NOV: Powering a Strong Culture with Shared Commitments

NOV, a global oil and gas company that powers the world, drives innovation and efficiency among their over 30,000 employees by fostering a strong workplace culture.

Situation

SPS, a business unit of NOV, experienced rapid growth in both people and revenue across its sites in Brazil, Denmark, Norway, and the U.K. This growth brought together teams with strong local heritage and well-established practices. While these differences reflected the strength of each location, they also created an opportunity to further align ways of working, strengthen communication, and support consistent execution of the business strategy.

SPS engaged O.C. Tanner’s Culture Consulting team to help develop shared commitments and behaviors to unify teams.

Solution

Together, O.C. Tanner and SPS co-created a set of shared commitments that aligned the organization’s future goals and vision. O.C. Tanner’s Culture Consultants engaged senior and people leaders early in the process, gathering input from employees across the organization to foster ownership. This led to quicker adoption and activation of the commitments throughout the organization.

O.C. Tanner’s Culture Consultants helped SPS integrate the commitments into the everyday culture, where senior leaders live and model the new behaviors and employees connect with and practice them in their daily work.

The partnership didn’t end at launch. SPS and NOV continue to work with O.C. Tanner’s Culture Consultants to embed the shared commitments into workflows, leadership practices, and culture initiatives, ensuring sustained adoption and improved business outcomes.

“It’s co-creation at all levels, an absolute partnership. I've never felt like I am just the client, it feels like the O.C. Tanner consultants are an extension of our team.”
—Antony Hutchings, Director of Organisational Development-Global Regions, NOV

Results

Employees love the new branding and recognition offerings.

Quarterly pulse surveys show employees value the “by us, for us” approach. Leaders use the shared commitments in employee development plans, and employees feel heard and included.

Our Culture Consultants meet organizations where they are, understand their current cultures, consolidate feedback, and create actionable plans to improve workplaces. Learn more about our Culture Consulting services.