Late last year, Dave Workman resurfaced as CEO of energy contractor RBG, having stayed out of the limelight following the failure of the Ardmore field development in the North Sea and the subsequent collapse, in 2006, of Tuscan Energy, which was, in large measure, his creation.
Energy’s editor first encountered Workman in the 1990s when he was a senior at Atlantic Power, which was later acquired by Norwegian group PGS and, later still, morphed into Petrofac through acquisition.
He served as CEO of PGS Production Services for a time before embarking on the Tuscan adventure which, although it ultimately failed, greatly enriched Workman’s experience.
Back in the supply chain, it is clear that Workman relishes the challenge he has been set by RBG’s chairman, John Ray, and the company’s board. His job is to take the company to the next level – but how will that be accomplished?
He told Energy that, having rapidly drawn up a fresh strategy for the group, the most fundamental change needed, and which is now under way, is getting people to communicate effectively, especially his top team.
But what did he find when he arrived to take over the reins.
In a nutshell: “A company with much more capability than I had expected; a company that hadn’t communicated that capability either internally or externally; a company with a fantastic client list, but undervaluing that client list; with a great network of international locations, but no strategy as to how they would tie in with the core here in Aberdeen; and, fundamentally, no strategy for the next five years.”
Workman said the issues he encountered were to be expected given the “fantastic period of growth” the company had been taken through by predecessor Tadg Slattery following the merger of Rigblast and McGregor Energy Services in 2005.
“At a very simplistic level, the management styles that work for a company with £50million sales don’t work at £300million sales. That’s a simple matter of fact.
“One of the issues that growth brings, one of the issues that success brings, is recognition of the points at which you have to change. That’s very difficult for people because you become captive … and I include myself in this. Reinventing yourself is probably one of the most difficult things that any of us face.
“The problem that you have is, the things that you’ve tried and tested in prior years don’t necessarily continue to work because the game has changed. It’s incredibly hard. That’s the reason why, ultimately, John Ray had the foresight to realise that to grow RBG further required a fresh approach. That’s no criticism of my predecessor, but it is a recognition of the fact that, following the merger of 2005, there was a huge amount of growth.”
But did Workman take much persuasion to go back to work for a service company. After all, he had tasted life at the helm of an offshore oil junior?
“I don’t think I took a lot of asking, but I took a lot of time to analyse whether this was the right opportunity to come back into it, not just on a personal, but also a company level. There are 4,500 employees here who need their CEO to perform. If he doesn’t, it’s not just his future that’s at stake, there’s the future of the employees themselves.
“So you have to be fair to them and consider whether this is the right opportunity, consider what you can bring to it and whether you genuinely can make a difference.
“After numerous discussions with the principals, 3i and John Ray, plus a discussion with predecessor Tadg, it became clear that RBG had been a fantastic success story but was at a crossroads and needed to take the next step. That was something that I felt was eminently doable over the three to five-year period.
“There was a combination of needing a personal challenge and trying to tie that personal challenge in with a business opportunity. And that is very much the proposal that RBG presented to me.”
OK, so how is Workman going to take the company to the next level?
He says the strategy around growing the company is very simple and is based around a four-page document.
“It’s easy to understand; it’s very clear about who we are and what we’re not. For example, we’re not an engineering design house, we’re not a duty-holder, we’re not in any way focusing on the market for EPIC-type contracts. We’re clearly a fabric maintenance and construction support service provider and that covers a multitude of opportunities.
“The strategy comes back very clearly to, ‘who are we?’, ‘where are we and why?’ – and simple communication.”
There is a view that if a company is poor at communicating externally, it is probably poor at communicating internally. RBG wasn’t that good at communicating its progress to the media, for example.
“The challenge for any CEO, whether an RBG or a BP or whatever, is to have the company’s strategy clearly communicated, clearly understood and to secure the buy-in from the bulk of the people who will deliver that on a day-to-day basis,” says Workman.
“This is entirely a people business. We do have some specialist bits of kit and investment in various items, but the reality is that without the people, RBG cannot perform.
“Don’t forget, offshore, we’re as good as our technicians. If they’re not doing a good job and the offshore installation manager or construction supervisor sees that, then that’s RBG doing a bad job, not Joe the scaffolder.
“So communications are hugely important. Now we’ve changed from not communicating to almost over-communicating. But we have to continue that.”
That said, on his list of things to do, RBG’s CEO wants to make sure that less well known parts of the group get a higher profile.
Examples are the specialist cleaning subsidiary, Aquadyne – apparently the number-one specialist cleaning company – and the group’s heavy involvement in the provision of air diving services in the North Sea, possibly one of the top two.
He has overseas ambitions, too. RBG currently operates out of Houston and Trinidad, Baku and Afghanistan, plus it has a joint venture in Qatar. But there’s a problem. Different offices are offering only parts of what the group can provide.
“We need to be known for all of what we do in our overseas locations.
“The international strategy is pretty clear … to sell more of our capability in more of our locations and to increase the number of locations.”
RBG’s turnover last year was £307million, delivering an EBITDA of £22million. Target sales for this year are just under £340million, which means a 10% increase in sales – plus a significant increase in profits is expected. The projection seems modest.
Workman: “That’s one way of looking at it. We’re coming out of a period where, globally, the business environment has been challenging. I haven’t tested our 2010 targets against others in the industry – nor would I.
“The next 18 months is almost about earning our spurs as a management team – that we can grow in a difficult market; that we’re not just riding the wave of $150 oil; that we are doing our business better, focusing more on our clients, offering more of our services in international locations.
Being CEO of RBG is a simple job, then?
“My kids ask me, ‘Dad, what do you do’. Distil it right down and it’s quite hard to answer. In the world of physical tasks, it’s incredibly difficult to answer.
“I’ve worked it out that my job is to establish and communicate clearly the company’s strategy and, secondly, to ensure that the people who report to me, and the people who report to those individuals, have problems removed that stand in the way of their performing.
“So my job’s actually pretty simple. My daughter said, ‘I can’t believe it’s that easy’.”
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