At Zijin Mining, we believe in Value Creation and Development for All. Putting value creators first is our approach to talent management. We respect labor, workers and their contributions and strive to prioritize value creators in our hiring and promotion processes. We are also strengthening our framework for sharing benefits with value creators. Our aim is to build a human resources system that aligns with our global operations and international standards, developing a pool of global professionals from various disciplines. Furthermore, we seek to maximize the well-being of our employees and meet their aspirations for a better life, thereby attracting and retaining talent.

We follow the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. We also implement supplementary policies and measures to protect the rights of our employees. We provide training on our Corporate Code of Conduct for every new employee when they join the company, and require all of them to follow the principle of Integrity, Diligence, Collaboration, and Fraternity. Our aim is to foster a culture of respect and integrity and create a diverse and inclusive work environment.

As we operate globally, we have identified a mismatch between our growing global footprint and our confined mindset and management style, which poses a significant risk to the implementation of our strategies and our global operations. Therefore, developing a globally-minded and diverse workforce, as well as improving talent cultivation and retention, are important tasks for our human resources function. We will first address the shortage of globally competent talent and mitigate the risks we face through a strategy of global and local employment, along with fostering talent diversity. Additionally, we provide our employees with very competitive compensation and benefits plans, as well as diverse career development opportunities.

In order to meet the challenges posed by our global expansion and the scarcity of mining talent, we have integrated a diversified employment policy into our corporate strategy to build an internationally competitive talent system and a personnel structure underpinned by diversity and alignment with host countries’ interests. 

We are actively implementing our local employment policy, hiring and training local talent and formulating annual local hiring plans for senior, middle and junior management positions in our overseas subsidiaries. We also create employment opportunities for the countries and regions where our subsidiaries operate. We require all subsidiaries to increase the percentage of local employees in their management teams and to consider diverse nationalities as an important factor in their senior management training programs.

By implementing our Remuneration Policy, we have established a fair remuneration structure with basic salary as the foundation and equal pay for equal work as the guiding principle. This structure is supplemented by performance bonuses, allowances, and benefits, which facilitate employees’ development and apply to all types of employees. We ensure that employees receive salaries commensurate with their job positions and the value they create, and we include them in performance incentive plans. For instance, we have set up a restricted shares incentive scheme for all employees as a part of our long-term incentive and talent retention mechanisms.

We perform regular remuneration benchmarking analyses to ensure all of our operations provide fair and competitive compensation and benefits. We have set up a salary increase mechanism underpinned by a point-based system to ensure our employees’ salary levels are higher than the minimum wage and mandated benefits (such as employee pensions, healthcare and unemployment security) in our host countries. Further, we offer them additional benefits, such as subsidized housing, rental subsidies, continuing education allowances and festival benefits. All our operations are equipped with libraries, medical clinics, gyms and recreational facilities, which enhance employees’ sense of happiness and belonging.

To ensure our female employees’ rights and benefits, we have formulated a policy to extend their paid maternity leave to 158 days and treat those on maternity leave equally during performance assessment. The policy also specifies relevant benefits for male employees during their paternity leave.

In 2022, we worked with a third party to conduct a company-wide employee satisfaction survey to understand their views on the company’s values, objectives, strategies and overall work environment. The findings served as the basis for continuous management improvement and helped us understand and accommodate employees’ expectations, cultivating a stronger sense of dedication and belonging. The results showed that over 92% of our employees understand the company’s vision and goals and are willing to make extra efforts for the company’s development, with an average score of 4.7 out of 5. More than 87% of our employees are highly aligned with the company’s development, achieving an average score of 4.5 out of 5.

Guided by an international approach, we have established a comprehensive, tiered, and extensive education and training system to meet employees’ needs for skill enhancement. In addition, we have developed diverse personnel growth mechanisms and built three career development paths for all employees: administrative, business, and technical specialization. Employees can choose their own path according to their wishes.

We encourage and support employees in pursuing continuing education and obtaining qualifications and certifications. For employees studying for a degree while working, the company reimburses their tuition and travel expenses. For those taking time off to study, we maintain their employment status and continue to pay their basic salaries and social security contributions. Additionally, we have also developed a series of internal training and development plans tailored to different employee groups to unlock their full potential.

The human resources department will organize all business departments to develop annual assessment plans in the first quarter of each year, and conduct performance pre-evaluation in July and formal annual performance evaluation in December.

Multidimensional performance assessment (360 degree feedback) includes superior evaluation of subordinates' executive ability, communication ability, learning understanding, etc., peer evaluation of team cooperation, global concept, responsibility, etc., subordinates evaluation of superior team leadership, training guidance, organization and coordination, etc., once a half year evaluation.

According to the annual targets, each business department shall decompose and form the annual business responsibility assessment indicators of the subsidiaries, which mainly include financial indicators such as output, cost and profit as well as important annual work items. The annual performance pre-evaluation shall be conducted in July and the annual performance formal evaluation shall be conducted in December.

The Company attaches great importance to communication throughout the entire performance appraisal process, from the formulation of performance plans at the beginning of the year to the correction of indicators in the performance management process, to the performance improvement guidance for employees and the year-end performance interview, not only paying attention to the appraisal results, but also paying more attention to the formal or informal communication and guidance during the appraisal process, so as to help the team and employees achieve the appraisal objectives.