s been constantly seeking out diamonds in the rough – and in the process, he’s been greatly aiding them so they can turn into ‘brilliant stars’ who will not only contribute into boosting top and bottom lines of the company, but will likewise be providing quality and efficient services to customers they serve.

“We aim to be able to provide strong employee value proposition – both for our staff and for prospective employees of the country, so they may be part of the future of energy in the country,” he enthused.

The differentiating factor that puts Shell above competitors, according to Arias, is that: “if you join Shell, you’re really joining a company that is really part of the future of energy. Shell is helping in tackling one of the most important dilemmas that the world is facing - it’s how you provide energy to be able to power progress and power lives; then at the same time, minimize the impact of human activity on nature – the climate. So, when you work for Shell, you’ll be part of that solution.”

Shepherding world-class talents

Armed with a degree of BS Mechanical Engineering from the University of the Philippines and a Masters degree in Business Administration (with highest honors) from the Australian Graduate School of Management (University of New South Wales), Arias has that calculated acuity and empathetic brand of leadership that he brought into the Shell organization.

More importantly, he is an unflinching pathfinder when it comes to career transformations – primarily on advocating upskilling or reskilling of employees, so they can always contribute new insights and expertise that would be apt to the changing needs of the company as well as the metamorphosing business landscapes.

As he narrated, he himself started as Maintenance and Project Engineer at Shell decades back, then he eventually worked at the Upstream and other business units of Shell with regional and global roles, before he landed his current post as top HR executive of the energy firm.

Be it scouting talents from the core of the metropolis or the farthest corners of a country, Arias believes that employees’ hunger for excellence can be pulled off if they are properly guided by inspiring mentors and passionate peers in an organization.

He vouched that Shell is a ‘nerve center’ of world class talents – and its employees are not just given the opportunity to be working with top-tier talents, but the organization is also a catalyst in shaping every employee’s dream to be bestowed with bigger roles on a global sphere.

“Working with Shell entails working with world-class individuals -- very talented individuals; and in so doing, you’ll be able to develop your capabilities and your skills and grow within your particular function; while helping power progress for the country,” Arias stressed.

On his extended regional role of also overseeing the Human Resources core of Shell in Japan and South Korea, he asserted that what is one thing evident across these operational realms is “the culture of Shell extending across the different countries.”

Arias expounded “we highly value our commitment to honesty, integrity and respect for people. So wherever you will be in Shell, you will experience the same commitment to those values - our commitment to safety, our commitment to health, and our commitment to our employees.”

He qualified “with respect to the differences between Japan, Korea and the Philippines, it really depends on the market that you’re working in – it’s really dependent on: first of all, the national culture; but also dependent on the customers that we support in those countries.”

Reshaping the fabric of a ‘workplace of the future’

With his unwavering eye for potential, Arias opined that there are no limits to where and what professional field the Shell talents could sharpen their skills and creativity if they are keen on repositioning themselves as intrinsic part of a changing workforce of the future – be that with technology innovations, data analytics or even on the flourishing of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics. In fact, in his view, it might be the younger generation that will change traditional perception that energy is a ‘boring sector’ – because it will lie upon their flair and trailblazing prowess to shake it up into an alluring and exciting industry.

To date, Shell’s workforce is dominated by the millennials and Gen Zs, with Arias noting that “more than 60-percent of our employees are below the age of 30 – and around 4,500 of our employees are actually working in our shared services organization.”

He asserted “in the Philippines, there’s a misnomer that Shell is only involved in the mobility stations and the terminals – actually our Shared Services organization supports Shell globally in different functions and different areas. So, we have a function in the Philippines that supports HR globally for Shell; a function that supports contracts and procurements; technical assets operations; and the biggest function in terms of shared services in our finance organization.”

When it comes to engagement of talents, Arias emphasized “when we hire you in Shell, we don’t hire you for a job, we hire you for a career!”

“More than anything, we hire people who have level of curiosity and a learner’s mindset because we need people who would be able to respond to the changing environment; and that might mean - for example in my case, I am a Mechanical Engineer, I was previously working in the refinery as a technical person, but I was able to upskill and reskill myself to now be working with HR,” he conveyed.

Arias indicated that such kind of experience is not a unique one at Shell – because many people in the organization have always been adaptive to the changing needs of the workforce – both in the domestic and the multiple offshore markets of the multinational energy firm.

Being at the echelon of training and guiding corporate talents, Arias infers that organizations must promote productive interaction and create an environment that nurtures innovation, collaboration and growth; and it must also fearlessly challenge the status quo when it comes to tearing down outdated business practices, so that institutionalizing a fortress of progressive policies can be given its way.

“More of that learning happens now even in a workplace; and that’s one way how to change the skills of an individual. One way of learning is involving yourself in new projects and activities -- that will stretch your learning, so you’ll really rely on your problem solving skills and then be able to solve novel problems. And when you work for Shell, you work with world class individuals, and just by merely working with them, the interaction, the coaching, the mentoring that you get from these individuals help you move your career into a direction that you wanted to go,” he stated.

Arias shared “I’m a strong mentor. I see the potential in individuals and I help them exploit that potential, help them to become best versions of themselves. I do that with the people that I supervise directly and I turn them into mentors themselves so they can multiply that in terms of the people that they interact with.”

In fact, he noted that with the wealth of experience he himself gained from Shell, he is starry eyed about the future that even his daughter will also be working in that same organization which molded his destiny as a top-notch corporate executive.

“I have benefited from mentors that I have in the past – and I developed mentors who can develop other mentors who will lead the company in the future,” he said.

On top of the daily grind of supervising the performance of employees, he similarly highlighted the very critical role of HR executives as the leading force when it comes to championing the well-being and fiercely safeguarding the mental, emotional and physical health of everyone in the organization -- thus, a work-life balance must be instituted to shield the organization against the perils of stress, burnout and fatigue. Then on enhancing productivity, a corporate leader in human resources must also act as the catalyst for effective teamwork.

“I believe that the way to develop teamwork is to develop a single vision for the team – that people work towards a single undertaking; be united together,” he underscored.

Indisputably, the HR executive leading the workforce must thrive on kaleidoscope of perspectives, because it is in that way that they can constantly refine and reshape the reservoir of talents that will ensure the inventiveness and resilience of businesses into the future.