Searching for the perfect job can be very hard for many people. Since it is always in a person’s best interest to accept the job offer that is beneficial to him or her, it is important that time is taken to evaluate each company. When deciding on which job to take, one must take into consideration the leadership and salary as well as benefits such as child education, housing, car, health insurance, and parental leave. I had applied to many companies and conducted many interviews. Two job offers I am considering came from Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) and BP. Both are large oil companies that have a lot to offer their potential employees.
Leadership in business is essential because it provides employees with a comfortable working environment that have clear goals that are understood. The CEO of Kuwait Oil Company is Mr. Hashem Sayed Hashem. He has been with KOC since 1987, and he had many positions in the petroleum and reservoir engineering field. In May of 2013, he was appointed CEO position and his many years of working at KOC has helped the company to become one of the top ten oil producing company in the world. Similarly, the CEO of BP, Bob Dudley, had also spent his entire career in the oil and gas industry. Dudley was appointed CEO of BP in 2010. Both CEOs are experienced and well adapted to leading their companies and inspiring their employees. Apart from good leadership, salary is a major part of the job search consideration.
Since Kuwait Oil Company and BP are both big oil and gas companies, it would seem that they would provide a reasonable salary to their employees. The headquarters of Kuwait Oil Company is located in Ahmadi, Kuwait and it has the highest employee salary in the Gulf region. The average pay is about $114,000 per year for Kuwaiti workers. Foreign workers receive an average of $ 79,000 annually. BP is a global company whose average employee wages are $51,000 plus bonuses for some positions annually. Even though both companies provide reasonably competitive salaries to their employees, other perks may make accepting or denying a job offer easier. Many workers may have expenses such as child education, housing, and health care.
Providing their children with the very best education is a top priority for most employees, and many companies know it. While KOC does not provide child education for foreign workers, various schools are available to meet the educational needs of foreign children. However, as long as the children are in Kuwait, KOC “will cover 90% of the actual tuition fees for education of up to a maximum of four children between the ages 4 and 19 years of age” (Kuwait Oil Company). Information on child education expense coverage is unable for BP and could be a problem for the company’s future. Potential employees who are parents or thinking about becoming parents may not want to join a company that does not offer some incentive for helping them educate their children. Apart from child education expenses, housing costs can be very expensive for employees.
The cost of living differs in many countries and sometimes it can get very expensive for employees. The KOC offers a Monthly Housing Allowance and Housing Grant Allowance which are based on an employee marital status, position, and grade. There is a one-time Furniture Grant as well which is given to employees to help furnish their new home. It should be noted that these grants are available to foreign workers only. BP, on the other hand, merely offers several different one-time relocation packages for their employees based on their status. Furthermore, the relocation must meet the standards of the IRS which are 50 or more miles from the employee’s current location. Besides housing expenses, the cost of transportation can deplete an employee’s income and make it hard for them to add to their savings.
Since employees need to travel to and from work almost every day, the cost could add up and make it hard for them to retain enough money for other aspects of their life. Providing a company car to employees is one way a company can help their workers. Both KOC and BP offer employee cars and car vouchers which allow workers relief from the out of pocket expense of traveling to and from work. The company cars are used during working hours as well. There is even the added benefit from BP if the employee drives an eco-car. Even though transportation can be expensive, health care can be out of reach for many people. Companies tend to offer health care insurance to ensure their employees get the health care that they need when they need it.
When a person is sick, companies know the last thing anyone wants to worry about is how they will pay their medical expenses. More and more companies are offering health insurance to their employees to help cover some of the expenses and to ensure their employees have access to health care when they need it. The KOC does not list whether or not they provide health insurance. Instead, the KOC does have a hospital that caters to their employees as well as their employees’ families. The Ahmadi Hospital offers a broad range of medical services to meet the medical needs of KOC employees. Furthermore, the KOC employees are free to buy private insurance if they feel that they need it. According to BP’s website, “BP provides employees and their families the opportunity to purchase quality health care at affordable rates” (BP Global). BP offers several health insurance packages for their employees. Similar to the KOC, BP employees are free to purchase private health insurance if they need it. Finally, it is always important that a company care for their employee’s family by providing maternity or paternity leave.
Maternity and, in more recent times, paternity leave has been at the forefront of many employees decision on whether they should accept a job offer or not. The KOC does not list any information on maternity or paternity leave. It is not known if they offer that a perk to their employees. BP does list a Parental Leave policy. A mother can have up to 6 weeks leave at full pay, and fathers have up to 2 weeks at full payment for parental leave. Additionally, regardless of gender, the child’s caregiver gets an additional 12 weeks parental leave at full pay. The Parental Leave policy is for both childbirth and adoption. After evaluating the Kuwait Oil Company and BP, it is clear both companies offers future employees many benefits and perks.
Kuwait Oil Company and BP offers excellent salaries as well as other perks. After evaluating what both companies had to offer, I feel that the KOC has the best offers that suit my needs. While KOC lacks any information on parental leave, it had more to offer by paying for child education, monthly housing grants and allowances, the use of KOC company car, and the availability of health services. Since many of the cost of living expenses are covered, it is possible for families to have extra funds to hire a childcare worker.
Works Cited
BP Global. "BP Life Benefits." BP Global. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2016. <http://hr.bpglobal.com/LifeBenefits/Sites/Core/BP-Life-benefits.aspx>.
Kuwait Oil Company. "Kuwait Oil Company." Kuwait Oil Company. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2016. <https://www.kockw.com/>.
