We strive for a diverse and inclusive workplace culture and aim to foster an environment where employees from different backgrounds and experiences are valued and respected. This is reflected in our policies, labour practices and initiatives that support gender balance, Indigenous and national representation and equal opportunities.
We invest in training and development programs to build employees’ skills and support their career growth. This includes technical training, leadership development and mentorship programs that help employees achieve their full potential.
Our material topics
Santos is committed to building a diverse workforce and fostering an inclusive workplace environment. We continue to implement actions to drive creativity and innovation within our diverse workforce.
Our approach
The Santos values and Leader, Expert and Professional (LEAP) behavioural framework define our beliefs about people, work and required behaviours. They reflect how we work, how we treat each other and how we interact with the people and communities around us.
The Diversity and Inclusion Policy outlines our commitment to an inclusive workplace culture. We recognise that an inclusive workplace creates the environment to harness diversity of thought and skills which can help individuals, colleagues and teams to achieve their goals.
The Diversity and Inclusion strategy consists of three key pillars:
- Build diversity: Leverage different backgrounds, perspectives and the unique viewpoints that will enable us to think differently and be more innovative.
- Foster inclusion: Create a ‘One Santos’ work environment where all people can be themselves, feel supported, respected and have a sense of belonging.
- Enhance potential: Develop diverse leadership and decision-making to drive innovation, thinking quality and equity.
Read more on risks and opportunities, our process and due diligence and our actions and performance in the 2024 Annual Report.
Important topics
Our approach
Santos understands focusing on attracting and retaining talent is crucial for long-term success and directly influences the organisational culture. Management of talent and career progression are key focus areas and contribute to the culture and capability at Santos. Talent is managed across all levels with a strong focus on building the pipeline for senior leadership positions. This includes securing the skills of the future.
A positive and engaged workforce, driven by strong talent, enhances productivity and better overall performance. In a competitive market, Santos has a robust focus on talent to thrive and adapt, setting the stage for sustainable growth and success.
Our processes and due diligence
At Santos our people continue to be a core focus. Within our industry, we are operating in a competitive environment to attract the best talent, against the backdrop of scarcity of skills and diminishing talent pipelines globally.
Our key activities and initiatives
Santos is committed to building a One Santos team culture – where our people are focused, disciplined, entrepreneurial and energised to leave a positive legacy. The employee value proposition, Real Thrives Here, is the promise to create the type of culture and workplace that would deliver on these long-term ambitions.
We have focused on higher frequency employee listening through Real Talk surveys and taken meaningful action to make progress on our Real Thrives Here commitment.
Santos has conducted four Real Talk surveys (three companywide, one pulse) since Real Thrives Here was first launched in mid-2023. Real Talk results and actions are communicated with the entire workforce, sharing overall company strengths and priority focus areas.
Strategic business storytelling played a critical role in progressing Real Thrives Here. Santos focused on humanising the values and the Real Thrives Here commitment through sharing our people stories as well as highlighting the desired behaviours and mindsets to shape our culture.
Santos has introduced the Healthier Me program which places our people at the centre and offers a range of services, support and resources across five key areas – Healthier Minds, Healthier Bodies, Healthier Relationships, Healthier Finances and Healthier Places.
This includes on-site GP and medical consultations, including telehealth, across our Australian office locations and health support through health insurance partners in Alaska and local medical services in Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste.
Our people also have access to state-of-the-art fitness centres and a comprehensive and personalised health and wellbeing portal providing access to hundreds of health and wellbeing resources, articles, and health communities and a highly tailored experience allowing employees to choose benefits and services that best suit their individual needs.
At Santos it’s not just what we do, but how we do it. Employees are supported with a range of industry leading flexible work options to ensure employees maintain their performance and productivity to balance optimal work-life balance for everyone.
In 2024, we introduced a year-round compressed nine-day fortnight, known as ‘Flex Friday’, across our Australian, Papua New Guinea and Alaska office locations. This initiative came from listening to and understanding our people and business needs.
Adequate remuneration and leave entitlements
Santos is committed to providing competitive, locally compliant remuneration packages that include base salary, superannuation (or local equivalent) and other benefits. These are benchmarked annually to ensure global alignment and market competitiveness.
Energy to Achieve – A summary of how performance is managed
- Roll out of new Employment Value Proposition (EVP)
- Employee engagement – Real Talk Employee Survey
- Health and well-being – Healthier Me program
- Employee performance reward framework launched – Energy to Achieve
- Technical development program supported by PetroSkills
- LEAP Curriculum – development programs:
- Digital learning library, Skillsoft
- Face-to face training at international locations in Papua New Guinea and Alaska
- Leadership Development – coaching program
Employee Development programs
At Santos, learning and development is based on the principle of 70/20/10 – 70 per cent of learning occurs through job related experiences, 20 per cent of your learning comes through working with other people, and 10 per cent of learning is classed as more formal, classroom-based training.
Our people can access development grounded in the 70/20/10 model, offering a diverse range of opportunities across experiential, social and formal learning.
A range of programs support the 10 per cent Formal Learning component for employees to enhance development including the Leader Expert and Professional (LEAP) curriculum giving employees visibility and access to learning content tailored to career stage, with the primary focus on supporting development and driving career progression and supporting the development of a positive, high-performance culture at Santos.
