Case study: How DPM promotes employee engagement
DPM is a Canadian-based, international gold mining company engaged in the acquisition, exploration, development, mining and processing of precious metals. Employees are one of DPM’s most important stakeholder groups and, accordingly, DPM seeks to engage them regularly and in various ways Tweet This! throughout the year, through departmental meetings, notice boards, grievance procedures, town halls, social media and other employee events.
This case study is based on the 2018 Sustainability Report by DPM published on the Global Reporting Initiative Sustainability Disclosure Database that can be found at this link. Through all case studies we aim to demonstrate what CSR/ ESG/ sustainability reporting done responsibly means. Essentially, it means: a) identifying a company’s most important impacts on the environment, economy and society, and b) measuring, managing and changing.
Abstract
In 2018, DPM carried out an employee survey to better understand this key stakeholder group on a variety of topics such as leadership, communication, work environment, and career management. The global participation rate was 61%. In order to promote employee engagement DPM took action to:
- provide grievance channels
- promote a culture of open dialogue
- carry out supplier assessments for social practices
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With this case study you will see:
- Which are the most important impacts (material issues) DPM has identified;
- How DPM proceeded with stakeholder engagement, and
- What actions were taken by DPM to promote employee engagement
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What are the material issues the company has identified?
In its 2018 Sustainability Report DPM identified a range of material issues, such as economic performance, environmental compliance, anti-corruption, local communities, effluents and waste. Among these, promoting employee engagement stands out as a key material issue for DPM.
Stakeholder engagement in accordance with the GRI Standards
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) defines the Principle of Stakeholder Inclusiveness when identifying material issues (or a company’s most important impacts) as follows:
Stakeholders must be consulted in the process of identifying a company’s most important impacts and their reasonable expectations and interests must be taken into account. This is an important cornerstone for CSR / sustainability reporting done responsibly.
Key stakeholder groups DPM engages with:
| Stakeholder Group | Method of engagement |
| Employees
| · Annual and periodic salary and performance reviews · Training and development opportunities · Monthly newsletters and bulletin boards · Department group meetings · Employee grievance procedures · Employee engagement survey · Local trade unions with collective bargaining agreements · Biennial GRI Sustainability Report · Annual Sustainability Data Supplement · Corporate website (in English and Bulgarian) · Quarterly town hall meetings · Corporate announcements and updates · Speak Up and Ethics hotline |
| Investment community | · Site tours · External audits when required · Lender-driven action plans · Annual Sustainability Report · Annual Sustainability Data Supplement · Corporate website (in English and Bulgarian) · Regulatory filings · Quarterly conference calls · Attendance at conferences and investor presentations · Regular face-to-face meetings |
| Governments | · Regular meetings at local and national levels · EIA and permitting compliance procedures · Extensive local community investment and engagement activities · Annual Sustainability Report · Annual Sustainability Data Supplement · Corporate website (in English and Bulgarian) · Senior corporate management engagement at all levels of government · Country visits by DPM board of directors |
| Local communities | · Fully staffed Community Information Centres · Dedicated community relations staff · Stakeholder engagement plans · Site visits/open doors days · Public hearings/ “Town Hall Meetings” to discuss issues · Extensive local community investment · Local procurement policies · External stakeholder grievance procedures · Annual Sustainability Report · Annual Sustainability Data Supplement · Corporate website (in English and Bulgarian) · Corporate member of the Devonshire Initiative · Visits by senior corporate management and meetings with local community leaders |
| Civil society | · Meetings and hosting of site visits · Public hearings · Annual Sustainability Report · Annual Sustainability Data Supplement · Corporate website (in English and Bulgarian) · Involvement of senior management in select meetings · Social media |
How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues
To identify and prioritise material topics DPM updated its Materiality Assessment focusing on specific topics previously seen as not material, and polled a wide range of internal and external stakeholders, including investors, lenders, corporate and site-based personnel and its Board of Directors.
What actions were taken by DPM to promote employee engagement?
In its 2018 Sustainability Report DPM reports that it took the following actions for promoting employee engagement:
- Providing grievance channels
- All DPM employees can communicate their grievances related to labour practices and/ or human rights through DPM’S corporate-wide Speak Up & Reporting Policy, which provides a confidential and anonymous method for reporting. Reports can be made using one of three channels:
- Report directly to a manager, supervisor or the Human Resources Department;
- Report through the EthicsPoint hot-line, which is operated by an independent service provider; or
- Report directly to the Chair of the Audit Committee of the DPM Board of Directors.
- Contact information for all of the above are available on the DPM website.
- Promoting a culture of open dialogue
- DPM has good relations with its employees and trade unions and did not experience any strikes or work stoppages during 2018. However, DPM is constantly looking to improve its processes and procedures regarding human resources, labour practices and appropriate work policies. This is achieved by a culture of open dialogue in general, as well as ongoing dialogue between DPM’s corporate site and human resources teams specifically to address issues that need to be resolved or procedures and processes that need to be improved. Currently, an average of 39% of all employees are covered by trade unions across the company.
- Carrying out supplier assessments for social practices
- DPM’s locally managed procurement procedures take into account the cost and quality of goods and services sought, and the labour practice policies of its suppliers. DPM vets all new suppliers through its Third Party Due Diligence (3PDD) process and based on risk, an additional due diligence screening through a global risk intelligence network is completed. DPM recently completed screening on all its current suppliers, and stipulates in its contracts that suppliers must comply with local human rights and labour laws and regulations at a minimum. Human resources policies are incorporated into DPM’s Code of Business and Ethics, site-specific collective labour agreements, and the local labour standards and laws in the countries where DPM
Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?
The GRI Standards addressed in this case are:
2) Disclosure 414-1 New suppliers that were screened using social criteria
Disclosure 407-1 Operations and suppliers in which the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining may be at risk corresponds to:
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
- Business theme: Freedom of association and collective bargaining
Disclosure 414-1 New suppliers that were screened using social criteria corresponds to:
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
- Business theme: Workplace violence and harassment
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
- Business theme: Labor practices in the supply chain
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
- Business theme: Workplace violence and harassment
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References:
1) This case study is based on published information by DPM, located at the link below. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses. However, we made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original, please revert to the original on the Global Reporting Initiative’s Sustainability Disclosure Database at the link:
http://database.globalreporting.org/
2) https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/gri-standards-download-center/
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