The measurement of the employee–brand relationship in the mining industry

Abstract

The study was aimed at measuring the employee-brand relationship in a mining company. The main reasons for the leading position of South African mining companies’, especially in the Ferro alloys industry was due to the large quantities of natural resources and especially the comparatively low electricity rates. South Africa’s electricity prices increased significantly since 2008, when the electrical grid became unstable due to inefficiencies and poor planning. Eskom embarked on an expensive expansion programme, which are funded by increasing electricity tariffs of approximately 30% to 45% over several years, therefore the management of these mining companies was not only obliged to relook companies’ strategies, forecasts and future plans, but were now forced to further utilize resources to the maximum and to create internal brand images. Internal branding in the mining industry will increasingly become more relevant especially in the recession time. Powerful brand images can promote loyalty amongst employees, grow profits, increase market share and satisfy customers. The survey that was conducted was done at Tubatse Chrome that is a subsidiary of Samancor Chrome in Steelpoort. This survey enabled the detection of weaknesses with regards to departmental and organisational identification, perceived organisational prestige, job and company satisfaction, organisational culture, employee communication, commitment, employee knowledge with regards to the company and whether the employees cares. The conceptual model identified several sub factors that can either create or prevent a supportive attitude towards the company as a whole or towards only a part of the company. The company obtained the highest score with regards to commitment and job satisfaction however attention needs to be given to its communication policy as well as the climate that is created by its leadership style and the management behaviour.