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Opinion by Chris Simeniuk
Most of us are aware that the oil and gas industry as of late has become a lightning rod for politicians and special interest groups, all competing for public attention. Oil and gas producers have had to put in extra effort to maintain a positive public image.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Environmental Social Governance (ESG) terms are tossed around by public relations people, image professionals, marketers, branding experts etc., all brainstorming on how to talk about how good a company is. Donations, fundraisers, sponsorship, and the like, do impact people in a positive way but are all a form of buying a positive image. These CSR and ESG tactics tend to be quickly forgotten as the tactics rarely affect people at a personal level. It’s all talk.
Service companies, landowners and municipalities are an enormous pool of voices that producers have regular interaction with. A major thorn experienced by all these stakeholders is dealing with the slow pay tactics of certain producers.
Producers that slow pay their stakeholders cause other producers to be painted with the same brush. It also causes other consequences. Contractors build carrying costs into their rates and landowners and municipalities become challenging to negotiate with as they do not want to get burned again. These stakeholders move to a defensive posture.
As a producer, have you asked yourself any of these questions:
“Why won’t service companies help me on short notice?”
“Why are our landowners so thorny to deal with?”
“Why was the county so hard to get an agreement with?”
If the answer is yes, then perhaps you need to turn the mirror inwards toward your company and analyze company actions that create these reactions. Hint: the answer does not require a deep psychological analysis of people’s feelings, brand awareness, etc. In many cases the problem started when someone was not paid in a timely manner. This created a bad taste in the mouth of the service company, landowner or municipality. That same mouth then let everyone in their circle know what they thought.
What is to be done? The answer is simple. Treat these stakeholders with respect and pay them without delay. They must be paid anyway, why create friction and drama by delaying?
When you as a producer pay promptly, you are quickly known as someone that is trustworthy and easy to work with. Now you walk the walk. A prompt pay producer is viewed as a community contributor. If you show a community they matter through action, the boost to your CSR/ESG is bigger than any branding campaign could ever offer. Paint yourself with a different brush, show you pay without delay.
Chris Simeniuk – About the author
After 25+ years in the oil and gas industry Chris Simeniuk launched PayScore to benefit service companies and producers. Slow pay tactics were eroding service companies’ margins and ruining producers’ reputations. PayScore was developed to assist service companies to connect with reputable producers.
Contact PayScore to see how they can help your business.
403-396-2950
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