Up two places on its 2014 performance, Gazprom Neft has won first place in the 2015 Russia’s Best Employers rankings, held by recruitment company HeadHunter.ru and published this year in conjunction with RBK-Daily.

The company has participated in these rankings, as well as the annual HR Brand Awards, since 2012, seeing a consistent improvement in its rankings every year. The company’s “Let’s Do Gemba*!” project won third prize in the “Federation” category in 2015, as well as receiving a special “All About the Client” nomination, awarded for those HR projects showing significant improvement in their client focus. Gazprom Neft will, in 2016, be sponsoring its own nominations category, “New Approaches”, recognising those HR-brand initiatives showing the greatest innovation in HR and recruitment.

The Russia’s Best Employers awards are an annual event, recognised as the most representative and authoritative rankings in Russia, with 900 companies submitting applications last year. Ratings are calculated on the basis of evaluations from jobseekers, HR specialists and current employees.

The HR Brand Awards are an independent annual event from recruitment company HeadHunter, recognising companies’ best work in reputation and brand-building as an employer. Winners are selected through a three-stage process involving a jury and an expert council comprising professionals in business, recruitment, HR consulting, and brand development.

Gazprom Neft CEO Alexander Dyukov commented: “Employment in the oil and gas industry has always attracted the interest of job-seekers. But the fact that Gazprom Neft has, year after year, consistently improved its rankings among the best employers to now be leading them is, without question, the result of a closely focussed HR strategy directed at attracting the best talent available, promoting closer engagement, and improving the working environment and benefits for our employees. Our team is made up of committed professionals, working together on complex and interesting tasks, realising their potential, and developing and implementing new approaches and initiatives — and that is, undoubtedly, a source of pride. Gazprom Neft’s future plans envisage further intensive development, and the achievement of ambitious targets and goals — which will, in no small measure, be the result of the status we enjoy as one of the best employers in the country.”

* “Gemba” is the name given to the Japanese “change-for-the-better” management practice, which holds that understanding a situation demands undergoing “Gemba” — going to the place at which such work is conducted, amassing the facts, and taking a decision there, directly where the work is done .