Managing Employees Perception on Organizational Practices - a Contextual Study on Retention of Indian Mining Professionals

Abstract

With the recent announcement of National Mineral Exploration Policy 2016, National Steel Policy 2017 and targets for coal production, Indian mineral industry is poised to meet the increasing demands for infrastructure, energy and steel sector, that will propel the nation's economy. Globally, the mining sector is faced with high staff turnover, diverse working conditions and resultant shortage of qualified mining professionals. Similar shortage has been reported in the Indian mineral mining sector, which ranks 4th among mineral producer countries and contributes 2.6 percentto nation's GDP. The present study aims to identify factors and their dimensions which influence retention of mining professional in Indian mining industry. A combination of qualitative and quantitative methods is used to identify these factors. In the context of responsible organizational practices as perceived by employees, we examine organizational (1) Strategic practices (2) HR Practices (3) Compliance practices (4) Practices on fairness and trust (5) Governance practices to include Corporate social responsibility and Sustainability. Based on these factors and their dimensions, a questionnaire based quantitative survey was designed and administered on mining professionals, to test the hypotheses on relationship among these factors. The results showed significant direct relationship between HR Practices, Compliance practices, Practices on fairness and trust with Intent to stay. However, Strategic practices only when mediated by Governance practices showed significant indirect relationship and not otherwise. Further analysis of qualitative inputs, using NVivo software, brings out useful recommendations for improving the retention. This study has re-visited the theory of reasoned action, person-organization fit theory and gaps in practised and perceived practices. These are important recommendations for mining companies, mining industry and government.