Challenges in Attracting and Retaining Talented Staff in Mining Companies

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Human Resource Management

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The competition between corporations in all industries has increased at a global
stage. Organisations focus on generating a competitive advantage in the market to
effectively tackle the issue of growing competition. There are various factors which provide
a competitive advantage to corporations such as effective leadership, cost management,
efficient supply chain management, and others. Attraction and retention of talented staff
members also enable companies in ensuring that they gain a competitive advantage over
their competitors (Sokro, 2012). In the case of the mining sector, a high attrition rate
resulted in adversely affecting the performance and profitability of companies. There is
direct connection between attraction and retention of staff members and productivity of
the company. However, there are various challenges faced by the human resource
management department of mining companies while attracting and retaining talented staff
members (Syed & Kramar, 2017). This essay will evaluate the role of attraction and retention
of staff members in promoting the performance of a company. A wide range of literatures
will be analysed in this essay in order to provide evidence on this topic. The purpose of this
essay will is to identify the key challenges faced by the HR department in mining companies
while attracting and retaining a workplace. Lastly, recommendations will be given for mining
corporations to address this issue which will help them in improving their productivity and
performance.
The performance of a company is directly linked with the performance of its
employees. In case an enterprise is not able to hire and retain talented staff members in the
company, then it becomes difficult for it to achieve its targets. A company cannot operate
efficiently without a workforce which is dedicated to achieve its common objectives. In the
case of mining sector, the reliance of organisations on the performance of employees is high
which makes it relevant for them to ensure that they hire right people at the right posts
(Ashiedu & Scott-Ladd, 2012). The number of workers in the mining companies is high and
the corporations rely on the skills and knowledge of their employees in order to achieve
their objectives. The top and middle-level management cannot handle the operations of the
company effectively if they did not have support from the lower level employees. Moreover,
only hiring and retention of employees is not necessary for the mining companies. They
have to ensure that they hire employees who possess appropriate skills and knowledge
which are required to perform the job. The tasks in mining sector required a certain level of

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skills in employees to ensure that they discharge their duties efficiently and effectively
(Becker & Soosay, 2013). Moreover, these skills and knowledge improve through time;
therefore, the demand for talented employees in this sector is considerably high.
Organisations pay high salary options to experience employees working in other
companies which make it difficult for them to retain them for a longer period. As the
technological advancements continue to disrupt the mining sector, the importance of
attraction and retention of staff members increase among companies (McDonald & Young,
2012). Organisations try to find those individuals who have knowledge and skills to
effectively use tools and technologies which are crucial to efficiently perform the tasks in
the company. The competition is fierce between mining corporations, especially in the case
of Australia, with major domestic and international players operating in the industry such as
BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Anglo American, Exxon Mobil, and others. Therefore, generating a
competitive advantage is crucial for these companies to ensure that they stay relevant in
the ever-changing industry which creates new threats and challenges for them. In this
context, implementation of policies to attract and retain a workforce which is highly
talented and skills is significant for companies. However, while implementing these policies,
the companies face many challenges which make it difficult for them to attract and retain a
strong workforce which is sustained to achieve common organisations goals (Vojnovic,
Michelson, Jackson & Bahn, 2014). There are key drivers which will shape the future of work
in the mining sector which include technology shift, generation shift, and career shift. Based
on these elements, the challenges for corporations have increased, and they are expected
to address them in order to sustain their growth in the market.
One of the key challenges faced by the HR department in the mining sector is lack of
career development opportunities offered to the employees which makes it difficult for
them to attract employees. A survey conducted by Seek regarding the Law of Attraction in
2012 which was conducted on the Mining, Resources and Energy industries provided that
lack of career development opportunities is a major reason due to which people did not
prefer to work in these sectors (Employment Office, 2013). Many times, the employees
working in mines feel that they are ‘just another number’ in a larger scale employer. They
knew that they will have to continue to work in the mines for a long period of time at a
minimum wage. There is also a threat of safety of worker who works in these mines. They