Employment

Our Approach

As Canada’s oil and gas sector endures a period of low commodity prices, Syncrude recognizes our organization needs to respond quickly and resourcefully to achieve our sustainability objectives.

Toward this, we are responding with strong employee programs and support for a wide range of labour pool development initiatives, including those designed to increase Aboriginal representation and diversity in our workforce. We feel this focus can enhance attraction and retention rates, as well as build an organization of proud and motivated employees. We also prefer to hire from within the local Wood Buffalo region whenever possible.

2016 Workforce Overview

Syncrude’s 2016 employee workforce was 116 people lower than in 2015, reflecting a multi-year effort to steward the workforce down through natural attrition and internal redeployment. This reduction continues to be achieved without any employee layoffs. Hiring occurred in essential positions and we welcomed 173 new employees during the year, including 33 Aboriginal employees. This brought Aboriginal participation to a 10-year high of 9.8 per cent of the employee population. Aboriginal representation in leadership positions, at 7.3 per cent, was also a new record. Local residents comprised 94 per cent of all new hires, almost double from the previous year and higher than our five-year average.

Workforce productivity was at its highest in 10 years at 21,000 barrels per employee. This was a remarkable achievement that was attained despite the impacts of the regional wildfire event and site evacuation which forced the shutdown of our operation and halted crude oil shipments for 44 days (see below). It is also a testament to the ingenuity and outstanding commitment of our employees, and their ability to manage adversity.

Supporting Employees During Wildfire Emergency

Syncrude made extensive efforts to support its employees during and following the regional wildfire that caused the complete evacuation of Fort McMurray for nearly a month and shutdown of operations. Upholding Syncrude’s Vision, Values and Guiding Principles, our senior leadership team committed early in the emergency to maintain employment and base pay for all employees, and to provide an emergency cash advance for all Fort McMurray-based employees.

Syncrude re-opened a shuttered work camp at our site to provide emergency accommodation to evacuated employees, their families and other community residents until they could be relocated to a safer destination (the Syncrude site itself was later evacuated for a period).

Outreach was quickly made to evacuated employees to determine their safety, whereabouts and inquire if they needed any immediate support. A 24-7 telephone support hotline was also activated, as was an information and help desk at the Edmonton Reception Centre for evacuees. Throughout the crisis, employees were kept informed via multiple channels about the response to the wildfire by Syncrude and other responders, the state of the community and the Syncrude operation, and plans for the eventual return to work. Syncrude also prepared and distributed a community re-entry guide, which contained helpful information for returning residents.

Mindful that such a traumatic situation can cause mental health effects on people, Syncrude communicated extensively about the services available through our Employee and Family Assistance Program, and provided related training to leaders so they could support their teams and steer those needing help to available resources.

Engaging With Our Employees

A tool to facilitate engagement between employees and management received six inquiries during the year. Pipeline enables employees to confidentially ask questions of senior leaders, make suggestions or offer opinions on company policies, actions and plans. It is intended to enhance transparency, build an informed workforce and identify opportunities for continuous improvement. Topics of interest included shift schedules, busing and manufacturing downstream products.

Employees are also engaged through company-wide channels such as videos, newsletters, bulletins and a dedicated employee website.

Career Development for New Graduates

Syncrude’s Initial Professional Development Program (IPDP), welcomes to our workplace new graduates working in a variety of different professional and technical disciplines. IPDP ensures they get the opportunities and training they need to grow and succeed at Syncrude. This typically includes two to three different development assignments and mentorship from more experienced professionals.

Participants spend three to four years in the program, which includes a rapid learning curve and progressive assumption of responsibilities. They are then promoted to the fully qualified level. About 105 employees were active in the program in 2016, 28 whom emerged as fully qualified professionals.

The Syncrude Network Advisory Program (SNAP) hosts quarterly networking events for our co-op/ discipline students and employees who are recent graduates. Bringing them together with Syncrude leaders, managers and executives helps promote better understanding of working life and culture at Syncrude and also fosters valuable cross-functional interfaces.

(Above) A heavy equipment operator at Syncrude's mine.

Women’s Interest Network

Syncrude’s Women’s Interest Network, launched in late 2015, continued to gain traction and members during the year. More than one-third of our female workforce has now joined the group, as have several male employees, which is working to provide mentorship, personal development, networking, community involvement activities and more. Syncrude’s Chief Operating Officer is the program sponsor and a senior manager chairs the WIN Leadership Committee.

Investing in Career Awareness and Training

Toward developing the next generation of employees and oil sands workers, Syncrude makes regular and significant investments in career training and exposure opportunities for young people. In 2016, this included support for:

• University of Alberta – Outreach programming for K-12 students in northern Alberta, including Aboriginal communities in Wood Buffalo.
• The NorQuest College Alberta Aboriginal Construction Career Centre – The Centre will increase the number of work-ready Aboriginal job seekers by addressing their workforce and skills training needs. It also seeks to enhance collaboration and coordination with industry employers like Syncrude.
• RCMP Foundation First Light and TechConnect Initiatives – First Light helps Aboriginal youth develop a passion for science and technology through exposure to astronomy, while TechConnect promotes and enhances youth technology skills and knowledge through tablets and computers, which students keep after graduating from the program.
• Keyano College Mobile Heavy Equipment Operator Training – The program delivers hands-on training to students in Fort McMurray and the region’s remote Aboriginal communities. Read more in our Aboriginal Relations chapter.
• Skills Canada Alberta – Multi-year support from Syncrude enabled the continuation of the Skills Canada Alberta competition. Read more in our Labour Relations chapter.
• Canadian Mining Games – These annual student-organized events provide an opportunity for mining engineering students from universities across Canada to test their knowledge and learning. They also provide the opportunity for future employee recruitment, as sponsors such as Syncrude interact directly with students during competitions and evaluate students’ response to new and challenging situations.
• CAREERS: The Next Generation – Multi-year support from Syncrude enabled the continuation and expansion of the organization’s full suite of career awareness and apprenticeship programs in the trades and technologies, including Co-Op Apprenticeship, Registered Apprenticeship, and Aboriginal Student Co-Op programs.
• Trades Alberta – For the fourth consecutive year, Syncrude was a key supporter of the Trades Alberta campaign, initiated by CAREERS: The Next Generation. The campaign used digital media to generate interest in careers in the trades and technologies. It shared stories about people who work in these areas, as well as information on the programs, organizations and resources that provide career pathways.

Corporate Awards

• Indigenous Works Award for Enterprise-wide Leadership – Indigenous Works honoured Syncrude for significant achievement and commitment in our work with Aboriginal people, businesses and communities.
• Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business – Progressive Aboriginal Relations – The CCAB certified Syncrude for the sixth consecutive time at the highest level of achievement in its Progressive Aboriginal Relations program. Syncrude was recognized for employing Aboriginal people, creating opportunities for Aboriginal businesses and working with Aboriginal communities.
• Forbes Best Employers – Syncrude was ranked 76th among 250 named companies across 25 industries by Forbes Media. Forbes conducted an independent survey of 8,000 Canadians working at large companies and institutions.
• Alberta’s Best Workplaces – Syncrude was named a finalist for Best Workplace for the Environmentally Conscious. We were cited for water recycling, land reclamation, tailings remediation, emissions reductions and making products from waste byproducts.

Performance Data

Permanent Workforce

	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
Total	5,083	5,188	5,121	4,851	4,735
# under age 301	-	-	-	541	473
# age 30-501	-	-	-	2,817	2,780
# over 501	-	-	-	1,493	1,482
% under age 301	-	-	-	11%	10%
% age 30-501	-	-	-	58%	59%
% over 501	-	-	-	31%	31%
Temporary and casual (#)	133	156	127	119	157
Trades and operators (#)	2,827	2,848	2,827	2,661	2,620
Administrative, professional and technical (#)	2,256	2,340	2,294	2,190	2,115

Leadership

	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
% under age 302	-	-	-	4.4	4.4
% age 30-502	-	-	-	61.3	61.5
% over 502	-	-	-	34.3	34.1
% employees covered by collective bargaining agreements	0	0	0	0	0

New Employees

	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
Total new employees	326	508	138	75	173
# under age 301	-	-	-	48	95
# age 30-501	-	-	-	23	70
# over 501	-	-	-	4	8
% under age 301	-	-	-	64	55
% age 30-501	-	-	-	31	40
% over 501	-	-	-	5	5
Trades and operators (#)	189	331	95	30	125
Administrative, professional and technical (#)	137	177	43	45	48
Male (#)	238	395	110	43	134
Aboriginal (#)	32	32	16	11	33
Female (#)	88	113	28	32	39

Diversity

Aboriginal Representation³

	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
Number of employees	474	467	464	461	470
% of permanent Syncrude workforce	9.1	8.8	8.9	9.4	9.8
% of new hires	9.8	6.3	11.6	14.7	19.1
% of leaders2	6.0	6.2	5.8	6.1	7.3

Female Representation³

	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
Number of employees	958	988	958	909	889
% of permanent Syncrude workforce	18.8	19.0	18.7	18.7	18.8
% of new hires	27.0	22.2	20.3	42.7	22.5
% of leaders2	12.7	11.6	12.3	12.6	14.7

Recruiting Effectiveness

	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
New hire acceptance rate (%)	94	82	91	94	93
Local hires (% of all new hires)	76	74	82	51	94

Attrition

	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
All employees, including retirements (%)	14.2	7.5	4.0	6.6	5.8
Employee initiated termination (% of total attrition)	7.4	4.7	2.0	2.4	1.7
# under age 301	-	-	-	44	29
# age 30-501	-	-	-	124	90
# over 501	-	-	-	158	157
% under age 301	-	-	-	13.5	10.5
% age 30-501	-	-	-	38	32.6
% over 501	-	-	-	48.5	56.9
Company initiated termination (%)	0.8	0.7	0.9	1.3	1.3
Retirements (%)	5.8	2.0	1.0	2.8	2.6
Aboriginal (%)	10.4	8.2	6.0	6.0	6.2
Female (%)	12.7	8.3	6.1	7.3	6.5
Trades and operators (%)	12.1	8.5	3.4	5.6	5.0
Administrative, professional and technical (%)	16.1	6.8	4.8	7.8	6.7

Employee Productivity

	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
Thousand barrels of production per employee	20.6	18.8	18.4	18.7	21.0
Average employee service (in years)	9.5	9.0	8.9	10.7	11.0
Female	8.5	8.2	8.2	9.6	10.0
Aboriginal	10.2	10.7	10.7	12.3	12.2

Employee Development

	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
# of hours in training per employee4	-	-	45.41	41.57	39.25
# of total hours of training related to aspects of human rights5	2,044	6,114	4,757	3,716	2,552
% of employees completed training related to aspects of human rights5	14.0	9.1	8.6	5.6	4.6

Wages, Compensation and Benefits

	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
Ratio of standard entry level wage to minimum wage6	3.5	3.6	4.0	3.6	3.4
Number of recognitions to employees7	5,081	6,519	5,457	3,838	5,130
Annual scholarships, bursaries and endowments ($)	1,033,200	971,964	814,329	749,045	663,000
Numbers of employee student scholarships	558	553	461	425	322
Number of tuition refunds to Syncrude employees	130	106	129	122	67

Employee & Family Assistance Program (EFAP) Utilization

	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
# of clients as % of Syncrude workforce	16.3	16.8	19.7	16.3	19.5

Ethics and Business Conduct

	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
Anonymous reports of non-conformance9	11	18	18	11	11
Confirmed cases of non-conformance	0	1	1	0	0

¹ New classification starting in 2015 to align with Global Reporting Initiative standard disclosure guidance. Refer to previous reports for prior data categories.
² Calculated as percentage of permanent Syncrude leaders.
³ Self-declaration only; Syncrude does not mandate employees to disclose minority or cultural status.
⁴ Per annum. New indicator starting in 2014 to align with Global Reporting Initiative standard disclosure guidance.
⁵ Includes all training related to harassment and discrimination, diversity awareness and Aboriginal cultural awareness per annum.
⁶ Based on basic wage for entry level trades/operators position and Alberta hourly minimum wage of each reporting year.
⁷ Includes service and safety awards.
⁸ New indicator starting in 2014 to align with Global Reporting Initiative standard disclosure guidance.
⁹ Anonymous and confidential reporting is enabled through EthicsPoint, an independent third-party hotline managed by NAVEXGlobal.
¹⁰ New indicator starting in 2014.