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Shell Legal Services – United States (LSUS) – Key Business Activities and Action Plans

KEY BUSINESS ACTIVITY

Create and Maintain:

  1. A diverse workforce
  2. An inclusive workforce
  3. Business relations with a diverse pool of vendors

Goals:

  1. To build and maintain an inclusive and diverse environment in which every employee in Legal Services is valued for their contributions, allowing each individual to reach their full potential. This will allow us to attract and retain the best talent available to meet the needs of our clients in a cost-effective manner.
  2. To build and/or enhance business relationships with the most talented and cost-effective vendors and service providers reflecting the diversity of communities where our clients do business.

We will accomplish these objectives by:

  • Enhancing individual and group diversity skills, visibility and leadership;
  • Consistently achieving our balanced work-force objectives;
  • Recruiting diverse talent;
  • Retaining and advancing the best talent effectively and without bias;
  • Maintaining an inclusive and barrier free workplace climate; and
  • Promoting relationships with minorities and women who own and work for our vendors and service providers.

Target: To make a “high” level of progress on measures of progress, including our balanced workforce goals, our MWBE utilization goals and the 2000 Diversity Scorecard.

Using the Shell model, we have aligned the five key components of the Diversity Plan Model as follows:

  1. Corporate Diversity Strategy (l)
  2. Business Unit Diversity Strategy (n)
  3. Diversity Initiatives (s)
  4. Implementation Process (u)
  5. Metrics, Accountability (H)

ENHANCING LEADERSHIP SKILLS AND VISIBILITY (n)

  1. 360-Degree Feedback (s)
    Goal: Leaders Accountable as Role Models (u)

    Target: Date (u)

    Action Items: (H)

    • Review current feedback forms
    • Revise to include diversity related assessments.
    • Should include workplace inclusion skills and supplier diversity effort
    • Get approval from Legal Leadership Team (LLT)
    • Communicate to staff
    • Revise
    • Implement
  2. Develop Individual Leadership Roles (n)

    Goal: Individual promotion of diversity within Associate General Counsel (AGC) practice groups (s)

    Target: Date for communications/awareness strategies (u)

    Action Items: (H)

    • AGC evaluate individual diversity communication/awareness strategies for each department
    • AGC implement individual diversity communication/awareness strategies for each department
  3. Leadership Review of Diversity (n)

    Goal: Enhance interaction with LLT and Diversity Council (s)

    Target: Quarterly communications sessions with LLT and Diversity Council (u)

    Action Items: (H)

    • Determine appropriate interviews for diversity discussions with LLT
    • Implement periodic diversity review process with LLT and Diversity Council, covering:
      • current balanced workforce numbers
      • current MWBE utilization
      • other workplace diversity/inclusion issues
  4. Performance Appraisal and Staff Accountability for Diversity (n)

    Goal: Expand accountability/support of diversity principals within Legal (s)

    Target: Date for Diversity Factors on all performance appraisals (u)

    Action Items: (H)

    • Review current performance appraisal form
    • Meet with Competency Team and/or KBA team
    • Revise performance appraisal forms and obtain approval
    • Communicate expectations to staff
    • Implementation
  5. Shell Legal External Events (n)

    Goal: Combine enhanced visibility with opportunities for beneficial participation in external events and organizations (s)

    Target: Formulate budget, participate and obtain leadership recognition externally (u)

    Action Items: (H)

    • Create promotional materials available for publications
    • Set budget for annual contributions and dues to external organizations
    • Review existing and research new organizations, events and memberships. Discuss and then select from choices
    • Review, select and apply for recognition from external sources, if appropriate

ACHIEVING BALANCED WORKFORCE OBJECTIVE (n)

Goal: To have representative, balanced workforce in all ranks of LSUS (s)

Target:

Date to achieve availability goals (u)

Action Items: (H)

  1. Assess current state
    • Schedule periodic LLT review of current state
    • Build “real time” database for data
    • Review data quarterly, adjust goal success strategies quarterly as needed, formulate “subsidiary goals” periodically
  2. Determine goals (annually)
    • Obtain availability data
    • Formulate goals and subsidiary goals
    • Review and revise goals with LLT
    • Communicate goals to organization

FOCUSED RECRUITING (n)

Goal: To recruit, develop and retain experienced, diverse talent (s)

Target: Date to incorporate diversity objectives in all recruiting (u)

Action Items: (H)

  1. Lateral Hires
    • Meeting with Recruiting Team and Diversity Council for formulation of single policy
    • Propose and obtain approval of plan for incorporation of diversity objectives in lateral hiring
  2. Law Students
    • Meeting with Diversity Council and Summer Clerks for review of diversity objectives
    • Report on and obtain approval of revisions, if any, to summer clerk program related to diversity objectives

RETENTION AND ADVANCEMENT (n)

  1. Job Posting (Process)

    Goal: To provide widest possible range of candidates for advancement (s)

    Target: Date to articulate and implement job posting criteria (u)

    Action Items: (H)

    1. Action Items: H
      • Discuss and agree on policy regarding strategy on communication of posting policy and opportunity
      • Communicate to Legal staff
    2. Law Students
      • Meeting with Diversity Council and Summer Clerks for review of diversity objectives
      • Report on and obtain approval of revisions, if any, to summer clerk program related to diversity objectives
  2. Performance Evaluation Awareness (Process)

    Goal: Educate and avoid bias in promotion and staffing decisions (s)

    Target: Date to provide periodic awareness materials (u)

    Action Items: (H)

    1. Obtain material from known sources
      • ABA “Avoiding Gender Bias in Evaluations”
    2. Workplace communications training (gender)
      • Present material to appropriate audience
      • Research and obtain other organizational materials
      • Evaluate
      • Periodically present material to appropriate audience
      • Incorporate any changes to performance assessment form, if required
  3. Formalize Mentor Program (Process)

    Goal: Provide resources and encourage mentor relationships (s)

    Target: Date to establish a formal mentor program for Legal (u)

    Action Items: (H)

    • Collect learnings from Diversity Center and Competency Team
    • Draft diversity component of Legal mentor program
    • Propose/review/adjust and approve mentor pilot
    • Evaluate and adjust

MAINTAINING AN INCLUSIVE WORKPLACE CLIMATE (n)

Goal: A workplace in LSUS where all individuals feel valued and included (s)

Target: Date for significant training and awareness activities (u)

Action Items: (H)

  1. Assess current state
    • Collect learnings from Diversity Center,
    • Respect Team and other Shell “firms”
    • Evaluate workplace climate survey needs
    • Obtain material from known sources such as workplace communications training
    • Evaluate for pilot or initial presentation
    • Present material to appropriate audience
    • Evaluate for additional presentation to broader audience
    • Research and obtain other organizational materials
    • Evaluate, present, re-evaluate and present to broader audience, if appropriate
  3. Promotion of networking
    • Meet with Shell employee network representatives to discuss promotion within Legal
    • Evaluate and implement an activity related to a network group
    • Review, advise and encourage legal organization regarding opportunities through ABA, HBA, ACLAA, MCCA, ACCA, etc.

PROMOTE MWBE RELATIONSHIPS (n)

Goal: To maximize utilization of MWBE for purchases of goods and services (s)

Target: Date to achieve MWBE utilization goals overall and in the use of “high value” services (u)

Action Items: (H)

  1. Assess current state
    • Collect learnings from Diversity Center, Respect Team and other Shell “firms”
    • Evaluate workplace climate survey need
    • Create and distribute monthly MWBE report
    • Review data quarterly, adjust goal success strategies quarterly as needed, formulate “subsidiary goals” periodically. Include “Second Tier” and Majority firm reporting (see Action Item 4 below)
  2. Determine goals
    • Formulate goals and subsidiary goals
    • Review and revise goals with LLT
    • Communicate goals to organization
    • Build and maintain an MWBE directory, on web page & distributed as paper copy
    • Research directories, internet and attend conferences of vendors in various locales and in service types needed
    • Review/interview candidate law firms and vendors with LLT and publicize with Legal staff
  3. Expand definitions
    • Create and distribute request and encouragement to law firms to report “Second Tier” MWBE spending
    • Create and distribute request to law firms regarding utilization of women and minority partners
    • Create tracking mechanism to capture “Second Tier” MWBE spending
    • Create a tracking mechanism to capture utilization of minority and women attorneys in majority-owned firms

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