By Genevieve Riviere,
Chief Executive,
Artemis International Executive Search

It is interesting, but not surprising, to note that during this time of unprecedented growth and prosperity in the mining and resources sector, and amid continuous complaints of skills shortages and lack of people, how little time is spent by senior leadership teams on the strategic development of their organizations.

In a notoriously conservative industry, with a focus on all things geological, technical and financial, companies have been slow to realize that in such a competitive people-short environment, it is not merely financial reward that will attract and retain the best expertise.

We are all aware of numerous organization health or culture surveys which provide us with that understanding, but it is hard to act on that information if there is not a shared commitment among boards of directors and management teams to establish a strategic workforce plan, lead its implementation and support its results with a transparent performance development system.

Some questions worth asking of our leaders:

Do we have a clear, shared, articulated understanding of the organisation we want to create? Or are we merely subject to market forces and "luck"?
Do we behave as an organization according to shared core values?
Do we have agreed goals and targets which we measure on our journey?
Do we have a clear framework for how we achieve our goals? (Structure, policies, procedures, clarity of roles, performance development, measurement - short and long term)
Do we allocate sufficient time to reflect on, review and monitor our plan?
Do we support our commitment to our strategic workforce plan through our actions and resourcing?

If an organisation can demonstrate to its existing and potential employees that it can honestly answer these questions in the affirmative, it is well ahead of its competition in attracting and retaining the people it wants; financial reward is no longer a competitive advantage.

- Artemis International Executive Search is a leader in the provision of service in Executive Search, Organization Development and Talent Pool Management, with a focus on the Mining & Resources, Construction and Engineering sectors

For more information go to www.artemissearch.com.au