Does Imperial Oil provide stock, bonus, or stock options to mid-level professionals?

[jmc]

Had an interview with Imperial for a non-entry level professional position. The interviewer wanted salary expectation, so I kindly ask him for some information about their total compensation package. He did not mention bonus, stock, or stock option...

-Their website also does not mention any stock/option/bonus.
http://www.imperialoil.ca/Canada-English/workingwithus_life_offer.aspx

-Their old press release mention they don't plan on granting new stock options anymore.
"The company has no plans to issue stock options in the future."

-Reviews on glassdoor also indicates there are no bonuses.
"there are no bonuses" "There should be more profit sharing and bonuses like other oil and gas companies"

-Previous post on beyond also hinted there are no bonus or stock.
http://forums.beyond.ca/st2/starting-salary-for-engineer-at-a-major-oil-company/showthread.php?threadid=291741&postid=3228755&highlight=not give a bonus or stock options

1) Are there no stock/options and no bonus? (Anyone confirm? If this is incorrect, what is the typical bonus% )

2) I know their base salary could be fairly high, but what else do they got to compete with other O&G companies?

3) Their website does mention Savings and Retirement Plans, can anyone share the details?
*company matching savings plan (full match up to what% of base?)
*flexible company-paid pension plan options (what is this like?)

Basically I want to find out how much percent extra, on top of base salary can be expected. And if they offer stock/option/bonus.

Thank you.

[Super_Geo]

Everyone is ranked annually. The people in the bottom band are essentially given notice (they're given time to bring their performance up) and subsequently fired if they don't see marked improvements. The top band is compensated quite well and also given some form of stock or options, not sure if it has changed though, haven't talked about it to my friends who work there for a while.

I also hear that once you start climbing the Imperial/Exxon ladder you'll find it's really competitive... might even call it cut throat.

[idriveabox]

There are no bonuses. At least as of 2 years ago. My wife worked there and can confirm what super Geo said.

[ExtraSlow]

Senior level engineers in O&G typically have a bonus target of 15-25%, and I know some that have gotten 50% bonuses several years in a row for good performance. how can Imperial compete with that, is the base salary that high?

Actually, if you take stock into account, it's way more. Again, for senior level engineers, stock+bonus is well past 50% of salary at lots of places.

[95EagleAWD]

Can't comment on the bonuses and stuff, but I know my dad enjoyed his 30+ years at Imperial. He was making very good money by the end of it, and with a commerce degree to boot.

It is, from my personal experince, a stellar company to work for.

[jmc]

Originally posted by idriveabox
There are no bonuses. At least as of 2 years ago. My wife worked there and can confirm what super Geo said.
Was she given stock, or options, or both annually? Makes a difference, since there are no cash bonuses...

[ExtraSlow]

In a company that big, I'd much prefer to get stock than options. Growth of large companies is pretty small, and often stagnant.

[holden]

Are there really no bonuses company wide? I would have to imagine at some point in the corporate ladder that they would start giving out bonuses or performance rewards.

[idriveabox]

Stock options and rsp match were provided. My wife was not in a senior role but I would assume there is a bonus structure higher up.

[viff3r]

I was chatting with a friend last night who is a facilities engineer at Imperial. She confirmed that there is no bonus structure for anybody below executive level. The company justifies this by claiming that they pay more in base salary, but who knows if that's true or not.

[argent]

No bonus, unless you are executive at 3rd line manager level or senior 2nd line in a very large business unit.

base is slightly higher to start - but not by much, rather insignificant.

No stock option, unless you are executive, other benefits are in line with other majors (rrsp/saving plan, etc etc).

[ExtraSlow]

so in summary, people working at Imperial are underpaid. Sounds great.

[suntan]

Imperial Oil has a DB Pension Plan, so there's that. But it's incredibly underfunded.

[woodywoodford]

Originally posted by suntan
Imperial Oil has a DB Pension Plan, so there's that. But it's incredibly underfunded.

Hard to find, nice to have...if you put in the time.

[mrsingh]

Originally posted by ExtraSlow
so in summary, people working at Imperial are underpaid. Sounds great.

Unless you are a contractor, I have former colleagues working there for 3+ years now at $130+/hour.

[suntan]

Originally posted by mrsingh


Unless you are a contractor, I have former colleagues working there for 3+ years now at $130+/hour. $130/hr is the nominal rate. That's what I charge!

[ExtraSlow]

$130 an hour is pretty typical for professional contractors.
I pay some of mine more.

DB pension can be pretty good, but wouldn't draw me in.

[argent]

Yes DB is rare to find these days.. and Imperial Oill DB is actually doing pretty OK from funding status. It seems that most of DB is "always" underfunded on the book anyway.

[Sugarphreak]

...

[ExtraSlow]

Hell, I don't make that, I just pay it, using someone else's money.

Keep in mind, that is for guys with 10+ (usually 20+) years of experience, P.Eng Designation, and six or eight up-to date safety certifications.

I don't think it's unreasonable to pay someone $130/hour to look after an operation that costs the company $3000/hour.

[mrsingh]

Originally posted by ExtraSlow
Keep in mind, that is for guys with 10+ (usually 20+) years of experience, P.Eng Designation, and six or eight up-to date safety certifications.

How can criteria that specific be used to define a nominal contract rate? In my line of work for a Calgary based position the contract rate is typically in the $80-$110 range depending on the company and experience. So $130 is pretty darn sweet!

[Sugarphreak]

...

[ExtraSlow]

Originally posted by mrsingh


How can criteria that specific be used to define a nominal contract rate? In my line of work for a Calgary based position the contract rate is typically in the $80-$110 range depending on the company and experience. So $130 is pretty darn sweet!
I don't know how it works elsewhere, but I don't define the pay rate so much as the qualifications. I know what I pay, and it's a pretty narrow band ($20/hr difference between bottom and top). But some of the qualifications are not-negotiable. We would prefer to leave the positions vacant rather than accept someone of lesser qualification in most cases. Luckily, that's not often required.



Originally posted by Sugarphreak


I didn't say it was unreasonable :dunno:
Just clarifying for anyone who is used to charging less, or works in a different industry. It can look somewhat unreasonable to someone who doesn't know the details.

[jmc]

Originally posted by ExtraSlow
Hell, I don't make that, I just pay it, using someone else's money.
Keep in mind, that is for guys with 10+ (usually 20+) years of experience, P.Eng Designation, and six or eight up-to date safety certifications.
I don't think it's unreasonable to pay someone $130/hour to look after an operation that costs the company $3000/hour. Typically which certificates (beyond the general ones) do companies normally look for? Everyone already has the general H2S, PST, CPR …

[ExtraSlow]

well, to work as a drilling engineer, you need your Second line BOP (Or IWCF), detection and control of flammable substances (Enform), safety management and regulatory awareness (Enform), you may require your coiled tubing BOP certificate, depending on the work. I would prefer that my guys have an ERD course (like K&M) plus the DS-1 course from TH Hill.

There may be others, that's just from the top of my head, and in addition to the ones you listed. Interestingly, we don't require the PST course, but many places do. I'm of the opinion that it's useless for most of us, so I'm glad I don't need it.