Employees

We recognise that attracting, developing and retaining a skilled and diverse workforce is critical to business performance. We believe that our approach to attracting and retaining people is one of the most competitive in the industry.

We recognise every individual’s contribution to our business, and provide clear direction and context on our objectives to help people develop within our organisation. We take a global approach to talent management, which includes running performance reviews, development and career planning, and offering regular feedback to employees. This enables us to provide opportunities for technical, professional and leadership development that meet the objectives of individuals and the business. These can include opportunities for career progression and development across Rio Tinto, locally, regionally, and in some cases, internationally.

We offer competitive remuneration packages, incentives and benefits, which include an employee share savings plan. Flexible working arrangements can accommodate the broad range of needs of our diverse workforce.

We recruit based on skills and experience, to meet the requirements of current – and potential future – roles. We do not discriminate on grounds of age, ethnicity, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, politics, religion or physical abilities. We do not employ forced, bonded or child labour.

People local to our operations should share in the prosperity that our presence can bring to the region. We actively favour local employment where local candidates meet job requirements and laws provide. Many of our agreements with local communities include local employment targets. 

Where local capacity requires support to meet our employment standards we, in partnership with communities and government, implement a range of programmes that focus on developing skills levels and work readiness. Through these programmes, we inform communities about our operations and working for us; we increase our understanding of the local workforce capabilities; and we help increase communities’ capacity to work in our operations or local industry, for instance through training and leadership programmes.

It is important to note that not all local people who go through our programmes end up working for Rio Tinto. This is positive for our business. Local people who work for contractors, other businesses, community organisations or who become entrepreneurs enhance the local economy, build local capacity, and help generate a more vibrant and stable community. This is a good environment in which we can carry out our business.

We focus on diversity internally and externally. We build a workforce that is aligned with our values, and that represents the diverse communities and geographies in which we operate. We organise our business to eliminate structural and cultural barriers so that we – and our external stakeholders – can work together effectively. Our employees’ diversity of skills, ideas and experiences improves our thinking and problem solving capacity. We encourage collaboration within and across our businesses, cultures and countries to build cohesiveness and raise performance. Externally, we aim to recognise, appreciate and respond to the diverse interests of our stakeholders, who include customers, markets, communities, governments and suppliers.

We help aboriginal people engage in the local economy through various strategies, including direct employment.  Each operation develops aboriginal employment programmes to suit their local situation. With all these programmes, we carry out research to understand the candidates’ community; we support indigenous people to be work ready; and we prepare our workplace for them. Our aboriginal employment programme succeeds because of support from our senior leaders, our strong working relationships with local communities, and our affirmative employment policies. We have faced challenges along the way, but our focus on aboriginal employment has created many benefits. We have improved staff retention levels, a harmonious and cohesive workforce, and we have attracted high quality candidates to our company.

Transparency is part of our everyday work ethic. We conduct formal surveys that give our employees the opportunity to provide feedback on their experiences of the business and working environment. We have also introduced Speak-OUT, a confidential, free telephone line for our people to bring any concerns to the attention of senior management.