Employment

Communication between management and employees is part of normal good business practice, but, in AngloGold Ashanti’s operations in Brazil, a more formal dimension has been added. Regular climate audits are conducted to test employee perception on a variety of topics. The survey was first carried out in October 2006, and repeated in October 2008.

“For a more comprehensive response, and to promote employees’ perception of involvement in the project, we included the complete employee population in the survey, rather than a sample only. For the 2008 survey, this involved close on 3,000 employees at Serra Grande Mine and AngloGold Ashanti Brasil Mineração,” says Ricardo de Assis Santos, General Manager, Human Resources and Organisational Development. The Hay Group was retained to carry out both surveys.

“Apart from their expertise in the area, having an external partner to conduct the survey and collate the responses underlined the confidentiality of the exercise,” says De Assis Santos.

Questionnaires were distributed either through the intranet or on paper. At both sites, the response rate was higher than in 2006: 75% or 1,526 respondents at Brasil Mineração (2006: 62%), and 88% or 597 respondents at Serra Grande (2006: 75%). “This is considered a good response for surveys conducted through questionnaires rather than, for example, personal interviews,” says De Assis Santos.

The survey covered perceptions of four principal dimensions: company effectiveness; individual effectiveness; engagement and treatment and justice. Each of these in turn was sub-divided into a number of topics (see table below), to which respondents were asked to reply whether their perceptions were favourable or unfavourable.

Topics eliciting the most favourable perception at both sites were: the company’s external image; company management; resources/infrastructure; safety (where considered separately); and general commitment.

Relatively few topics elicited a favourable perception lower than 60%: at Brasil Mineração, these comprised: attraction and retention; career development; relationship with immediate leader; incentives and employee recognition. The average favourable response across all topics was 63%. At Serra Grande, the overall average was 70%, with only two topics (attraction and retention and career development) showing favourable ratings below 60%.

“Once again, the exercise was a valuable one, highlighting both some positive aspects and some opportunities for improvement,” says De Assis Santos. “On the positive side, employees are proud to be part of the company, especially at Serra Grande. The company’s commitment to safety is recognised, as is its ethical commitment to the environment and the surrounding communities. The board is perceived as credible, and employees have confidence in its decisions. The company’s values are also known and understood.”

Among aspects offering some opportunity for improvement, De Assis Santos cites a perception that feedback from supervisors needs, in some instances, to be clearer and more detailed; and a desire on the part of employees for the company policies regarding remuneration, performance evaluation and succession planning to be more transparently articulated.

“Some employees also felt that, in some cases, management must pay more attention to ‘walking the talk’ and that the company’s values need to be more closely translated into action.”

Comprehensive feedback on the results was prepared by the Hay Group. To ensure anonymity, a detailed breakdown was not given in respect of sections with fewer than eight respondents, although their results were included in the overall result of the operation and company.

Feedback has already been given to general managers, and a generic handout for distribution to all employees has been prepared. In parallel, managers will conduct presentations to their teams regarding area-specific issues identified by the survey. A corporate action plan to address the issues raised is already in place and tailor-made plans at team level will be established as necessary.

“We are satisfied with the results of the survey,” says De Assis Santos. “It is part of putting into effect our philosophy of engaging our employees openly and honestly, through an ongoing dialogue.”