While poor communication with investors is leaving companies undervalued, resulting in having to assert themselves further for capital, there is another communication risk that is largely overlooked.
According to MPI Recruitment Marketing Business Partner Mark Pearce, this communication risk lies with an audience whose perception is costing mining companies greatly, and that is the people it needs to employ.
Australia’s mining workforce is experiencing critical skills shortages. The industry will require more than 22,0000 production-related workers by 2040 to meet current project commitments, as reported by CGS Talent.
Pearce explains that when a prospective employee sees a job advertisement, a lot of what they are reading is “watered-down job descriptions”.
“No compelling reasons to choose one employer over another. Empty, overused phrases like ‘rare opportunity’ and ‘exciting role’ without any sense of what makes a job rare or exciting,” he says.
“For the skilled worker, it’s a tedious read when they have to be reminded what their job involves. And if the 900-word essay and 47 bullet points can be navigated, the traditional sign-off adds insult to injury: ‘Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted’.
“That’s quite the first impression when you’re trying to attract scarce talent.”
Timeliness is a part of the issue
The Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA (CCIWA) reports that relying solely on job advertisements to attract talent can leave businesses lagging in a competitive job market.
CoreData WA, together with Clarity Communications and The resources HUB, conducted a survey of 548 people working in or looking for work in the Australian mining industry to better understand people’s experiences when seeking employment.
The survey reveals that second only to ‘salary not meeting expectations’ (60%), ‘timely notifications of a successful interview’ is the next highest factor contributing to hesitation in accepting an offer.
The majority of job seekers from the survey (57%) rated mining companies ‘poor’ on timely updates on their application, while more than a quarter received no response (29%) or waited over three weeks (26%) for a reply to their application.
According to CCIWA, not only can response delays impact a candidate’s experience and a company’s reputation, but it can also increase the risk of missing out on talent.
Pearce says that some employers even send generic, automated emails such as ‘Thanks for your application’, which can leave applicants searching for answers to next steps and how long the process takes.
“And if there’s a stat that demonstrates how much this stage needs fixing, it’s Indeed’s research that shows 88% of Australian job seekers have applied for a role and never heard back,” he says.
Communication problems continue
If a prospective employee has been able to secure an interview, the communication problems still continue.
Pearce says depending on the role, it can be one or two stages of AI screening interviews.
“For some graduate positions, there’ve been as many as a handful of automated one-way video interviews before a face-to-face chat with a human is awarded,” he explains.
“Our interested candidates may then have to contend with poorly structured questions, interviewers who haven’t prepared or turned up, and a few more weeks of muteness thrown in for good measure.”
After several weeks of silence, it is normal for candidates to have other offers. If it takes several weeks to move from a job application to an offer, the candidate knows that the employer has gone to sleep on them.
MPI Recruitment is a mining recruitment agency for employers and job seekers.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: iStock
