Buyer beware: this is a slow organization - Operations Manager Shell Employee Review

1.0
Sep 2, 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- Compensation is decent. - Some talented bright sparks - Some teams like Chemicals and some parts of Upstream are really great

Cons

I worked in the Lubricants division and I have reason to believe the rest of the company is much faster and more competent, but what I saw in the lubricants division was truly sad. - A slow moving machine. I have never seen an organization as sluggish as this one. There is little motivation to change things and make them any faster or better. Some departments are full of people who have been in "Lubes" since they started working and they are just riding it out until retirement - Little sense of urgency: if you think General Motors was a bureaucracy, or that the DMV is a slow place, wait till you get to Shell Lubes. - IT systems that are not suited for modern working. The IT team is effectively useless. You are better off looking for solutions from friends than by calling the Helpdesk. Any suggestions for simple software upgrades are met with stiff resistance - Under-utilization of talent: there are some talented people stuck in dead-end jobs here, basically wasting away. The mega-talented ones find a way out. - Very little diversity at the top: mostly just the usual straight old white male cowboys. Imports (from Latin America) are almost invariably white South Americans. Other imports to the top of the organization are white Europeans. At the bottom, it's a good mix, so the organization can make good claims about diversity. If you're a US-minority, it's unlikely you will get close to the top here: that's what drove me away. - Overstaffing: it is not an exaggeration to say that a good 20% of the team is pure fat: they can be trimmed without an impact to the organization

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5.0
Mar 3, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good pay, work life balance, and benefits

Cons

Boom and bust cycles with oil price

4.0
Jun 3, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Early career engineers are given significant ownership and exposure to complex operational challenges. Strong focus on safety, technical development, and collaboration across disciplines. Opportunities to work on high-impact projects, interact with senior leadership, and contribute to decisions affecting major assets and infrastructure.

Cons

Workloads can be demanding, and priorities can shift quickly based on operational needs. Decision-making processes can be slow due to organizational complexity, and geographic mobility may be necessary for certain career opportunities.

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