Twenty years with Omega

Published: 18.04.12

Årstein Ånensen was bored at work one day in 1992 when the phone rang and an, until then, unknown company called Omega offered him a job. Back then, Omega didn’t have an organized program of teambuildings or holiday houses to attract him, but he took a chance on Omega and has not regretted the choice for a second. Today, he is one of our 20-year veterans.

As we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the establishment of Omega, a handful of veterans mark their 20-year jubilee in the company. Among them is Årstein Ånensen. Even now, with a healthy balance on his Advantage account, Årstein admits that his decision to stick with Omega for 20 years has been based on more than exciting offers of teambuildings and holiday houses.

“The people and the great atmosphere at Omega has been the deciding factor. And, it has also become something of an honor to be an Omega man in the field. Up until 1992, I had moved back and forth between various employers, but for the last 20 years I haven’t considered changing jobs once.”

Number 17

The plumber from Karmøy, on the West coast of Norway, graduated from Technical School and wound up in the oil industry as a Field Engineer. He received a welcome phone call from a former colleague from the Mongstad Terminal, and Omega consultant, Tor Erling Lunde in July 1992.

After the phone call from Omega in 1992, canging jobs has not been an option for Årstein Ånensen. In 2012 he is one of our veterans after twenty years of Omega service.

“I was at work, a bit bored actually, on Ekofisk when Tor Erling called me and said he wanted me to join Omega. He told me he needed an answer within fifteen minutes. I thought about it for thirty seconds and accepted,” Årstein recalls. Until the phone call from Lunde, Årstein knew little about his new employer. Årstein was hired as Omega’s 17th employee, just as the company’s consultant business was gaining speed. When he visited “headquarters” for the first time he was met by a run-down barracks in the municipality of Ølen.

“Several of the same people who are still running Omega today welcomed me in those days. I was met with the same good humor and service twenty years ago as I am today. Only back then, I remember I wasn’t offered coffee,” Årstein laughs, taking a long sip from his Omega coffee cup.

Up until 1992, Project Systems had been the backbone of Omega. As several companies chose to utilize our Project Consultant Services, Omega sped up the search for skilled team members for new project clients. Årstein’s first assignment was at the Brage field for Norsk Hydro. After that assignments at the Troll installation, Kårstø Gas Terminal, South Pars in Iran, Aker Solution’s Norne Project in Trondheim, and the Gullfaks Project for Grenland Group followed, all through Omega.

900 new colleagues

After 1992 the pace quickened. Seventeen employees soon became several hundred. Over the years, our Advantage program with its many offers was launched, and service and recruitment became more organized as more consultant managers joined the expansion to take care of new team members. Despite these changes, Årstein suggests the positive culture has always been in place; or at least since number 17 was hired.

“As a consultant, I have not noticed any change in Omega from when we were 17 employees to 900. Follow-up and cooperation has been great all the way, even in the very beginning when it was administered from a worn down barracks, without offers of holiday houses or teambuildings,” Årstein points out.

One thing has changed over the twenty years however. He no longer has a full overview of his many colleagues. Until Omega reached 100 employees, he knew the name and face of all his fellow team members. Now, he meets new Omega employees everywhere, but is often in need of an introduction to find out who they are.

"When we reached 100 it exploded. When I’m at work these days meeting new people, I find colleagues everywhere."

“We went from being 100 to 600 in a hurry. I remember slowly passing 40, 60 and 80. When we reached 100 it exploded. When I’m at work these days meeting new people, I find colleagues everywhere. It’s really fun meeting them all in new places. We do have a special reputation you know,” Årstein says.

Omega till retirement

“If you are Omega, you are quality. That is how I have perceived our reputation amongst clients out there throughout my twenty years. We have a good reputation, and that means a lot,” says the 65-year-old consultant, who suggests that staying with Omega until retirement is too tempting an offer to turn down.

He is an optimist on Omega’s behalf, even though he sees the competition getting more savvy.

“I am an optimist, but we can’t continue indefinitely at this speed. We will still be leading the industry, and keep on expanding, but it will be tougher to get the people we need. Today I see consultants 58-years old and older being hired in new positions; that would have been unthinkable 10 years ago. Back then, retirement packages were offered to 58-year olds all the time,” he recalls.

“We see this development already now, and it will get harder for companies like Omega to find the recourses they need. But, we have managed to keep our good reputation in the market and that is a critical factor. We have been good ever since the start. No, we have actually been the best…with or without coffee” the veteran smiles.