Recruitment process consulting for Mining contractors: a trialled bench for contracts that start in weeks
A contractor that wins a pit needs operators, a driller and a foreman on site within weeks. A trialled bench and a clear process beat a scramble through personal contacts.
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Share your requirementsWhy recruitment process consulting matters in mining contractors
Mining contractors often hire in a rush. A contract is signed, the client asks for a start date and the owner rings friends and past colleagues. Operators come, but nobody has tested them on the machine in question. Some are good, some leave after the first month and some are refused at the client's gate.
A better process begins before the contract. It keeps a bench of operators and mechanics who have been trialled, knows their notice and expected pay, and has a standard practical test for each machine. It also checks fit with the site: distance, camp life and the client's rules.
How to set it up
1. Define each role by machine and task
Excavator, dumper, drill, dozer, mechanic and foreman, each with the machines, shifts and tasks. Mark what must be known on day one.
2. Run a standard trial
A short supervised session on the real machine type, scored by a senior operator on control, care, awareness and speed. Keep the scorecard.
3. Build and warm the bench
Keep the names of those who passed, with notice period and contact. Call them every few months so the list stays alive.
4. Check site fit early
Tell candidates about distance, camp life, rotation and the client's rules before they accept. Poor fit shows as an early exit.
5. Learn from each start-up
After each contract starts, note how long it took to fill roles, how many left in the first month and which channel supplied the best. The recruitment process consulting page describes how we would help.
Check these first
Before changing anything, find out what is true today. These take an afternoon and use your own records.
- Count the operators you could call tomorrow who have already passed your trial.
- Look at how many of the last ten hires left within three months.
- Check that your trial is the same for each candidate on a given machine.
- See whether candidates are told about the camp and rotation before they accept.
GullyHR can do this with you. Read how we approach recruitment process consulting in general, or share your requirements and we will tell you where to start.
Questions owners ask
Where the client allows, yes. It builds confidence and avoids a refusal at the gate. If not, your own senior operator should apply the client's standards as far as you know them.
Enough to cover your likely next contract and normal exits. Estimate from the number of roles in your last two start-ups and the time it took to fill them.
Offer rotation, travel support or a clear path to a nearer site. Ask them what would make a remote site acceptable before you rule it out.