The perceived benefits of workforce inclusion in driving change in the mining industry

Abstract

The mining industry is at the heart of South Africa's economic growth. As a result, evolving technology and a changing workforce compel the industry to manage organisational change effectively, as its future depends on it. However, change projects have a high failure rate, which impacts many stakeholders such as investors, governments, companies and their employees, and families. This research explores how workforce inclusion can benefit any change projects from the current status quo to the desired future state. A qualitative methodology was adopted to explore the views of 13 participants involved in change implementation at three levels: the workforce, the supervisor and middle management. This study’s findings were consistent with the literature on change misdiagnosis, and that leadership is key to change. Therefore, it contributes to the literature and has implications for the mining industry.