NatResPro New Year Message

Let us start 2018 with best wishes from everyone at NatResPro

We couldn't let 2017 pass us by without a recap of our past 12-months, in what was undoubtedly another very challenging year in business.

As we enter 2018, we're still in business, and with a renewed enthusiasm, which above all is down to the support and encouragement of all our connections and followers. A heartfelt thank you goes out to each and every one of our growing support network.

Undoubtedly, the past 12-months have seen continued headwinds for the beleaguered oil and gas industry. It would be remiss of us if we didn't acknowledge the hardships that continue to linger for so many businesses and individuals. Working at the core of the industry, we're fundamentally affected by the difficult climate that persists.

Throughout our concept and design phases, we took great strides in our belief that there could (and should) be a fairer means of career management. Our attention was especially focused on the vitally important contingent labour section of the market.

2017 was perhaps the defining year...

... In exposing the perils that exist related to data privacy in the jobs market. Regarding database candidates as cash cows, and hence defining a business's net worth as a function of candidate database size is a questionable attitude.

Two high-profile instances of Company Directors seeking to profit from either accessing or selling candidate details en-masse have further diminished what was already a very low trust base. As a result, recruiters, employment agencies and especially job board companies are all now looked upon with mistrust.

Bucking the trend...

... We look forward with much anticipation to the 25th of May, 2018. After almost 4-years of preparation, the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) legislation will go live, replacing numerous member state data protection acts, many of which pre-dated the Internet era.

In preparation of this important legislation, we've already invested in the personal attendance of IAPP CIPP/E and CIPM training courses for a core company employee. The next 5-months will see us implement all required changes for compliance, including sitting exams and obtaining full accreditation!

GDPR will be a game-changer for the jobs market, and hopefully, the dawn of a new ethical era of recruiting will finally emerge. The act of accumulating the personal details of candidates for blatant onward sale will hopefully be confined to history. We're truly excited to see the introduction of a fairer system for candidates.

Although we've now significantly scaled back...

... Our efforts in creating bespoke candidate CV's, we're moving forward with the creation of exciting, professionally created, online candidate profiles. For 2018, there are many new features in our development pipeline, including additional profile options. Candidates will have even greater control and flexibility, without us dropping the guard on our verification systems.

As the social media behemoths have temporarily redefined recruiting, access to candidates is now all but a few mouse clicks away. Combining this ease of effort with the equally instant verification akin to 'phone-a-friend', the process of seeking new hires is instant, and virtually cost-free. However easy this may be, most Hiring Managers will affirm the process is fraught with noise and distraction. Difficulty in 'seeing the wood for the trees' is the downside of mass global exposure.

2018 heralds another difficult year...

... For oil and gas employment with a huge under-utilised and freely-available available skill pool. We see little scope for existing recruitment methods where a financial return is a basic expectation. We'll continue, as we have for the past 2-years, in facilitating the connection of job providers with candidates. We do so without any financial gain, but simply because it's the right thing to be doing, and in itself is hugely rewarding.

As the market slowly tightens new recruiting processes will evolve. The skills of tracking down and then negotiating the best performers out of existing jobs, and into new opportunities will once again be required. Doing so in full compliance with the new data privacy regulations will be a challenge for the majority of companies, many of which will fail to adapt legacy processes.

As we continue to build our professional oil and gas network we'll be launching several exciting products throughout the year. As professional matchmakers, we're looking forward to shaping a new model for oil and gas recruitment. We'll be networking and assisting, in our own small way, at creating a more satisfying candidate experience.

We wish all of our connections a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.

Steve & Jason.