Navigating Leadership in Oil and Gas
Topics: Leadership and BusinessCareers in Oil and Gas
A 112-Degree Day Swapping an Engine
Erin Palacio, COO at Midwest Compressor, spent time in Oklahoma this summer with the company’s field techs. The heat index that day was 112, and the crew was out swapping an engine. Palacio brings that day up when asked what customers don’t see about the work: the wind, the rain, the snow, the sleet, the triple-digit heat. “If they could understand that, they’d have a new appreciation for the team that keeps that equipment up and running, rain or shine, heat or cold,” Palacio says. The point isn’t the hardship. It’s that Midwest’s employees are going to be out there regardless, and most of that work happens where no customer is standing.
“People Are People Across Industries”
Palacio came to oil and gas from leadership roles in healthcare and government. The move started earlier this year, when Palacio and David Abshire met through an interview and Abshire laid out where Midwest was heading. Palacio was excited when the job offer came. Oil and gas was new territory, but the calculus behind the decision wasn’t complicated: “People are people across industries, they typically want the same thing, no matter what industry you’re in.” Years spent in HR and leading organizations, Palacio says, prepared the jump into the COO seat and its new set of responsibilities.
Managing those people looks different by role. An overhaul tech is not a field tech, and neither is a sales rep. Some need extra support; some don’t need much at all. Palacio’s approach is to read the communication style in front of you — if I’m going to talk to this person, I approach them this way; if I’m going to talk to that employee, it may be totally different. Meeting people where they are, Palacio argues, is the key to communicating with and managing those groups effectively.
Technical Skills Can Be Taught. Soft Skills Are Harder.
Midwest has both external and internal customers, and Palacio treats the human connection as a priority alongside the systems. “Just because you have the right technical skills does not mean you’re gonna have the right soft skills,” Palacio says. Technical ability can be taught; the ability to handle a soft interaction with a customer or an employee is sometimes harder to build. Both have to be present.
The telemetry project is where that balance gets tested. The systems Midwest is standing up will automatically alert the company — and potentially the customer — when a compressor isn’t operating properly. They’ll also generate reports showing how effective a customer’s compressors are at supporting production. Palacio frames it as another touch point rather than a replacement for one: reports delivered daily, monthly or quarterly, tailored to what the customer wants, plus the ability to call ahead and say an alert came in and a crew is already on the way.
Walk a Mile, and Skids From the Welding Program
Employee surveys pointed to communication as a top concern, and Midwest has been working on it — along with recognition. The character recognition award lets employees nominate peers who went above and beyond and exemplified company values, and Paylocity added a recognition platform on top of timekeeping, training and performance reviews. Palacio makes a point of marking birthdays and work anniversaries personally, including a text to an employee who had just completed a first year with the company. Regional field operation managers have been tasked with setting up monthly training for field techs, and sales employees went through a sales engagement program.
The Walk a Mile program pairs employees from different departments who interact but don’t fully understand each other’s days. Finance and accounting spent several days in Oklahoma City learning the steps behind accounts receivable — including what happens when an invoice has to be redone — then went to the field with a field tech to see what that day actually looks like and why entries might come back wrong, then spent time with sales. Regional operations managers are being paired with sales reps, since those two functions collide at certain intersections. The goal is understanding, and then process adjustments that make things run smoother.
On the hiring side, Midwest is partnering with Amarillo College’s welding program. Students in the program will build skids for Midwest using material the company supplies — real-world experience for them, high-quality skids at reduced cost for Midwest. Palacio reached out to the college several months ago, toured its east campus, and landed on welding as the piece that would benefit both sides immediately. There’s an employer’s hope attached: that graduates see there are jobs in the Texas panhandle and stay rather than leaving for a bigger city.
Holding the Line While Everyone Watches Operating Expenses
With gas prices fluctuating, Palacio says companies across multiple industries are re-examining where they spend money. Midwest’s answer is to show clients the value of the compressor in terms of production, not just rental cost. The company is working with its marketing firm to get the message out that it will take a look at a customer’s bill and show where money can be saved — a pitch aimed at both existing clients and operators who don’t use Midwest yet.
Logistics is the other bottleneck. Materials are delayed, so Midwest meets Monday mornings with its warehouse manager to work through anything that’s late or looks like a problem. When a product is three months out, the question becomes where else to go.
Vendor and technology decisions run through a collaborative process involving Palacio, Abshire and the CFO. Paylocity is the example Palacio gives: the CFO and Palacio screened vendors — the CFO because of the payroll and financial impact, Palacio because of HR knowledge — then brought the top two or three to the CEO. The same approach is being applied to financial technology, with demos underway, and to work order management systems, where field managers and the operations manager were brought in because they use the system daily. What looks good to an executive, Palacio notes, may look like a total disaster to the people living in it.
Looking ahead, Palacio points to growth, automation that makes someone’s job easier and improves customer service, and a hard look at customer relationships — good and not so good — to figure out where Midwest can get better. Company culture needs to be defined and then lived daily. “I want people to think of us for compressors before they think of anybody else,” Palacio says. Reach Midwest at midwestcompressorsystems.com, by phone at 859 Midwest, or by email at epilassio@mwcss.com.
Full transcript · 3,701 words
Machine-generated transcript of “Navigating Leadership in Oil and Gas”. Paragraph breaks mark a change of speaker. Click a timestamp to play from that point.
0:02 This is Under Pressure. Compressor Talk by Midwest Compressor. Strategies, systems, and stories from the compressor world. With your host, David Abshire. And now, on to the show.
0:21 Good morning. This is David Abshire with Midwest Compressor. I'm here to interview our COO, Aaron Palacio. Aaron, thanks for joining us this morning. We uh appreciate you jumping on. The first question I have for you: you've had a long career in leadership across healthcare and government before joining the oil and gas world. What made you decide to take the leap into the industry and what's the transition been like for you?
0:50 Yeah, so earlier this year, you and I met um through an interview. And after sitting down and talking with you, listening to your vision for Midwest and where things were going, I was super excited when you called and offered me the job. And so when I was thinking about joining Midwest, one of the things that I looked at is people are people across industries, they typically want the same thing, um no matter what industry you're in. And so I was excited to look at oil and gas, which was new for me. But knowing that people are typically they want the same things in an employer, they want the same things in a job. And so with the years that I've spent in HR and leading organizations, I think prepared me to step into this role as COO and take on some new responsibilities.
1:43 The next question, having managed people in both healthcare and now oil and gas, which environment has been more challenging and what similarities have you noticed between the two?
1:55 Yeah, and so kind of like the same, same answers, last question. Like every field is gonna have its own personalities. So an overhaul tech is different than a field tech, which is different from a sales rep. Some of those people are gonna need extra support, others don't need a whole lot. And so, really, it's managing those expectations of those employees and their communication style. So it's figuring out okay, if I'm going to go talk to this person, I need to approach them this way. If I'm gonna go talk to this employee, it may be totally different. So it's understanding those personalities and being able to meet them where they are and what their expectations are, and really understanding how to approach employees, in my opinion, is the key to being able to effectively communicate and manage those groups.
2:48 Very well said. Very well said. The next question is as CEO, what are your some of your key priorities day to day at Midwest Compressor?
2:57 Yeah, so all the stuff that you and I are looking at, where we've started tracking screw compressor failures, looking at automating manual tasks from an HR perspective. We've implemented payloadity, which allows for timekeeping and training and performance reviews, looking at cost. You know, we pulled some oil costs this week, looking at that. So really it's looking at what are we not doing right now and then what can we be doing better in the future? And we're building a great team and we're putting some key processes in place to help move Midwest forward.
3:32 You've mentioned the importance of blending the technology with the human connection. How do you balance the automation and systems with maintaining strong relationships with the customers?
3:42 Yeah, and so, you know, we have our external customers and we have our internal customers. Um, you know, technical is not everything. Um, while it is very helpful and it does make our jobs a lot easier, um, at the same time, you still have to have that human connection and you have to be able to prioritize both. I like to tell everybody no matter what industry you're in, just because you have the right technical skills does not mean you're gonna have the right soft skills. And soft skills, in my opinion, are just as important as those technical skills. You've got to have both. So even though you may be technically sound, you may not have the skills necessary to handle that soft um interaction between customers and employees. So you have to balance both. Technical, we can teach. Soft skills are sometimes a little harder, but you've got to balance both of those in order to be able to work across the industry, whether it's with internal customers or with external customers.
4:42 Yeah, very well said, very well said. What's one thing you wish more customers understood about the work your team does behind the scenes?
4:50 Yeah, and so I wish everybody could see what it's like for a Phil Tech, right? What it's like to be out there in the elements, the weather, the wind, the rain, the snow, the sleek, the 112-degree days. Like I get a good view of that this summer when I spent some time in Oklahoma with our Phil Techs and the heat index that day was 112, and they were out there swapping an engine, um, or if it's in the rain or the snow. And so, you know, being able to understand the work that our team does behind the scenes that people may not see. I think if they could understand that, they'd have a new appreciation for the team that keeps that equipment up and running, you know, rain or shine, heat or cold. Our employees are going to be out there making sure that their compressors are working for them. And so really just understanding that behind the scenes work that our employees do every day.
5:53 Yeah, that's a that's a great perspective for sure. You know, Midwest Compressor is known for forward-thinking operations. Uh, can you share, you know, just a little bit about the new telemetry project that Midwest Compressor is about to launch?
6:09 Yeah, so we are looking at telemetry systems that will automatically alert us and could also alert the customer when something is not operating properly with that compressor. It'll allow us to also run reports and show our customers how effective their compressors are at helping them with their production. And so, you know, when you look at that and you look at telemetry and you look at AI and you look at the ability to give more information to your customers, that only strengthens that relationship and helps us perform better in the eyes of the customers. It gives us another communication, it gives us another touch point with the customer. And so when you look at those types of initiatives, that's what's gonna set us apart in the industry is our ability to provide more information to our customers. If they want it daily, if they want it monthly, if they want it quarterly, we're it we're gonna be able to tailor it to their needs. And we'll know ahead of time. And if we want to call them and say, hey, we got an alert, we're we're headed out there, right? And just provide that additional point of customer service. So telemetry is one of those things that's gonna provide us the ability to um provide better customer service.
7:30 Oh, that's that's great. That really, really sounds like it's gonna be extremely helpful for our technicians on their work schedule and balancing their workload and of course supporting the customer as well. You know, beyond technology, you've been focusing heavily on employee engagement and company culture uh since you've been on board at Midwest. What are some of the ways uh you're keeping your team motivated and connected?
7:54 So we have looked at surveyed our employees. Communication is a big point for them. And so we're working to improve that communication, the recognition. You have the character recognition award, which is huge. So that's where we ask um employees to nominate other employees for the character recognition award for the month. So it's somebody that's gone above and beyond and exemplifies the values that we practice at the Midwest. And so we've implemented Paylocity, which has a recognition platform on it. For instance, like I find it important to go out and tell employees happy birthday or happy work anniversary. So I know you and I this morning have already reached out to one employee who completed their first anniversary with us. I sent them a quick text that said, Hey, congratulations on your first year, another employee with a birthday. Um, and then our employees have the opportunity to go out there and recognize other employees. And so when employees feel valued, they're more engaged. And so it's the different, again, like touch points that you can give them in order to stay engaged. And then your focus, which I 100% agree with, is on um, you know, a service-first company. That's what we are here for is to provide a service and to provide great customer service to our clients and customers that we work with. We've looked at additional training. So, like our regional field operation managers have been tasked with setting up monthly training for our field techs. We just went through a program with our sales employees through Dodie Collin on engaging in sales and ways to track that. So we're focused on giving our employees additional education and training to continue to involve them in the work and to continue to elevate their knowledge of the field that we're in.
9:49 That's that's spot on for sure. You know, the industry's been under pressure lately, no pun intended, with fluctuating gas prices and cost challenges. How's how's Midwest helping customers stay profitable through these sums?
10:04 Yeah, so everybody right now across multiple industries are looking at operating expenses, they're looking at how to reduce those expenses. It's causing companies to re-examine where they're spending money. And so our goal is obviously to help save clients money by allowing them to produce more. So the cost of the rental and then the cost of their production. We want to be able to help them see the value of compressor. So one of the things that we're doing is we're working with our marketing company to let our clients know and let our um people who don't quite use us yet let them know that, hey, we'll take a look at your bill and we're gonna show you how we can save you more money. And so we've got to stay ahead of that as companies look to reduce expenses. We obviously want them to keep our compressors, but we have to show them the value in doing that. And so we want to take that deep dive into a bill and say, okay, here's what we can do, and here's how we can do it better, and here's how we can save you money. And so, yeah, while everybody's under pressure, now's the time to really look at those operating expenses and and and give us the opportunity to show you how we can reduce some of those expenses.
11:24 Well said, well said, of course. So, you know, every operation faces its bottlenecks. What are the biggest challenges that you're tackling right now and how are you addressing them at Midwest Compressor?
11:37 Yeah, so you know, logistics across all industries right now can be a little bit challenging. There's delays in getting um materials. So we we take a look at that. We work with our warehouse manager, we meet on Monday mornings and talk about anything that's been delayed or where we might have some problems. So we take a look at that on a monthly basis. One of the things that we're doing is we are partnering with a local community college that has a welding program, and their students that are in that program are actually going to be building skids for us. So it gives them some real world experience, engages them in the community, hopefully keeps them here. Um, so we're supplying them with the material that they need to build those skids, and then um they're going to build them for us. And so it's looking for ways to partner with local organizations. Um, it's looking at logistics, it's knowing that, hey, there's a three-month delay on this product, where else can we go? And so, like I said, we meet every Monday and we talk about that. Um, we've got a great warehouse manager that's helping us stay on top of that. Um, and it's just managing um those delays as they come up and then looking for ways to partner. Like I said, with Amarilla College here, that's going to help us build our skids. And so it gives them real world experience and helps us out as well.
13:06 You know, the partnership with the community college is really fascinating. Can you talk about how that collaboration kind of came about?
13:14 Yeah.
13:14 And, you know, how it's working today with Bidwest?
13:18 Yeah. So I I reached out to Emerald College several months ago and I was like, hey, we're here. Here's what we do. And they invited me to come out to their campus, gave me a tour, showed me everything that they have at their East campus in terms of how it could benefit us. And we just got to talking about, you know, through the welding program was the one that stuck out the most, um, that would be an immediate benefit for both of us, giving their students real-world welding experience, something that they could really be doing on the job that they may take after they complete the program at Amaralla College. And it gives us high-quality skids at reduce cost. So it helps Amarola College students. It helps us and our bottom line. And then ideally from an employer, and I'm sure from the college aspect as well, when those students graduate, they want them to know that there are opportunities right here in the panhandle of Texas in order to stay and take those skills that they've gotten through Amarola College and stay in the community rather than you know going off to a bigger city. And so that partnership between us and AC um will hopefully provide those students thinking like, hey, like I can get a job when I graduate and here's something that I could be doing.
14:36 Yeah, there's there's nothing more exciting to see as youth continues to work through the education process and be able to have opportunities for jobs and be able to stay home.
14:46 Yeah.
14:47 That's one of the things over the years we've, of course, seen that you know, so many kids move away from the panhandle because there's not jobs. So this is this is really exciting to see that come to fruition and and just to be able to watch it kind of blossom with that relationship with Amarillo College as well. That you've implemented at Midwest. It's called a walk a mile program. What inspired that and what kind of impact has it had internally since you've taken off of that?
15:12 Yeah, so we have implemented that program, and what it does is it helps pair employees from different departments who may interact with one another, but not truly understand what the other person does on a daily basis. So whether what we're doing frustrates them or helps them, um, and just to give them an overall understanding of each other's daily challenges in the job. And so we've paired um like our finance accounting department. We went and spent several days in Oklahoma City where she got to show them what it's like to do accounts receivable and all the steps that she has to do. And if she has to redo an invoice, and then she got to go spend time in the field with the field tech to completely understand what that day looks like and what all they have to face and how it might be a challenge for them to get things entered correctly. And then also she spent time with sales to understand what they do, but at the same time for them to understand what she does. And then we're pairing like um our regional operations manager with the sales rep because sometimes sales and operations kind of collide at some intersections. And so giving them the opportunity to better understand what each other does and how vital each of those roles are to Midwest. And so basically, you're walking a mile in someone's shoes to better understand what it's like the good, the bad, the frustrations, like everything that's going well or not going well. And then it also provides opportunities to make adjustments so that processes run smoother. And so far, I think it's been successful. It's helpful for everybody to understand what somebody else's role is like. And that's why we implemented that program.
16:59 Yeah, I think it really just helps give everybody a perspective on what everybody's day looks like. I'm really thankful that you've launched that program. It's it's really helped the communication side too, and how things are working on the day-to-day. Great, great program. Super, super excited to see that across the company as we continue to grow to be able to implement that. The next question I had for you today was when it comes to you know adapting new technologies or vendors, what does the decision decision-making process look like at Midwest?
17:31 Yeah, so between you, me, and our CFO, we have a collaborative process where we take a look at you know new technology together. Um, we bring different levels of experience to the table and different views. So I always tell you, I'm gonna look at something a little bit differently than you do. And that's how it's supposed to be. And so we work together, kind of look at the pros and the cons. So, like when we were picking paylosity, like our CFO and I kind of screen the vendors. She needed input because it has a financial impact and a payroll impact. I brought some HR knowledge to the table. We screened our vendors and then brought the top two or three to you to look at from a CEO perspective. So that's one example. And we're looking at some financial technology right now. Same thing. We talked about it. We have demos happening this week. And so, really, it's taking a look at it holistically. And then on our work order management system, um, we've looked at some new systems there as well to improve the current system that we have. Brought in field managers, brought in our operations manager because they're the ones that work on it on a daily basis. And while it may look good to me or it may look good to you, they may think it's a total disaster and they provide a different perspective. And so here we have a really good team to take a look at things holistically and then be able to take that feedback and make the best decision for Midwest.
19:04 Yeah, no, that's that's a great, great answer for sure. So looking ahead, what's next for you and Midwest Compressor? And what are you most excited about for the future?
19:14 Yeah, so growth is what I'm excited about. I'm looking forward to seeing everything that we do in the next several years. You know, I'm a big believer in automation. So any way that we can make someone's job easier, better, provide better customer service through automation. I'm 100% for that. Taking a deep dive into our customer relationships, good or not so good, and figuring out how we can become better in those customer relationships. Um, I know you and I talk about growing company culture. So really defining that, living and breathing that every day, getting our employees to live and breathe it every day. And ideally, I want people to think of us for compressors before they think of anybody else. I want them to know that we are the go-to service provider for quality, reliability, and that at the heart of our company is providing excellent customer service to that oil and gas industry.
20:13 That's that's a great, great answer as well. So, you know, Aaron, this is this has been fantastic. Uh, thank you for taking the time today to kind of share your story and all the amazing work that's happening at Midwest Compressor. Before we wrap up, what's the best way for our listeners to connect with you or learn more about your company?
20:33 Yeah. So, you know, we have our website, so Midwest Compressorsystems.com. It's a very well-built website. It'll give you all the information. We also um streamline all of our calls into 859 Midwest. So anyone who's interested can reach out there. And then I'm sure David and I are happy to do email um as well if people want to reach out. Mine's epilassio at mwcss.com. Website, phone number, email. We'd love to connect with you. Um, David and I are both on uh LinkedIn and we love, we're pretty active out there. So we love to chat with people there as well. So we look forward to talking to you.
21:15 That really uh kind of sums up uh a lot of the questions I had today, Aaron, and I definitely want to commend you on your leadership style and how you've really, really helped Midwest Compressor as an organization as we continue to grow and put processes and procedures in place as we continue to grow across the United States. So thank you so much for taking the time today, of course, and jumping on here. This is, you know, exciting for us at Midwest Compressor to be able to do these podcasts. So thanks everybody for tuning in uh to Under Pressure, the Compressor Talk podcast. I'm David Abshire, and we'll see you next time.
21:57 This has been another great episode of Under Pressure. Compressor Talk by Midwest Compressor. With your host, David Abshire. Until next time, keep pumping.