Long-Term Community Engagement through Employee-Driven Community Relations

Ken Schmaltz

Corporate Marketing Manager The Stream-Flo Group of Companies

Our future depends on public opinion • Hydraulic fracturing bans

• Opposition to pipelines

• Opposition to LNG facilities

• Climate change blame

“The energy industry has never faced so many questions about what its future will look like.”

Daniel Yergin, Chairman, IHS

Why Community Engagement?

2016 Edelman Trust Barometer • Energy ranks 2nd from the bottom in public trust at 52%

• Down from 55% in 2013

• Technology highest at 72%

• Energy CEOs are trusted least among CEOs in all industries

Without increased trust, public opinion will remain neutral at best, hostile at worst

Are we trusted?

Lack of authenticity on our part • Corporate-driven community engagement

• Business-oriented vs values-oriented engagement

A general lack of trust on the community’s part • 36% of Canadian & U.S. employees don’t trust their employers

• Search engines trusted more (63%) than traditional media (58%)

• Oil trusted by 43%

• Natural gas trusted by 59%

Why the lack of trust in the industry?

Employees are our best spokespeople • Employees are trusted as spokespeople by 53%

• CEOs are trusted by 37%

We trust each other • “A person like myself” is trusted by 56%

• Only academic experts (65%) and technical experts (63%) are higher

Who do people trust?

Support the organizations that employees support • Turns employees and their families into advocates

• Companies are seen as members of the community

• Communities receive the types of support they need and value

• Local residents and customers talk about it

Employee-Driven Community Engagement

1. Grassroots is more effective than top-down

2. The people in communities know what they need and value better than we do

3. The values of the company, employees and communities have to be aligned for it to work

Principles

• Fall of 2015: Food banks in oil & gas communities were in crisis

• Employees already supported food banks • Volunteer, donate food, organize annual company food

bank drives, etc.

• Many had neighbors who were affected

• Instead of door prizes at Christmas parties, money was donated to 12 Canadian & 8 U.S. food banks

Example: Local Food Banks

Employees delivered checks to food banks • Deep employee

engagement • Demonstrated

commitment to the community

• Local news coverage • Recognition by customers • Ongoing employee

involvement with food banks and long-term community engagement

Example: Local Food Banks

• Two employees in Edmonton began raising funds for the Stollery Children’s Hospital

• Other employees joined in

• Month-long campaign

• Company supported efforts with 3-for-1 matching funds

• Locations in Alberta, B.C. and Saskatchewan joined in

Example: Regional Children’s Hospital

• Unprecedented level of collaboration across departments, locations & companies

• Deep employee engagement

• Increased employee trust in company

• Employees became advocates

• Customer recognition in communities served by the Stollery

• $64,682.50 + $194,047.50 (Company) = $258,730

Example: Regional Children’s Hospital

Increasing engagement and trust of communities begins with increasing engagement and trust of employees:

• Align community engagement with employee values

• Engage communities by supporting employee-driven involvement in them

• Turn employees into advocates and trust them to carry our message

The Takeaway