ONE TEAM
COMMiTMENT
DELiVERY
CIVIL & MINING
162 - 166
Stirling Hwy Nedlands WA 6009
08 6272 7555
More than the money
Motivating through the right opportunity
In an environment of rising costs, softer commodity
prices and tough competition for staff – employee
turnover remains a constant concern for resource
companies. The results of the latest
Resources Industry
Turnover Analysis
(
RITA) report in May 2012, involving
a sample of some 30,000 mining industry employees
across the country, shows that employee turnover
levels remained at 19% per annum throughout the
mining industry.
Some mine managers say it is the nature of the
industry: tough physical working conditions, long shifts,
remote locations and the absence from friends and family
for weeks at a time, combine to create a demanding work
life. The average turnover statistic quoted in the RITA
report, however, does not explain the disparities between
mining companies. For example, one company in the
survey had a turnover rate as low as 2% and another, as
high as 59%.
It is not just about offering big bucks,” says Beilby
Managing Consultant Annika Demasi.
Your best performers are thinking about their career,
not just their pay packet. The most successful mining
companies take a proactive approach to retention and try
to map out with their employees how they can attain their
career goals within the organisation.
Those who do this poorly tend to have a reactive
retention approach, only becoming involved when
they suspect an employee might be ready to quit – at
which point it is addressed by offering the employee
some kind of enticement to stay. This is really only a
band- aid solution.”
Managers play a critical role in cultivating long-term
company loyalty by assisting individual employees to set
goals for their career. The ‘one-size fits all’ approach is
not an effective retention strategy, and instead a more
personal approach should be taken.
This is where the training of
key management personnel can
make a big difference. So listen to
your employees. Keep the lines
of communication about careers
open. Find out what motivates
them, and recognise that career
goals change over time.
Often employees do not
quit jobs, so much as they quit
managers,” says Annika Demasi.
The environment each manager
creates can have a huge bearing
on staff turnover.
It is also vital to ‘deliver’
what is promised at the
interview, in terms of training,
personal and professional growth
opportunities,” she concludes.