Evaluating employee engagement factors important for Millennial Rock Drill Operators at a Mining Company in Gauteng Province

Abstract

Employee engagement is at the forefront of organisational strategies and gained relevance in the last three decades. In the same period, the South African mining industry started to face rising costs, unstable markets, susceptible commodity prices and labour unrest. In 2014, a five-month strike in the platinum industry provoked the need for miners to understand the influences of employee engagement and the strategic implementation thereof. Literature shows that employee engagement is a source of enterprise competitiveness because it stimulates employee commitment and subsequently improves productivity, product quality and profitability. As a result, this study aims to determine the employee engagement factors that are important at a mining company named Millennial Rock Drill Operators. The company is situated in Springs, Gauteng. The study used an experimental employee engagement questionnaire to collect data using a cohort in conjunction with convenience sampling at a mining company in Springs. A sample of 100 respondents was targeted and 80 responded (signifying a response rate of 80%). The results show that more than 92% of the employees were more than 70% engaged. The identified employee engagement factors are 1) nature of work, 2) emotional engagement, 3) career growth opportunities, 4) the connection between individual and company, 5) trust and integrity, and 6) having engaged the leadership team. These factors are essential and influential on employee engagement at Rock Drill Operators. The demographic variable marital status also has a significant impact on all the factors of employee engagement. The study’s findings are notable for the mining company because it will constitute a foundation for employee engagement implementation strategies.