HR Assessment of Employees in Aramco

This dissertation explores the methods of HR assessment of employees in Aramco and its impact on employee performance and productivity. It discusses the company's brief and rationale, research aims and objectives, research questions, literature review, hypotheses testing, research methodology, findings, and conclusion. The study aims to identify the employee assessment methods utilized by the HR department of Saudi Aramco and their alignment with the company's vision and goals.

Running head: HR ASSESSMENT OF EMPLOYEES IN ARAMCO 1
Dissertation on Saudi Aramco

HR ASSESSMENT OF EMPLOYEES IN ARAMCO 2
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Company Brief and Rationale.....................................................................................................3
Research Aims and Objectives....................................................................................................4
Research Questions......................................................................................................................4
Literature Review............................................................................................................................4
Hypotheses Testing..........................................................................................................................8
Research Methodology..................................................................................................................10
Population and Sample..........................................................................................................10
Data Collection......................................................................................................................10
Findings.........................................................................................................................................12
Discussion......................................................................................................................................32
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................35
Limitations of the research............................................................................................................36
Timeline.........................................................................................................................................36
References......................................................................................................................................38
Appendix........................................................................................................................................42

HR ASSESSMENT OF EMPLOYEES IN ARAMCO 3
Introduction
Company Brief and Rationale
Saudi Aramco, is a Saudi Arabian national petroleum and natural gas company based in
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. In terms of revenue and employability, Saudi Aramco is one of the
largest companies of the world. The company employs thousands of skilled people to work
towards the achievement of the organizational goals (Saudi Aramco, 2019a). The company
operates the oil business from Dhahran but it also has different operations worldwide which
include production, chemicals, refining, distribution, shipping, and marketing (Saudi Aramco,
2019b). The operations are monitored by the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral
Resources and the Supreme Council for Petroleum and Minerals (Shearman & Sterling LLP,
2016). Since Saudi Aramco operated on a larger scale and employs thousands of employees, it
requires the human resource department of the company to conduct proper employee
assessments. The studies conducted in Saudi Arabia with regards to employee assessment
suggest that they are not sufficient to provide a critical analysis and assessment of the process
that are adopted by Saudi Aramco. As opined by Murray & Zhang-Zhang (2018), although the
company has fostered technological advancements, still it has been facing the issues of gender
inequality in the society due to which the company has been incapable of adopting gender
sensitive and affirmative actions from a prolonged time. However, Saudi Aramco has considered
to embrace change in its recruitment policies and hire more women in the company. The
underlying question is the process of assessment of the employees and build a robust structure
that caters to the needs of every individual in the company. Therefore, the report aims to identify
the employee assessment methods utilized byhuman resource department of Saudi Aramco. The
assessment of employees will be based upon their cognition and personality, performance

HR ASSESSMENT OF EMPLOYEES IN ARAMCO 4
standards and levels of motivation that will be assessed by the HR department in alignment with
the vision and goals of the company.
Research Aims and Objectives
 The aim of the research is to identify the human resource assessment of employees’
methods utilized by Saudi Aramco.
 The objective of the research is to conduct a comparative research of the process of
implementation of the methods in Saudi Aramco aligning with relevant literature and
theories.
 The research also examines Saudi Aramco’s utilization or non-utilization of human
resource assessment in improving the levels of overall productivity in the company.
Research Questions
The following research questions have been framed to analyze the use of human resource
assessment in Saudi Aramco:
1. How does employee assessment affect the performance of employees and their
productivity?
2. How does assessment contribute to success of the company?
3. What are the main hurdles faced in conducting employee assessments?
4. How can employee assessment be used in improving the level of productivity at
ARAMCO?
Literature Review
According to Daley (2012), human resources is defined as the department that deals with
a business that is responsible for carrying out work-related things. The department is responsible

HR ASSESSMENT OF EMPLOYEES IN ARAMCO 5
for selecting, vetting, recruiting, training, paying, terminating as well as on boarding employees.
The human resource department is regarded by multiple business strategies in order to remain the
most imperative among other company resources. This helps the employees to accomplish
innovative skills that in turn increases the size of the overall competitive advantage. Noe,
Hollenbeck, Gerhart & Wright (2017) opined that HR is regarded as the one function that most
of the businesses prefers to outsource. It is used to reflect on both the individuals who work for a
company as well as the department that is responsible for managing resources related to
employees. The human resource department deals with both comprehensive as well as strategic
approaches that will help to manage individuals as well as workplace environment. The concept
that underlies human resource management has been responsible for a traditional personnel as
well as administrative tasks. The department is mostly focused on adding value to the strategic
utilization of employees. This in turn makes sure that the employee programs has an impact on
the business in both positive as well as measurable ways (Bonet, Cappelli&Hamori, 2013).
ARAMCO is the company that has been scrutinized in the past due to women empowerment
level. The company was characterized by low number of women employees that resulted due to
traditional aspects that are followed by most of the individuals in Saudi Arabia. As can be seen in
the article by The Economic Times (2019), the operations that are carried out by ARAMCO
mostly deals with enhancing the energy industry that endows the company with the leadership
position in manufacturing crude oil. As stated in Saudi Aramco (2019d), the company has also
invested largely in order to empower women thus including them in the company structure. As
opined by Burke &Richardsen (2016), the empowerment of women in the company has not been
regarded as a unique model to ARAMCO. It has been however adopted by companies on a
global basis in order to raise the diversification level as well as become attractive to the market.

HR ASSESSMENT OF EMPLOYEES IN ARAMCO 6
The Saudi Arabian ARAMCO provides multiple services to enable Saudis to competently lead
towards community engagement. Hollenbeck, Gerhart & Wright (2017) stated that training is a
decisive aspect as far as development of human capital related to an organization is concerned.
As stated by Aldulaimi (2018), ARAMCO is one of the largest companies, its leadership roles
are regarded as considerable areas that requires the company to initiate an informed decision in
order to select employees within the entity that has ability to lead. The human resource
department at ARAMCO is mostly responsible for determining strategies that could be employed
in order to develop investments as well as revenues.
As suggested by Nasser (2012), the company has been witnessing problems related to
rising ageing workforce. The increasing workforce has been affecting the overall productivity
status thus preventing young abilities to participate in the development procedures. The HR
department has been looking forward to become more comprehensive to include two aspects.
The first aspect involves knowledge currency whereas, the second aspect involves chronology.
Tracey, (2016) argued that an ageing workforce initiates owners to decrease the overall wages of
older employees or else terminate them. The added difficulty is that the extra benefits that are
linked to age swell the older employees’ costs labor. Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart & Wright (2017)
argued that the comparative advantage that is related ageing workforce lies mostly in the soft
skills that are possessed by the employees. The practices that are related to age are more inclined
towards to become accurate as compared to the local actuality which the perceiver is exposed to.
According to Dar, Bashir, Ghazanfar&Abrar (2014), the negative generalization that is related to
age among employers has direct impact on their strategies. The HR department has also been
responsible for carrying out a motivational evaluation that is regarded as one of the major types
of assessments. ARAMCO mostly witnesses the issues that are related with working with

HR ASSESSMENT OF EMPLOYEES IN ARAMCO 7
multiple employees who are not productive for the company. The HR resource is responsible for
carrying out performance evaluation that is imperative to maintain an adequate productive level.
This in turn makes sure that every employee provides the best performance to accomplish set of
objectives. The HR resource has also been responsible to develop the best practices that adapt to
the individuals who requires as well as create better methods (Bashir, Ghazanfar&Abrar, 2014).
The organizational evaluation has been equally imperative in order to create a roadmap that
could be used by the human resource department in order to accomplish the requirements of the
company in the long-run. It has been argued that it is imperative to create a professional
employer organization that will undertake a complete responsibility related to all aspects that are
part of the HR operation.
As suggested by Charan, Barton & Carey (2015), in order to conduct businesses through
the employees to achieve the predetermined goals and objectives, companies must recruit people
who are capable of achieving such objectives and adopting various methods that contribute to the
development of employee performance and brings organizational change. There are not many
research conducted in Saudi Arabia with regards to assessment of employee performance and
measures to improve their productivity. As suggested by Alsamman, Aldulaimi&Alsharedah
(2016), Saudi Aramco offers enhanced services that provides Saudis to contribute in the
community engagement, but improving the performance of its employees has become a major
concern in the view of commitment to organizational change. Saudi Aramco is one of the leading
companies in Saudi Arabia but it lacks awareness among its employees with regards to internal
procedures, and assessment and training evaluation methods. Few of the researchers have
identified that the company should support organizational change that will eventually bring
innovation and diversity within the company. Companies nowadays encounter the inevitability of

HR ASSESSMENT OF EMPLOYEES IN ARAMCO 8
the increasing competitive stress and therefore requires ways to survive in the long run.
Therefore, the investment should be directed towards human capital in a way that assures the
recruitment of a better workforce and assessing them develop their efficiency contribution to
support the organizational change.
Hypotheses Testing
1. Employee assessment, when done right, improves employee performance.
The concerned hypothesis focuses on the exploration of the employee assessment benefits which
could be gained by the organization for adding on to its productivity and output. It has been
stated that the employee assessment could help in gaining employee performance if it’s done
accurately and in the correct path. This testing would help in understanding the reasons for
opting for the employee assessment within an organization. Employee performance improvement
would help in adding on to the productivity of the organization and create more output and
profits.
2. Assessment incentivizes performance, while also showing the employees where they may
be going wrong
The performance incentives needs to be checked accurately and minor so that the employees
could be provided on with the mistakes or the loopholes which they have been carrying and thus,
it could actually be beneficial for the company and for the employee to move towards the
improvement path. The hypothesis would provide the concept of performance incentive and the
benefits that that company could gain through applying it.
3. a. Lack of integrity in self-reporting limits the accuracy of the assessment
Including integrity within the employees could actually be helpful for the company as this would
add on to the culture and the environment of the company. Enhancement of the environment and

HR ASSESSMENT OF EMPLOYEES IN ARAMCO 9
the organization would have an impact on the employees as a whole which could actually work
in favor of the company. This hypothesis would be make the research wide and broad. Self
integration would help in adding on to the professionalism characteristic which would provide
authentic feasibility to the organization.
b. Some HR departments barely have the time for a thorough assessment
This hypothesis would reveal the time that the HR departments spent on the employee
assessment and the results which they gain through it. On testing that the HR department has
been spending huge time on assessment and the department who are spending less time their
experiences would reveal the hypothesis to be accepted or rejected. The HR department has to
be accurate and carry the knowledge of assessing the employees in feasible manner.
c. Un-customized assessments do not consider the individual needs and capabilities of
the employee
The un-customized assessments compared on to the customized assessments would provide the
actual benefit that the company could gain through creating a balance between the two. The
hypothesis testing would help in understanding the capabilities of the employees and understand
the portions where it could actually needs to work.
d. Limited knowledge on how to conduct an effective assessment can impede the
outcome of the assessment
The skill of the HR department needs to be checked on a regular basis as this would help in
meeting an accuracy in the works executed by them that is the employee assessment and other
acknowledgements. The hypothesis would provide the research with an informative conduction
and thus the relevance of the hypothesis would be proved.
e. Employees who cannot take criticism cannot benefit from an assessment

HR ASSESSMENT OF EMPLOYEES IN ARAMCO 10
The employee’s needs to be checked on the level of criticism and their ability to take criticism
which could help the company in gaining the number of employees who has a positive attitude
and thus the environment and the culture of the organization would be impacted.
4. Effective assessment practices inspire and motivate employees to do better.
The accuracy of the assessment should be quite accurate as this would help in motivate the
employees to work in the respective areas and thus, develop thoroughly and intensively. The
hypothesis would bring on the information on the importance of effective assessment.
Research Methodology
Population and Sample
The research focuses on collecting data from employees of the company Saudi Aramco in
Saudi Arabia. However, the focus was on examining the human resource department and the
methods used by the company for employee assessment. In order to satisfy the aims and
objectives of the research simple random sampling is used to reach to the employees of the
company. The major sampling criteria of the research was the individual factors influencing
Saudi Aramco significantly. The rationale behind analyzing the factors is to understand the main
components and significant processes that are essential for Saudi Aramco Company. Since the
research has focused on only Saudi Aramco, the sample has been restricted to only the
employees and the HR department of the company.
Data Collection
The research has utilized the mix of both qualitative and quantitative data collection
methods of research methodology. The qualitative research has been drawn from the relevant
literature and reports of the Saudi government as well as information from the company website.

HR ASSESSMENT OF EMPLOYEES IN ARAMCO 11
The reports of the Saudi Aramco company shows that in the year 2017 there were more than
70,000 employees in the company. According to the recruitment process of Saudi Aramco, the
company has been straightforward in recruiting the best possible human resources that aim to
contribute to the productivity of the company. The company looks for trained professionals who
are educated to degree level with 5-10 years of experience. The recruitment process starts with
the accepting application of the candidates and interviewing them in the next step. The interview
process includes either face-to-face interviews or video conferencing. The selected candidates
are given the offer by Aramco Services Company (ASC), Aramco Overseas Company UK (AOC
UK) on behalf of Aramco. As per the offer, the employees must agree to the conditions provided
by the company. The Vision 2030 reports states that Saudi Aramco is on the way of evolving
itself as a global company and as Saudi Arabia diversifies, the company will also diversify itself
(Saudi Aramco, 2019c).
The quantitative research has been utilized to examine the data collected from the
research. The data has been collected from the company employees which are stratified and
tested by use of relevant statistical tools. The primary data was collected through survey and
interview questionnaires designed for the employees of the company. Employees were provided
with online questionnaires which will comprise of questions related to the assessment programs
and methods used by Saudi Aramco. The survey questionnaire was sent to 300 employees of the
company that was later narrowed down to 125 questionnaires which were randomly selected.
The interview was conducted on 3 employees of the Human Resources Department of Saudi
Aramco through teleconferencing or Skype to complete the process quickly. The questionnaires
prepared were structured with closed-ended questions. The respondents self-completed the
questionnaire which were distributed to them online. The link for the survey questionnaire was

HR ASSESSMENT OF EMPLOYEES IN ARAMCO 12
sent on their emails and all the respondents attempted the survey questions. The questionnaires
were immediately translated and feedback from employees were taken to understand their
concerns. The interview on the 3 employees were conducted by use of a structured interview
questionnaire which comprised of closed-ended questions. This helped to understand the
methods used by the company to assess the performance and productivity of the employees.
The secondary data was collected by use of information from Saudi Aramco’s website, its
annual reports, labor turnover reports, current employees in the company, and their recruitment
processes. Relevant literature on the previous findings of the company’s measure to assess the
performance of its employees have been analyzed. This has helped to conduct the research
appropriately. The questionnaires were modified at times to insure the appropriate meaning of
the questions, the reliability and validity of the questionnaire. The literature review has been
written by use of company data, relevant reports from Saudi Arabia, use of scholarly articles,
journals, news articles, annual reports to understand on the employee assessment methods used
by the company Saudi Aramco and reach at a conclusion from the various data identified.
Various research articles and scholarly authors have opined on the various process of
implementation of employee assessment methods in other Saudi Arabian companies. The
relevant literature and theories have highlighted the effective utilization of Human Resource
assessment in improving the productivity levels of employees as well as the company. By this
research, it has been analyzed that all the company has gained technological advancements and
excellency in its field of expertise, it still has prevailing issues of employability according to the
gender. However, as stated by Rahman &Alsharqi (2019), Saudi Aramco has a vision to bring
changes and its recruitment policies and build a healthy environment within the company.
Findings

HR ASSESSMENT OF EMPLOYEES IN ARAMCO 13
Quantitative Data
Primary Data Collected
Survey Questionnaire
Demographic Questions
Question 1
Choose your age group.
Age Number of
Respondents
Percentage of
Respondents
Total number of
respondents
18-25 25 20 125
26-36 60 48 125
37-47 40 32 125
Graphical Representation
Number of
Respondents
Percentage of
Respondents
Total number of
respondents
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
37-47
26-36
18-25

HR ASSESSMENT OF EMPLOYEES IN ARAMCO 14
Question 2
Choose your gender.
Gender Number of
Respondents
Percentage of
Respondents
Total number of
respondents
Male 80 64 125
Female 45 36 125
Graphical Representation
Number of
Respondents
Percentage of
Respondents
Total number of
respondents
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
Female
Male
Hypotheses Testing
Employee assessment, when done right, improves employee performance.
Question 3

HR ASSESSMENT OF EMPLOYEES IN ARAMCO 15
What period of interval should be practiced in ARAMCO for employee assessment in order to
increase employee performance?
Interval Number of
Respondents
Percentage of
Respondents
Total number of
respondents
6 months 10 8 125
12 months 60 48 125
18 months 35 28 125
Above 18 months 20 16 125
Graphical Representation
6 months 12 months 18 months Above 18
months
0
50
100
150
200
250
Total number of
respondents
Percentage of
Respondents
Number of Respondents
Question 4
Employee assessment would result in adding on to the productivity of the company as a whole.
Reply Number of Percentage of Total number of

HR ASSESSMENT OF EMPLOYEES IN ARAMCO 16
Respondents Respondents respondents
Strongly Agree 50 40 125
Agree 30 24 125
Disagree 20 16 125
Strongly Disagree 25 20 125
Graphical Representation
Strongly
Agree
Agree Disagree Strongly
Disagree
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
Number of Respondents
Percentage of
Respondents
Total number of
respondents
Analysis
The results or the findings of the data collected through the survey, it has been revealed
that the productivity of the employees of ARAMCO could be increased through taking on
employee assessment on an yearly basis that is 12 months bass as it gained about 48% of
respondents agreement while it has also been revealed through the survey of 125 employees of
the company that the overall productivity of the company could be increased through the
conduction of employee assessment. About 50% of the respondents carry a view that the

HR ASSESSMENT OF EMPLOYEES IN ARAMCO 17
employee assessment could actually be productive for the company. The hypothesis that the
employee assessment could actually add on to the productivity if it is executed well and thus the
hypothesis mentioned is a null hypothesis.
Assessment incentivizes performance, while also showing the employees where they may be
going wrong
Question 5
Does ARAMCO provides the performance incentives on a regular basis?
Reply Number of
Respondents
Percentage of
Respondents
Total number of
respondents
Yes 70 56 125
No 55 44 125
Graphical Representation

HR ASSESSMENT OF EMPLOYEES IN ARAMCO 18
Number of
Respondents
Percentage of
Respondents
Total number of
respondents
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
No
Yes
Question 6
ARAMCO should provide the performance incentives along with marking and pointing out the
areas of improvement to achieve excellence?
Reply Number of
Respondents
Percentage of
Respondents
Total number of
respondents
Strongly Agree 50 40 125
Agree 30 24 125
Disagree 20 16 125
Strongly Disagree 25 20 125
Graphical Representation

HR ASSESSMENT OF EMPLOYEES IN ARAMCO 19
Strongly
Agree
Agree Disagree Strongly
Disagree
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
Number of Respondents
Percentage of
Respondents
Total number of
respondents
Analysis
The second hypothesis which conveys that the assessments should also mark on to the
areas of improved along with the incentives, which has been checked on through the two vital
questions. The foremost reveals that ARAMCO provides performance incentives to its
employees on a regular basis which favors the productivity of the company. About 70% of the
respondents agree to it and the employees have been satisfied with the incentives is also
acknowledged. As per Brougham and Haar (2017), the second question reveals the positive
attitude that the employees of the concerned company holds that is they agree to the fact that the
employees should be acknowledged about the areas of improvement while they get the
incentives as this would help them in growing. 50% of the respondents has agreed to this view.
The hypothesis has been null hypothesis and no alternatives has been provided.
a. Lack of integrity in self-reporting limits the accuracy of the assessment
Question 7
How has ARAMCO maintained the integrity in self-reports by the employees?

HR ASSESSMENT OF EMPLOYEES IN ARAMCO 20
Measure Number of
Respondents
Percentage of
Respondents
Total number of
respondents
Providing
performance
incentives
30 24 125
Being Loyal to
employees
30 24 125
Through Employee
Legislation
30 24 125
Motivating the
employees
35 28 125
Graphical Representation
24%
24%
24%
28%
Providing performance
incentives
Being Loyal to employees
Through Employee
Legislation
Motivating the employees
Analysis

HR ASSESSMENT OF EMPLOYEES IN ARAMCO 21
ARAMCO has been one of the companies which has maintained the integrity within its
employees through the inclusion of factors and actions which has been injecting integrity within
its employees. The survey reveals that ARAMCO has been taken up the actions of providing
performance incentives, being loyal to the employees, framing employee legislation favoring the
employees and motivating the employees to stay committed to the organization, these actions has
gained the respondents feedback with almost on the same percentage mark that is 24% for the
former three factors and 28% for the last one. This reveals that the hypothesis has been met and
it is a null hypothesis too.
Some HR departments barely have the time for a thorough assessment
Question 8
Does ARAMCO Human Resource Department spends sufficient time for employee’s
assessment?
Reply Number of
Respondents
Percentage of
Respondents
Total number of
respondents
Yes 60 48 125
No 50 40 125
Neutral 15 12 125
Graphical Representation

HR ASSESSMENT OF EMPLOYEES IN ARAMCO 22
Number of
Respondents
Percentage of
Respondents
Total number of
respondents
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
Yes
No
Neutral
Analysis
The concerned hypothesis which conveys that the human resource departments do not
spend much time on the employee assessment is an alternate hypothesis as ARAMCO has
proved it so. As per Nikolaou and Oostrom (2017), the survey of the 125 employees of the
company revealed that the company’s HRM department has been exploring and assessing the
employees on an accurate basis to which about 48% of the respondents agree and this proves that
the employee assessment is taken quite seriously in this company. Thus, the hypothesis is
alternative in nature.
Un-customized assessments do not consider the individual needs and capabilities of the
employee
Question 9
ARAMCO follows customized or un-customized employee assessment.

HR ASSESSMENT OF EMPLOYEES IN ARAMCO 23
Reply Number of
Respondents
Percentage of
Respondents
Total number of
respondents
Customized 45 36 125
Un-customized 80 64 125
Graphical Representation
Number of
Respondents
Percentage of
Respondents
Total number of
respondents
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
Customized
Un-customized
Question 10
Has the un-customization feature of employee assessment been productive and successful in
nature?
Reply Number of
Respondents
Percentage of
Respondents
Total number of
respondents
Immensely 50 40 125

HR ASSESSMENT OF EMPLOYEES IN ARAMCO 24
Productive
Productive 30 24 125
Unproductive 20 16 125
Highly Unproductive 25 20 125
Graphical Representation
Immensely Productive
Productive
Unproductive
Highly Unproductive
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
Number of Respondents
Percentage of Respondents
Total number of respondents
Analysis
The consideration of individual needs and capabilities of the employee leads to
customized assessment has been the hypothesis which has been proved wrong through the
analysis of the ARAMCO employee’s survey. The survey reveals that the concerned company
practices the un-customized employee assessment which scores for about 64% of the respondents
and the remaining 36% conveys that the company follows the customized one. According to
Qaziet al. (2015), this reveals that the company has a mixed approach and for some employees it
actually customizes the assessment that is for the weak and the new employees who needs a

HR ASSESSMENT OF EMPLOYEES IN ARAMCO 25
close overview in order to understand their capabilities and incapability while the experienced
employees are assessed through the un-customized practice which focuses mainly on the
improvement of the employee as a whole and has the capability of understanding the actions of
the company. Thus the concerned hypothesis proves to be alternative hypothesis for ARAMCO
in some art while it also acts as a null hypothesis for a particular part.
Limited knowledge on how to conduct an effective assessment can impede the outcome of the
assessment
Question 11
The employee assessment requires some highly skilled HRM department?
Reply Number of
Respondents
Percentage of
Respondents
Total number of
respondents
Strongly Agree 60 48 125
Agree 40 32 125
Disagree 10 8 125
Strongly Disagree 15 12 125
Graphical Representation

HR ASSESSMENT OF EMPLOYEES IN ARAMCO 26
Analysis
The employees of the company carries a view that the HRM department needs to have
some skilled and knowledgeable person for assessing the employee’s performance and
capabilities. The assessment needs to be conducted by some educated and highly skilled person
carried a 60% vote by the respondents and about40% of the respondents agreed to it. As per
Readeret al. (2017), this also reflects that the concerned company has been utilizing or practicing
this phenomenon because of which the employees of the company has been carrying this
perspective. The hypothesis has been proved to be null as it has been proved that the limited
knowledge on how to conduct and effective assessment can impede the outcome of the
assessment.
Employees who cannot take criticism cannot benefit from an assessment
Question 12
Positive attitude towards criticism is the ladder to excellence and success?
Reply Number of Percentage of Total number of
Strongly
Agree
Agree Disagree Strongly
Disagree
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
Number of Respondents
Percentage of Respondents
Total number of
respondents

HR ASSESSMENT OF EMPLOYEES IN ARAMCO 27
Respondents Respondents respondents
Strongly Agree 40 32 125
Agree 30 24 125
Disagree 30 24 125
Strongly Disagree 25 20 125
Graphical Representation
Strongly
Agree
Agree Disagree Strongly
Disagree
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
Number of Respondents
Percentage of Respondents
Total number of respondents
Analysis
The employees of the AMARCO has been observed to be quite positively charged that is
they carry a sense of positive attitude towards criticism which has been the main ingredient for
their intense and increasing productivity. According to Cohen (2017), the hypothesis is that
employees who are not able to take criticism cannot benefit from the assessment has been agreed
to by about 32% of the respondents strongly while 24% agrees to it. This percentage of response

HR ASSESSMENT OF EMPLOYEES IN ARAMCO 28
reveals the perspective or the mind-set of the employees of the company and thus, the hypothesis
has been proved to be null.
Effective assessment practices inspire and motivate employees to do better.
Question 13
ARAMCO employees has been productive through effective assessment practices or some other
measures?
Measures Number of
Respondents
Percentage of
Respondents
Total number of
respondents
Motivational
Practices
30 24 125
Organizational
Culture
40 32 125
Environment of the
organization
20 16 125
Employees
Assessments
35 28 125
Graphical Representation

HR ASSESSMENT OF EMPLOYEES IN ARAMCO 29
24%
32%
16%
28%
Motivational Practices
Organizational Culture
Environment of the
organization
Employees Assessments
Analysis
Through acknowledging the behavior of the ARAMCO employees by the survey
responses, it has been revealed that the company has been providing number of factors to the
employees for adding to their productivity. As per Tippinset al (2017), though employee
assessment has been a part of those factors, but it cannot be said that employee assessment could
alone add on to the employee productivity and performance. The factors included motivational
practices, organizational culture, and environment of the organization and lastly the employee
assessment with the percentage of respondents being 24, 32, 16 and 28 respectively. This
conveys that the hypothesis is partially met in the company that is it is null hypothesis for the
company partially but hugely it’s an alternative hypothesis.
Qualitative Data Collected
Primary Data Collected
Interview of three employees of HRM Department of ARAMCO

HR ASSESSMENT OF EMPLOYEES IN ARAMCO 30
Question 1
How do you assess your employees and provide them with the required incentives (promotions,
monetary terms, others)?
Answer
The company has been working in favor of its employees and has always carried a view
that if employees are satisfied then the company could add on to its productivity and quality. The
employees has been assessed through both the measures that is customized and un-customized
measures. The customized method is used for acknowledging the fresher’s and the new
employees of the company which helps in understanding their capabilities and inabilities ad thus
plan for their future. This method has helped the company in gaining many productive
employees while the un-customized assessment is used for the experienced and high profile
employees where the overall consideration of the development of the team is done and not of
individuals. These tools of assessment has helped the company in maintaining the employee
satisfaction and achieving higher goals.
Question 2
What tools and techniques of employee assessment has been utilized by the company and how
effective it has been?
Answer
AMARCO has utilized multiple tools of employee assessment but the one which worked
out really well and productive was the distribution of the forms where the employees were asked
to assess their own selves through answering the five questions stated in the form. This tool

HR ASSESSMENT OF EMPLOYEES IN ARAMCO 31
helped the company in inculcating the idea of self-criticism and the ability to develop the
positive attitude towards criticism. As when the person would criticize one own self then he
would not be offended to it and a positive aspect would get developed. The form was later
acknowledged thoroughly and the output it provided and on the basis of the result of the
acknowledgement the incentives were provided which gained almost every employees views.
This revealed that the tool utilized was quite effective and it could be taken up by other
organizations too.
Question 3
What would you recommend other organizations for including employee assessment as one of
the important tasks of the organization to be carried out?
Answer
The organizations should take up their employees as one of the important and the most
vital tool of the organization which could actually lead the organization towards its goals and
objectives if they are provided with the accurate and on time incentives. The employees needs to
be recognized and the platform for recognition has to be provided by the organization.
Employment assessment is one such tool which could lead in the acceleration of the productivity
of the employees. But it’s not the only factor, along with it the motivational programs, the
organizational culture and the environment of the organization needs to be maintained too. These
factors together provide a platform to the employee to work and be committed to the
organization.
Overall Analysis

HR ASSESSMENT OF EMPLOYEES IN ARAMCO 32
The interview helped in understanding the perspective and the vision that the AMACO
HRM department carries and executes in the organization. This has revealed that the company
considers its employees as a vital ingredient of its success and follows the view that if the
productivity and the output of the company is to be raised the employees of the company needs
to be satisfied. As per Noeet al (2017), the sustaining characteristic of the employees depends on
the output that the organization provides to its employees and his has been rightly followed by
the concerned company. The company has been providing its employees with multiple programs
and trainings which help them grow personally as well as professionally and hence, the
employee’s sustainability increases. The sustainability feature also reveals the employment
satisfaction which is linked to the employee’s assessment and thus, the concerned company has
been exploiting these factors thoroughly which has proved the company to be one of the
successful ones in Arab.
Secondary Data Analysis: Thematic
Theme: To conduct a comparative research of how the methods implemented at ARAMCO align
with the literature or theories
The primary and the most vital theme of the research has been to provide a comparison of
the application of the theories and the relevant models of HRM practices in AMARCO. This has
been met through the research as has been stated by Shieldset al. (2015), that one of the main
forms of assessment is cognitive and personality assessment where employees are assessed on
their knowledge and intelligence levels. This is mainly conducted in the recruitment and training
phase where employees are taken through tests to measure their acumen and capacity to work at
the company. According to Fernandezet al. (2015), the leadership and the management of the
organization needs to consider number of factors and the employees of the company as a whole

HR ASSESSMENT OF EMPLOYEES IN ARAMCO 33
which adds on to the pressure of the leaders. The employee assessment could be one of the
measures which could actually reduce the pressure on the management and the leaders as the HR
department would provide the zest of the employee which could be utilized by the management
and the leader for allocating them the concerned work or responsibility. As per Zhang and Rong
(2015), the accuracy of the allotment of the works would get enhanced through this practice and
thus, the acceleration in the activities along with the output would be achieved. As per Mohan
and Sudarsan (2018), employee assessment along with the other programs and considerations
could help the organization in meeting up its goals and objectives which creates an impression
on the employees too, that the organization is working in their favor or towards their
developments. This helps the employees in staying committed to the organization and hence the
sustainability of the organizational gets enhanced and receives a balance.
Discussion
The findings of the research were analyze from the survey questionnaire and interview
questionnaire used to identify the human resource assessment of employees’ methods utilized by
Saudi Aramco. As per the objectives of the research, a comparative research of the process of
methods implemented in Saudi Aramco are required to be aligned with relevant literature on the
company. The research was conducted to identify performance of employees by use of employee
assessment and how does it contribute to the overall success of the company. The analysis from
the survey questionnaire of the demographic features state that the use of employee assessment
hi shown significant of the employees of Aramco. The survey conducted on 125 employees
suggest that the company should focus more on better employee assessment methods and
techniques. Therefore, the hypothesis created is a null hypothesis since the employees were in
favor of improvement in productivity by use of employee assessment methods.

HR ASSESSMENT OF EMPLOYEES IN ARAMCO 34
The second hypothesis reveals that Aramco employee incentives on a regular basis which
helps in retain their work force. It was also analyzed that the employees needed to be recognized
for the work done and areas of improvement should be highlighted which would help them to
grow. 70% of the respondents of the survey questionnaires agreed that good incentive structure is
a motivational factor for them. The hypothesis has been null hypothesis and therefore no
alternatives were provided. Since employees are the most important assets of any company,
Aramco has been maintaining integrity within its employees. Therefore, the survey conducted
shows that the company providing performance incentives, framing policies that are employee
friendly, addressing the needs of employees, by analyzing the motivating factors that helps
employees to stay committed to the company. The results from the hypothesis state that it is a
null hypothesis.
The hypothesis created for knowing the reasons for HR departments to spend sufficient
time for a thorough assessment shows that they are unable to spend much time. Therefore, the
alternative hypothesis has been proved here. However, the survey conducted on the employees’
show that 48% of them agree to the fact that employee assessment is taken seriously in Saudi
Aramco thereby stating that the hypothesis is alternative. Aramco's employee survey suggests
that 64% of the respondents have faced un-customized employee assessment 36% of them have
followed the customized assessment. This shows that the concerned hypothesis has been
alternative in some parts and null hypothesis in some parts.
The HR department should hold sufficient knowledge of use of appropriate methods of
employee assessment which would determine their current performance and capabilities. The
results show that 40% of the respondents were in favor of employee assessment by an educated
and skilled HR personnel. The hypothesis created has been null in this case and proves that if HR

HR ASSESSMENT OF EMPLOYEES IN ARAMCO 35
managers have insufficient knowledge on conducting employee assessment, it can affect the
outcome of the assessment.
The findings also show that employees who are able to positively take criticism has
improved and contributed to the overall productivity of the company. 32% of the respondents
agree on this strongly while 24% of them just agreed to it. This shows the perspective of the
employees and proves the hypothesis null. The results revealed that the company has provided
various factors that has led to improvement in the productivity of the employees. Out of all the
factors, employee assessment reason for improvement in the productivity and therefore this
conveys that the hypothesis has been made partially. All the result show it is a null hypothesis
but it seems to be an alternative hypothesis. The qualitative data were collected by use of
interview questionnaire on HR department of Saudi Aramco. The overall findings from the
interview highlights the vision of the company and the primary goals the HR department follows.
The company has considered employees as the most important assets. It also understands the fact
that satisfied and motivated employee will contribute better in the company as compared to an
unsatisfied employee. It can be analyzed that Saudi Aramco has been considerate in providing
training sessions and programs for the growth of its employees and build their professional
career. This is a major factor for employee retention.
The secondary data analysis has identified that cognitive and personality assessment as
one of the most important forms of assessment. This assesses the knowledge and intelligence
level of employees. As suggested by Teymourzadeh, et. al. (2016), thematic analysis is very
common in companies while their recruitment and training process. Multiple tests are conducted
to measure the capability of employees at the time recruitment process in the companies. The
management of any company is bound to serve its employees and therefore there is a rising

HR ASSESSMENT OF EMPLOYEES IN ARAMCO 36
pressure on the management. The use of employee assessment can significantly reduce the
pressure from the HR department as well as the top management. Inculcating employee
assessment, various other programs and training sessions can be beneficial not only for a fresher
but also for the senior employees so that the company can understand the performance and
productivity level of each employee. This can be seen as a positive impact on the overall
productivity of the company and provide better opportunities in the long run.
Conclusion
The company Saudi Aramco has been a prominent leader in the Saudi Arabian market
which aims to put considerable efforts to transform its current position into a better future. The
company will seek to change and expand into areas that will not only make the business more
agile but also lead a better future for its employees. The company is to become technologically
equipped and make itself as a knowledge-driven organization. The findings from this research
suggest that company should enhance its organizational commitment of their employees. This
research indicated that employing assessment for employees enhances the sense of belonging and
loyalty among employees towards the organization. Thus, in this view, the HR department could
create an environment that provides interactive training sessions and performance assessment
tests for employees. The research also revealed there is a weaker relationship between the
employers and its employees. But the research also highlights that continuous efforts made by
employees could be achieved by provision of rewards and benefits which acts as a great
motivational factor for employees. Therefore it can be concluded that, Saudi Aramco utilizes
human resource assessment in improving the levels of productivity in the company but it should
put greater efforts to assess the performance of its employees and how they can contribute to the
success of the company. Although the human resource department at Saudi Aramco is

HR ASSESSMENT OF EMPLOYEES IN ARAMCO 37
responsible for framing strategies for the overall development and revenue generation, it should
also consider issues like employability on the basis of demographics of the population.
Limitations of the research
The limitation of the research was with collecting the data and information from a larger
population. Since there were 300 respondents which was narrowed down to 125 still accounted
as a big number. The research was not conducted in the main offices and therefore it was
difficult to collect information from multiple offices of the company. However, this issue was
resolved by preparing a structured survey and interview questionnaire that comprised of
questions in alignment with the aims and objectives of the research. The questionnaires were sent
through emails and lesser number of people were selected from the Human Resources
department which it made it easier to gather the information required. Since there were lack of
sufficient records and information on the company Saudi Aramco’s human resources department,
it became a challenge to procure the relevant data. In addition to that, there is a lack of
information available on Saudi Arabia’s human resources which posed a major challenge.
Although there were lack of information on the human resources of Saudi Arabia, an in-depth
research has been attempted than can be utilized for further research. The permissions with
regards to conducting interviews on the employees were taken from the company management
prior to the research.
Timeline
Activity Timeline
Create a roadmap for the research 3days
Make a site visit to gain permission to conduct 2days

HR ASSESSMENT OF EMPLOYEES IN ARAMCO 38
research on AMARCO
Assess and compile different departments in the
company
1day
Draft questions for the questionnaires 1day
Feedback for the questionnaires 5days
Interviews with Human resource staff 1day
Sampling and tabulation of all data collected 3days
Compute the data and conduct and analysis 5days
First report of the draft 10days
Final report 8days

HR ASSESSMENT OF EMPLOYEES IN ARAMCO 39
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HR ASSESSMENT OF EMPLOYEES IN ARAMCO 44
Appendix
Survey Questionnaire
1. Choose your age group.
Age Number of
Respondents
Percentage of
Respondents
Total number of
respondents
18-25 125
26-36 125
37-47 125
2. Choose your gender.
Gender Number of
Respondents
Percentage of
Respondents
Total number of
respondents
Male 125
Female 125
3. What period of interval should be practiced in ARAMCO for employee assessment in
order to increase employee performance?
Interval Number of
Respondents
Percentage of
Respondents
Total number of
respondents
6 months 125
12 months 125
18 months 125
Above 18 months 125
4. Employee assessment would result in adding on to the productivity of the company as a
whole.
Reply Number of Percentage of Total number of

HR ASSESSMENT OF EMPLOYEES IN ARAMCO 45
Respondents Respondents respondents
Strongly Agree 125
Agree 125
Disagree 125
Strongly Disagree 125
5. Does ARAMCO provides the performance incentives on a regular basis?
Reply Number of
Respondents
Percentage of
Respondents
Total number of
respondents
Yes 125
No 125
6. ARAMCO should provide the performance incentives along with marking and pointing
out the areas of improvement to achieve excellence?
Reply Number of
Respondents
Percentage of
Respondents
Total number of
respondents
Strongly Agree 125
Agree 125
Disagree 125
Strongly Disagree 125
7. How has ARAMCO maintained the integrity in self-reports by the employees?
Measure Number of
Respondents
Percentage of
Respondents
Total number of
respondents
Providing
performance
incentives
125
Being Loyal to
employees
125
Through Employee 125

HR ASSESSMENT OF EMPLOYEES IN ARAMCO 46
Legislation
Motivating the
employees
125
8. Does ARAMCO Human Resource Department spends sufficient time for employee’s
assessment?
Reply Number of
Respondents
Percentage of
Respondents
Total number of
respondents
Yes 125
No 125
Neutral 125
9. ARAMCO follows customized or un-customized employee assessment.
Reply Number of
Respondents
Percentage of
Respondents
Total number of
respondents
Customized 125
Un-customized 125
10. Has the un-customization feature of employee assessment been productive and successful
in nature?
Reply Number of
Respondents
Percentage of
Respondents
Total number of
respondents
Immensely
Productive
125
Productive 125
Unproductive 125
Highly Unproductive 125
11. The employee assessment requires some highly skilled HRM department?
Reply Number of Percentage of Total number of

HR ASSESSMENT OF EMPLOYEES IN ARAMCO 47
Respondents Respondents respondents
Strongly Agree 125
Agree 125
Disagree 125
Strongly Disagree 125
12. Positive attitude towards criticism is the ladder to excellence and success?
Reply Number of
Respondents
Percentage of
Respondents
Total number of
respondents
Strongly Agree 125
Agree 125
Disagree 125
Strongly Disagree 125
13. ARAMCO employees has been productive through effective assessment practices or
some other measures?
Measures Number of
Respondents
Percentage of
Respondents
Total number of
respondents
Motivational
Practices
125
Organizational
Culture
125
Environment of the
organization
125
Employees
Assessments
125

HR ASSESSMENT OF EMPLOYEES IN ARAMCO 48