The Great Escape, a survey by consultants Stratum International, asked around 1200 mining professionals what made them leave their last job, and the three most commonly given answers indicated a lack of confidence in leadership, much more so than disappointment with rewards or recognition, or the lure of a more attractive appointment.

Reflecting the unpredictable climate of the mining sector, the survey found a fifth of the sample respondents had changed jobs within the last year, while 60% of unemployed respondents had been out of work for a year.

Twenty-seven per cent had been with their current employer for one to three years, 29% for three to five years and 23% for more than five years.

The main reasons that contributed to the decision to leave were; dissatisfaction with the leadership of management (32%), disagreement with the overall direction of the company (23%), dissatisfaction with the work culture or environment (20%) and the end of a contract or project (10%).

Even amid the gloom of the economic downturn, while nearly two-thirds of respondents selected leadership, only 6% included dissatisfaction with compensation and benefits, and not one respondent reported leaving their job because of the lack of a recent pay increase.

The number one reason given for leaving was dissatisfaction with the leadership of management, at 13%, with 10% blaming an end of a fixed contract.

A further 10% left their job after being made redundant.

As a word of advice, Stratum suggests that in order to stem the flow of exits, leaders (managers) needed to:

• ·         Be visible and inspiring. Don’t underestimate senior leadership’s power to attract or repel top talent, because more people leave organisations with ineffective leadership than because of a poor manager
• ·         Create an appealing culture and a compelling vision
• ·         Not compete for talent on pay alone
• ·         Not lose top talent carelessly

• ·         Have stay meetings as well as exit interviews