LATIN American Human Resources (LHR) was established in 2001, and ever since it has been servicing the Middle Eastern market.
The company’s slogan says “Your link with Latin America” and it’s precisely in the Middle Eastern market where, eight years ago, this message was born.
“In other words, we are telling our Middle Eastern clients “we know how to put you in contact with the experienced personnel you need to develop your most ambitious projects, and we want you to consider the option of relying on Latin Americans,” says Carlos Guillermo López, executive vice president LHR.
Today, the industry’s biggest players in the Middle East count on Latin American talent. “Our professionals have proved to have the experience, commitment and a great capacity of blending with all the other cultures in an exceptional manner,” he says in an interview with OGN.
“I firmly believe that being the link between these regions has turned out to be a very wise move,” he adds.
Excerpts from the interview:
What services does LHR offer the oil and gas market other than recruitment?
We have two additional products which are: Human resource consultancy services between the Middle East and Latin America and We assess local firms in the mobilisation of their candidates from any country in Latin America to any location in the world.
It’s important to highlight that we are the most recognised firm in the region because we are the only organisation that brings coverage from Mexico to Argentina. Our clients often look specifically into Venezuela for their search processes. However, after getting to know candidates from other countries, they are amazed by the knowledge and global experience that professionals from Peru, Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, Mexico, Argentina and Trinidad and Tobago also have to offer.
All these professionals in Latin America are formed in the industry’s largest companies worldwide.
Interviewing more than 16,000 candidates in Latin America has allowed us to identify where the more experienced professionals are. We also know their preferences, what attracts them and therefore what characteristics make the Middle East a very eye-catching alternative for them.
What challenges do the oil and gas companies face with their recruitment needs and how difficult is it to find experienced candidates from the oil and gas sector?
Most of the challenges the companies have to face concern the understanding of how to segment their global recruitment strategies. It’s not the same to send recruitment communications in London or the US than to structure a campaign for another region. Latin American candidates, for example, respond and behave differently to messages, compared to other regions, and are attracted by singular benefits. Each country has also different interests and media preferences.
On the other hand, it is equally important to fully understand what a company needs. In LHR we believe that properly segmented campaigns and recruitment strategies bring higher success rates fulfilling our particular client’s requirements. For example, big companies usually want to rely on massive advertisement in the main massive media which in some cases, especially in Latin America, is not the correct way to go. There are other strategies which have proved much more effective here in Latin America in order to target very specific market objectives.
Another challenge that oil and gas companies deal with is how to improve their global recruitment processes. A problem we have witnessed is the lack of communication that human resource management in these companies receive in campaigns done outside their headquarters. Resources could be greatly optimised in these cases with help from their external consultants.
How do you see the recruitment market in 2009?
Offer and demand for human resources will be inverse. I believe there will be more candidates searching for job opportunities. One of the great service companies announced in February laying off over 5,000 employees.
Oil companies will stop having the profits seen in the end of last year’s third quarter. Man projects worldwide will be postponed in time, if not cancelled. This will definitely increase the offer of highly qualified candidates.
CV recruitment will be higher in 2009. However, the greatest challenge will be in how to handle this information in order for the companies to find their candidates.
2009 will be the year in which the industry’s companies will have the best candidates to fulfil their needs.
