Plan your talent transition: Energy’s problem is coming for all your industries

The energy industry has long been subject to boom-and-bust cycles dictated by oil prices and global supply-demand dynamics. But even during today’s geopolitical and economic shocks, the sector’s most existential challenge isn’t economic volatility—it’s people. And that challenge isn’t unique. What the energy sector, especially its oil and gas core, is experiencing today—aging workforces and disengaged talent pools don’t view the sector as high tech or sustainable—is a preview of what every industry is facing and will face in varying forms.

The adoption of emerging technologies such as AI or the climate and sustainability emergency is compelling organizations across industries to find new levels of talent. From HR and operations teams, right up to the CEO and board level, they must get talent transition plans in place. Roadmaps must connect the overarching organizational direction with daily operations and everything in between.

This piece is a short summary of the energy industry cameo talk at the HFS Research Summit, where talent was central to sustainability and agentic AI conversations.

Exhibit 1: Talking talent across agentic AI, energy, and sustainability at the 2025 HFS Research Spring Summit

Source: HFS Research, 2025

A silver lining emerging is a sharpened focus on outcomes

Despite their recent regressions in clean energy investment, oil and gas firms have become laser-focused on efficiency and optimization. This clarity, born from survival instinct, is aligning organizations from boardrooms to refinery control rooms. Moreover, it is facilitating the practical adoption of AI and other digital and emerging technologies—targeting business outcomes and not tech for its own sake. The sector’s innovation teams and overall strategy have been heavily siloed to date, with low levels of internal and ecosystem collaboration.

Other sectors should take note. When transformation goals are vague or performative, technology is misapplied while trust and enthusiasm erode. But when there’s clarity on outcomes—such as cost savings, safety, or emissions reduction—technology becomes a lever, not a liability.

The energy industry is vilified by sustainability advocates and constrained by conservative markets

Collaboration across functions and with ecosystem partners remains minimal. Our old research found that less than half of energy professionals actively collaborate across departments. Beyond the organization, those numbers drop off a cliff. Our new research found that Global 2000 executives had a near-term view to become less engaged with Horizon 3 ecosystem collaboration and more inward-looking, focusing on Horizon 1 functional transformation and Horizon 2 cross-organizational work.

Young and mid-career talent no longer believe in the mission of the oil and gas sector. Sustainability professionals and advocates are not convinced by the narrative. Investors too don’t trust the long-term value proposition of clean energy investment from oil and gas giants—their margins on new fossil fuels are better. The power and utilities industry is different, making far more progress on electrification and the energy transition—yet not enough.

Transparency, not perfection, is what’s needed. Admitting what isn’t figured out, being transparent about the path ahead, and sharing tangible progress build trust. A combination of trust and purpose will retain top-tier engineers, data scientists, and domain experts who have both options and consciences.

An increasing number of organizations have sustainability transition plans—few have talent transition plans to match

Without planning talent transitions from classroom to boardroom, companies risk misalignment, attrition, and stalled progress.

The ‘talent ladder’ must extend from early education through to leadership succession. It must factor in not just recruitment quotas but also retention pathways, embedded diversity, and cross-sector learning. Entry-level hiring alone won’t cut it; it’s about shaping a workforce and culture fit for the 2030s.

And for large, influential firms, this responsibility extends beyond their own walls. It means positive lobbying for better education pipelines, supporting vocational training, and co-creating curricula that anticipate tomorrow’s sustainability challenges.

The Bottom Line: Companies that want to be sustainable in any sense—financially, socially, environmentally—must treat talent as a transformational asset.

No industry has figured out its talent transition, but energy’s turbulence offers a mirror to other sectors. That requires outcome clarity, radical transparency, and a commitment to short and long-range talent transition planning.