Reduce Turnover with Mining EHS Software – Part 1

Originally Published: February 15, 2022. 

Every industry across the globe suffers from employee attrition. The mining industry is no exception. This phenomenon has been exacerbated over the past few years, impacting a lot of top-CEO priorities including employee wellbeing, balancing revenue and operating costs, workplace culture, and business sustainability. Although turnover can’t be completely eliminated, keeping it at a minimum can avoid a lot of costly problems for your organization, and mining EHS software will play an unexpected role. 

Administration:

Between exit interviews, working with recruiters, posting new openings, conducting interviews, follow-up interviews, and background checks, you can see how much work is involved. The investment of time alone costs thousands of dollars, and that’s just for a single new employee. If you do work with recruiters, their fees can reach up to 30% of a new hire’s annual salary which is a substantial expense.

Training:

Training a new employee is more than just a few hours in a boardroom. Time is money, so you should consider the resources connected to mine tours, coordinating supplies,  job shadowing, and close monitoring for the first few months. 

When it comes to many new hires, they may have all of the skills needed but may not have the correct certifications. Additional time and money will be spent on specialized certification and equipment. Combined, staff training accounts for the second largest OHS expense according to a 2017 Ontario-based study 

Productivity:

Especially in highly specialized roles, it can take over a year to become fully productive, but the costs start far before this. The second that an employee leaves, the rest of the team is left to pick up the slack. This opens the door for higher levels of stress, longer hours, more mistakes, missing targets, and burnout. Leaving it like this for too long often results in additional turnover.

This risks impacting the entire organization, not just a single team or shift. When an employee leaves, they often take a lot of knowledge with them. Depending on the individual and level of expertise, this can have a ripple effect that bottlenecks activities that used to run smoothly. 

Organizational Culture: 

You’ve worked hard to establish your culture, and even harder to maintain it. Every time a new member is introduced to the team, it applies stress to culture. Your existing team is used to doing things at a certain pace. New hires will slow this pace as they learn the ropes. New hires also bring new personalities with them, which slightly alters your overarching culture. This is usually manageable, with new hires eventually finding their pace and incorporating their personalities into the culture. However, frequent turnover means more new personalities and skill levels, and less time to adapt. This presents the risk of finding the limit of that stress.

Reputation: 

Although mining is a huge industry, the community is very close. Being labelled as a high-turnover or unsafe organization will hinder your efforts of attracting top talent, no matter how much money you throw at the problem. Many mines are discovering that inflated wages will attract talent but fall short when it comes to retention. The same label will make attracting investors and winning tenders more difficult, which can be a tremendous financial threat.

2025 Update: Turnover is an Operational Risk Across All Industrial Sectors

As we navigate 2025, the true cost of employee turnover has moved front and centre. Its impact is showing up directly in delayed project schedules, strained compliance efforts, and compromised day-to-day safety. Losing a key team member erodes the trust you’ve built with both clients and regulators, making turnover a core business risk for every sector this year.

As outlined above, the indirect costs of turnover are vast: 

• Lost Knowledge: The experience, tips, and day-to-day processes your team develops over time aren’t easy to teach someone new. It takes time for new hires to learn the hands-on tricks and routines that experienced staff know by heart.
• Compliance Risks: Every new hire faces a learning curve, increasing the chances of documentation lapses or audit findings for standards like SOC 2, ISO 27001, or COR®.
• Project Delays: Unfilled roles and overburdened teams mean timelines and deliverables slip.
• Safety and Culture: High churn disrupts communication and training, raising incident risk and eroding morale.
• Reputation: Frequent turnover is noticed both internally and externally, influencing recruitment, client decisions, and long-term brand perception.

Key Actions for Leaders:

• Make retention a business objective: Treat stability like you do productivity, safety, or compliance. It’s essential for performance and resilience.
• Streamline onboarding and documentation: Digital tools like sofvie help new hires become effective sooner and reduce the likelihood of mistakes or missed requirements.
• Listen and adapt: Open feedback channels help you identify why people leave and what would help them stay, so you can address issues before they create risk.
• Showcase your strengths: Promote safety, growth, and teamwork internally and externally to attract and keep the right people.