Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Sulemanu Koney, has urged Human Resource (HR) professionals in the mining industry to adopt positive changes that will integrate Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) issues to properly manage industry people.
According to Mr. Koney, ESG principles are taking centre-stage globally in corporate performance considerations, and as industry players the critical role of social and governance issues cannot be underestimated.
Globally, the success of many organisations is being measured on ESG principles, hence HR professionals need to play a critical role in achieving the social and sustainability governance goals of their respective organisations.
“Let me emphasise that HR professionals must support staff health and well-being, encourage continuous professional development, and contribute to societal advancement as a way of leaving a lasting positive legacy throughout the organisation’s life,” he said.
Mr. Koney urged further that corporate policies, disclosure and corporate governance structures must be communicated to all stakeholders in a participatory and consensual manner for mutually beneficial outcomes.
He entreated the HR Professionals to pay critical attention to issues of diversity and inclusion, as research has shown that a diverse employee-base contributes to the retention of quality employees and corporate success.
“We live in a dynamic world, and one of the key trends we need to pay attention to is the ‘shift toward a people-first culture’. As we employ different generations of people, workplace culture must evolve to meet the new skill sets, technology and demographics.
“Also, as the workplace environment changes, employers need to adopt new strategies for tracking employee performance based on not just technical skills but more soft skills; such as emotional, social and advanced cognitive abilities,” he said.
Mr. Koney said this when speaking at the 5th National Conference on Human Resource Management in the Mining Industry at Obuasi, under the theme ‘Transforming People Management for a Sustainable Mining Industry in Ghana’.
“Effective people-management is intrinsically linked to corporate performance and sustainability, hence the need for HR practitioners to constantly update themselves on managing employees. Human resources are the central pillar of any organisation’s success, and the Chamber is keen to see the attraction and retention of the best talent in our industry.
“With the gathering of professionals from both academia and industry at this conference, I believe that we will cross-fertilise ideas to enable us to better leverage people-management for a sustainable mining industry in Ghana,” he said.
