ADNOC's Culture Renovation Programme Boosts Employee Engagement by 7%

The situation

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), one of the world's largest integrated energy companies, faced significant internal challenges that threatened both operational efficiency and workforce retention. The organisation struggled with hierarchical bottlenecks that slowed decision-making, fragmented communication channels that left employees disconnected, and widespread disengagement across its workforce. These structural and cultural issues created friction within the company and risked undermining its competitive position in a demanding global energy sector.

Leadership recognised that addressing these problems required more than incremental adjustments. The company needed a fundamental shift in how it operated—one that would flatten unnecessary hierarchies, improve information flow, and reconnect employees to the organisation's mission and values. The goal was clear: transform ADNOC into a workplace where employees felt empowered, leaders drove meaningful change, and business outcomes directly reflected the strength of its people.

The approach

In response, ADNOC launched the Culture Renovation Programme, a comprehensive initiative designed to reshape the organisation's internal environment. The programme was built on three core pillars: creating a safe and empowering workplace, equipping leaders with the skills and mindset to champion cultural change, and establishing direct connections between employee outcomes and business performance.

The scale of the undertaking was substantial. ADNOC engaged over 45,000 employees in the programme, ensuring that cultural transformation reached across the entire organisation rather than remaining confined to senior management. To amplify the programme's reach and authenticity, the company appointed more than 150 culture influencers—employees at various levels who could model new behaviours, communicate the programme's principles, and help embed cultural change within their teams and departments.

What happened

The results of the Culture Renovation Programme were measurable and significant. Employee engagement rose from 67 per cent in 2022 to 74 per cent in 2024, surpassing the global energy sector benchmark of 70 per cent. This improvement reflected a genuine shift in how employees perceived their workplace and their role within it.

Leadership effectiveness also improved substantially, climbing from 60 per cent to 74 per cent over the same period. This gain indicated that managers and senior staff were successfully adopting new approaches to leading teams and driving organisational priorities. Recognition scores—a key indicator of whether employees felt valued and appreciated—increased from 56 per cent to 83 per cent, suggesting that the programme had successfully fostered a more positive and affirming workplace culture.

93% of staff acknowledged ADNOC's progress in building a positive culture. — ADNOC's 2024 Engagement Survey

Beyond engagement metrics, the programme delivered tangible business benefits. Innovation submissions grew by 28 per cent, indicating that employees felt more comfortable proposing ideas and contributing to problem-solving. Perhaps most notably, health, safety, and environment (HSE) incidents fell by 27 per cent, delivering both a safer workplace and significant cost savings through reduced incidents and associated expenses.

The takeaway

ADNOC's experience demonstrates that comprehensive cultural transformation programmes, when properly resourced and widely implemented, can drive substantial improvements across multiple dimensions of organisational performance. The company's success in raising employee engagement above global benchmarks, strengthening leadership effectiveness, and reducing safety incidents shows that cultural change is not merely a human resources concern—it directly influences business outcomes.

The key to ADNOC's results lay in the scale and structure of the initiative. By engaging the entire workforce of over 45,000 employees and leveraging 150 culture influencers as agents of change, the company ensured that transformation was not imposed from above but embedded throughout the organisation. The programme's focus on connecting people outcomes to business performance meant that cultural improvements translated into measurable gains in innovation, safety, and operational efficiency.

For organisations facing similar challenges—hierarchical constraints, communication fragmentation, and employee disengagement—ADNOC's approach offers a credible model. Addressing culture requires sustained commitment, clear structural support, and mechanisms to engage employees at scale. When these elements align, the results extend far beyond engagement surveys to include improved safety, greater innovation, and stronger business performance.