Case Study: Technical Mining Services Experts

The Problem

An established Western Australian technical mining services provider (the client) contacted WCA in 2018 in response to a number of human resources and industrial relations issues. The client faced a number of HR/IR challenges including:

  • A highly competitive and candidate-short market
  • Non-compliant policies, procedures, employment agreements
  • Low staff engagement and communication
  • Performance and behavioural issues.
  • Concerns about rates of pay for staff in line with industry benchmark
  • Ineffective onboarding and training programs
  • Lack of systems and tools to manage the high volume of trainee recruitment
  • High employee turnover

The organisation employed a dedicated HR resource, who lacked the breadth of experience and knowledge to support the various HR/IR issues arising. The HR function was operating in a fire-fighting capacity, dealing with day-to-day issues, with neither time, nor expertise, for strategic decision making to support business goals.

The Analysis (Assessment)

WCA performed a comprehensive HR/IR Audit to review documentation against best practice and legal requirements. In addition, key client employees and stakeholders were interviewed to assess workplace culture and obtain feedback to identify areas for improvement. WCA presented a risk-based plan diagnostic to the senior leadership team with recommended actions in order of priority.

The Solution

WCA was engaged by the Client to manage their HR deliverables on an inhouse retained basis to implement the key recommendations arising from the audit.

WCA delivery highlights include:

  • Developing and implementing easy to understand, compliant employment contracts aligned with relevant Modern Awards
  • Creating and implementing an employee retention strategy
  • Aligning the Performance Appraisal process with industry best practice, including
    • Implementing quarterly check-ins for more meaningful, regular and shorter interactions with employees
    • Coaching and training Managers and Supervisors to ensure effective delivery
  • Conducting salary benchmarking for pay rates of all individual employees
  • Overhauling the recruitment and selection process to deliver a streamlined, effective and semi-automated solution, by developing standardised job descriptions, optimising job advertising, introducing group interviews and implementing AI screening to identify the best fit candidates for the roles.
  • Implementation of an Annual HR Calendar to capture key HR/IR priorities and provide a clear line of sight to all employees in the organisation
  • Strategic advice to the leadership team on all HR/IR issues
The Benefit

Since WCA has been engaged with the business, there has been a significant improvement in employee engagement. The introduction of regular check-ins between managers and employees has created a regular feedback loop. The client is able to quickly identify performance and behavioural issues and disengaged employees and implement intervention methods.

The streamlining of the recruitment process, including the introduction of an AI screening tool and group interviews, allowed the client to significantly reduce time and resources to find suitable candidates.

The client has experienced an increase in quality and calibre of candidates. Using AI-driven phone and video interviews facilitated candidate ranking against factors such as linguistic analysis and body language. This enabled the client and WCA to easily identify the top performers without investing time manually screening candidates. The recruitment process and systems implemented reduced the administrative burden of recruitment activities for bulk recruitment, by quickly analyzing large amounts of data and estimating options.

The new employees recruited demonstrated an increased level of engagement, investment in their personal and professional development and improved overall work ethic and attitude.

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