Five critical principles to drive genuine cultural change on workplace respect and safety in the Mining Industry

Five critical principles to drive genuine cultural change on workplace respect and safety in the mining industry

by Elizabeth Shaw

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The terms respect and safety are often used when talking about workplace culture. But it’s important to consider what they mean and how an industry like the mining industry, currently under the media spotlight, can truly create a safe, respectful and inclusive culture for all their people. 

The WA Parliamentary Community Development and Justice Standing Committee recently tabled its report on its Inquiry into Sexual Harassment against women in the fly-in fly-out (FIFO) mining industry. During the Inquiry, details of harrowing sexual assaults and significant ongoing sexual harassment were publicly revealed.

The experiences, shared in the Inquiry, have been further brought to light following Rio Tinto’s commendable decision to publicly release their own independent review into sexual harassment, bullying and discrimination in February. 

The Everyday Respect report provided further insight into some of the unique risk factors facing the mining industry in tackling these issues and creating safe, respectful and inclusive workplaces.  

As the mining industry prepares to respond to the findings of the Inquiry, there are five principles critical to ensuring that responses drive genuine cultural change.

1. Understand the specific risk factors in your organisation

Mining has the fifth highest prevalence rate of workplace sexual harassment according to the Australian Human Right’s Commission’s 2018 survey. While it is likely that many mining organisations will report similar findings of sexual harassment, bullying and discrimination, these issues may present in different ways in different organisational and operational contexts. 

Taking the time to understand the unique risk factors in your business and across your sites is crucial in implementing an effective prevention and response framework. For example, many mining organisations may have shifts at non-standard working hours, or may not have appropriate facilities on site for women (e.g. lockable bathrooms). 

It is also important to engage with a range of people across the organisation to understand their experiences, ensure interventions are tailored to address specific challenges, and meet the different needs of diverse groups. Engaging employees and contractors is central to designing and implementing an effective response, and allows different operational settings to be tested. It also creates buy-in across the organisation, which is essential in ensuring everyone understands and takes ownership of their role in creating a safe, respectful and inclusive workplace.

2. Enlist appropriate change management support

We have worked extensively with organisations implementing recommendations following independent reviews into culture and behaviour. It is common for an implementation taskforce to slip into the detail of the recommendations, losing sight of the forest for the trees. 

It can be relatively easy to comply with the form of the recommendation, for example, by implementing a flexible work policy. It is harder to deliver on the intent of the recommendation - creating an enabling environment, where flexible work is supported and employees empowered to utilise it. 

After the release of the Inquiry’s report, organisations should focus on developing a comprehensive change plan to support the broader, holistic intent of recommendations to create a safe, inclusive and respectful work environment to ensure they are focusing on the areas that matter.

3. Leverage existing systems and processes where possible

Working to prevent and more effectively respond to issues of inappropriate behaviour is not about simply developing or refining a workplace policy. It is about looking at ways to integrate action, nudge behaviour, communicate values and expectations, role model behaviour and reinforce accountability at multiple touchpoints across the employee experience. 

In addition to standalone policies, integrating action on inappropriate workplace behaviour into existing systems (e.g. performance management), processes (induction, site orientation), capability uplift (leadership and management core capabilities), and communications (safety shares) helps embed and reinforce expectations and accountability on an ongoing basis.

4. Leading with courage and empathy

As expectations of organisations evolve, so too do our expectations of leaders. Leaders and frontline managers, such as territory and site leaders, are at the forefront of creating a safe, respectful and inclusive environment for their people. 

Leaders set the tone and shape the culture, and need to be role modelling behaviour, holding their people to account and communicating transparently the steps they are taking to respond to sexual harassment and sexual assault. 

Frontline managers, including site and territory leaders, shape the experience of all those who work with and around them, and their attitudes and behaviours are highly influential. The leadership shadow and cultural footprint cast by this group cannot be underestimated. 

Equipping this group, through increased education and awareness, with a deep understanding of the issues, the ability to identify and mitigate risks, the capability to take quick steps to ensure safety and minimise harm, and the support to respond with empathy is essential.

5. Going beyond compliance 

Finally, if there is any area in which organisations should seek to exceed expectations, it is in creating a safe environment for their people, openly sharing information and collaborating across the industry to accelerate change. 

The recommendations coming out of the Inquiry should simply be a jumping off point for organisations to reimagine what is possible for their people.  For example, the importance of creating psychologically safe environments where employees feel safe to speak up is fundamental in preventing and responding to sexual harassment – but it is also a key component of effective teamwork and innovation. For organisations seeking to invest the time and resources to go beyond, the rewards are many.  

The stories of sexual assault and sexual harassment that have come out during the Inquiry have reflected courageous women speaking up about traumatic experiences. The mining sector’s response also needs to be courageous - in openly discussing what went wrong, and investing the significant time, resources and leadership commitment to ensuring that their workplaces are safe, respectful and inclusive. The time to act is now.