Learnings from a Worker Welfare Program Implementation for Employees
Authors: Riksen Sean , Pols Thomas , Sexton Krystal , Sanchez Marcos , Berg Johannes 
Published: March 2020

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Shell companies conducted a case study into the use of worker welfare strategies to drive engagement in major brownfield and greenfield construction projects and thereby improve: worker productivity, the quality of construction work and overall project HSE and financial performance.

Two major brownfield capital projects (&gt;$100 mil US) in The United States and The Netherlands developed and implemented a comprehensive worker welfare strategy. The components of the strategy were built on 14 identified core principles of worker welfare. It was recognized that an intentional care mindset can be developed and maintained in a workplace.

To measure impact, surveys set at regular intervals were conducted to measure workers perception of care, engagement and welfare and then paralleled to several project metrics, such as: Total Record Case Frequency (TRCF), Hands on Tools-Time (HoTT), schedule performance and work-hour rates. The results from the two projects were compared to other Shell projects of similar size and scope that did not have a comprehensive worker welfare strategy.

In the US, the implemented strategy showed a substantial positive impact in three areas: (a) productivity, (b) safety records and (c) engagement/participation/retention which corroborated the data from the Netherlands (NL). The productivity improvements were reflected in the US in top quartile results for both absolute and relative man power hours. Statistically significant higher HoTT was observed for NL (54%), compared to non-Care for People (CfP) projects (average 36%) indicating greater productivity and efficiency. Efficiency and productivity were also evidenced by project delivery 4 months ahead of schedule. Further, the safety record showed a TRCF of 0.75, beating the 0.80 target at NL and the TRCF for US at (0.9) was significantly lower compared to non-CfP projects similar in geography, complexity, risk and size indicating a better safety performance. Since a large part of annual project investment is man hour related and the Shell worker welfare approach requires relatively small investments, the ROI and productivity gains have been estimated to be high. Finally, in the US, scores of 80+% were recorded in many key areas of most subcontractor’s groups (e.g. Secure Workplace) resulting in a project saving of approximately $10M from a lack of per diem. This paralleled The Netherlands with engagement scores (86, 81, 80, 79%).

These results demonstrate the importance of focus on outcomes and business impact and showed that "care", as defined by the 14 elements of worker welfare, is a key driver of engagement, having subsequent positive impact on project outcomes. The worker welfare strategies present a clear and replicable strategy to drive both worker wellbeing and overall project performance. Recognizing the learnings from cross-industry coalitions such as Building Responsibly, this work will also be used to support, inform and guide the development of a comprehensive wider-industry standard to deliver worker welfare and care for employees.