US mines buck hiring trend

International Longwall News Monday, 22 December 2008 US MINE operations have gone against the trend of widespread job losses across the nation, adding 16,000 new jobs in 2008, according to the US Department of Labor. Across America, 2.7 million jobs have disappeared since December 2007. However, as of December coal added 7,000 new positions while metal and mineral mine staffs jumped by 9,000. The agency said the increased numbers represent a rise of 10% over the final numbers of 2007 for coal complexes, 4% for metal/nonmetal. It warned, however, that some producers have announced layoffs since the data was compiled due to the ongoing economic environment. For November the US lost 533,000 jobs but coal actually gained 1,000 in 30 days, a 1% rise. During that same period, metal and mineral mines added 300 new jobs to their payrolls.

Training the trainer

International Longwall News

Tuesday, 11 November 2008

CITING the importance of proper training for those who train others at mines, the Penn State Miner Training program has announced plans to hold a mine emergency preparedness workshop next month.

Part of the school’s Brookwood-Sago Grant award for 2007-08, the gathering is entitled “Do you understand mine emergencies? Are you prepared for a mine emergency?” and is intended to better prepare not only trainers but also safety directors, supervisors and other responsible mine personnel on how to educate staff on the details of the MINER Act.

The PSMT will host an industry crowd December 3 at the state Department of Environmental Protection Cambria District Mining Office in Ebensburg.

The conference will begin at 8am local time and adjourn at 4pm and all training materials will be provided, including student manuals, an instructor guide and a webcast.

Among the topics under discussion at the event will be mine emergencies, emergency response plans, communications and miner tracking, self-contained self-rescuers, refuge chambers/air safe havens, and evacuation and escape techniques.

While the workshop is free, the PSMT is requesting pre-registration through Kathy Johnstonbaugh at 814.865.7472 or kfb2@psu.edu by November 24.

Maintaining the troops: how to attract and retain staff

International Longwall News
Monday, 3 November 2008

EMPLOYERS are finding that they have to search every talent pool, in every location, using every method to find the right candidates for the right jobs due to the current skills shortage, writes Conduit Recruitment director Adam Walker.

As employers exhaust both their time and money, it is important that new recruits do not leave after a short stint. To avoid this, employers need to ensure that they provide their employees with a vibrant, supportive and challenging work environment that will secure their services for years.

There are six primary reasons why people leave their jobs.

1. Management – poor management or a personality clash in the workplace.
2. Salary – underpaid and their peers in the same role are getting a better deal.
3. Career progression – their career path and progression is not mapped out for them and they have no goal to work toward.
4. Work environment – unstimulating or not a good cultural fit.
   
5. Commuting – too much of a nightmare to get to work and back.
   
6. Decline in job enjoyment and satisfaction – want a career change.

The skills shortage is urging employers to implement strategies into their work environment that will attract staff and more importantly retain them.

• Appoint appropriate and skilled managers. Managing staff is a skill that very few people have and it takes years of experience to get it right. Employees need to respect their direct reports and want to perform for them. Staff should be praised, encouraged and mentored. They should also be disciplined when appropriate, but when this occurs it should be crystal clear to the staff member as to why it is happening.

• Ensure employees are paid the market salary for their position, or slightly above. There are numerous salary surveys available that specify what the current salary level is for a particular job. Employers should add in other benefits such as medical insurance, gym membership, bonus days off and performance bonuses tied to measurable KPIs. This will ensure employers stand out from their competitors.

• Provide a clear career road map including the measurable steps needed to advance. Employees should not be in the dark as to how they can progress in their career. It is important to hold regular meetings, every six months as a minimum, with their manager to discuss how they are doing. These meetings need to be fixed and not cancelled at the last minute because something more important arises, as this gives the impression that employers don’t care! It is crucial that this treatment extends from the associates to the receptionist.

• Delegate as much responsibility as possible and as desired by the employee. Some employees are happy to achieve results for the company but don’t want to be leaders. These employees can be rewarded with days off and late starts if they worked the graveyard shift to meet a deadline.

• Provide a vibrant, clean and refreshing environment. Paint the office walls, invest in new workstations, put in a bar and hang up pictures. Considering employees spend most of their week at work, it is important that they feel good in their seat. Working around dusty furniture and old coffee stains won’t inspire anyone. It is important that businesses not only have a flash reception to impress visitors, but also have a flash office to impress everyone.

• Celebrate successes with social functions, lunches and Friday night drinks. Staff events can be combined with networking events. Create company T-shirts and go tenpin bowling, which is always good for a laugh. Plan the Christmas party at a special venue and have a theme so everyone is talking about it for years to come. A bonded and happy team is a productive team.

• Communicate constantly. Don’t let small issues eat someone alive until it is too late. Differences can usually be resolved if both parties want them to be.

• Conduct exit interviews when people leave and use an external party to do them. This will ensure that employers receive an honest explanation of why an employee has left. Exit interviews help employers gain an insight into whether changes need to be made to the operation of the office or its environment.

If employees have a clear direction, are paid fairly and enjoy their work environment then they will stay. However, if the culture is weak and they are mismanaged then they have plenty of other options which are just a mouse click away.

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Welcome

Welcome to the new MIP Blog. We are new to this blogging thing. So, we hope you will be patient as we figure it all out.

The premise of the blog is to provide a forum for MIP of PA members to share and discuss issues. This sharing could include consortium training opportunities. Or, questions about best practices.

Frankly, what the blog will become. We just hope that it is used for Mining Industry Partners here in PA to solve issues.

Thanks for blogging with us.