2007 Full Report - Kinross Gold

OUR PEOPLE AND WORKPLACEAt the heart of our business is our commitment to a safe, healthy and engaging workplace– in keeping with our value of “Putting people first.” We are respectful of the values,traditions and cultural realities of our diverse workplace, while also staying true to globalvalues and standards of social engagement and performance that, we believe, must defineall Kinross operations worldwide.At the heart of ourbusiness is ourcommitment to asafe, healthy, andengaging workplace.At year-end 2007, Kinross employed approximately 5,000 people in five countries.We also provided work to approximately 2,000 contractors in 2007.We are guided by the following priorities regarding our employees and the workplace:• Promoting health and safety among our employees, partners and suppliers, and inour communities• Treating our employees with fairness and respect, and providing them with opportunitiesfor professional development and personal growth• Fostering a work environment that supports diversity and recognizes that, as aglobal company, we must remain sensitive to local cultures, customs and practices• Ensuring our people are kept informed of important company developments and issuesIn keeping with our “Focus on best talent, best teams”, part of our Four-Point Plan,we take a best-practices approach to talent management. The performance of everyexecutive, senior manager and employee is evaluated annually. For executive andsenior management, performance is evaluated, in part, on how well they attract,retain and develop talent in their respective teams and organizations.ChallengesKey challenges for Kinross in the area of human resources reflect industry trendsworldwide and include:• Developing front-line employees more effectively• Attracting young people to work in remote locations• Managing issues and implications surrounding an aging workforce• Addressing a general scarcity of technical, mining and engineering talent• Evolving global leadership development and succession management initiativesto ensure a strong bench of current and future leadersPage 28 Kinross 2007 corporate responsibility reportTo address these talent-related challenges, Kinross ensures excellent compensation,and opportunities for development and ongoing training. We have also developed programsfocusing on attracting and retaining talent and developing and deploying critical leadershipskills. Our Gold Rush program offers university undergraduates rotational work opportunitiesat Kinross that are led by a mentor, and which include the opportunity for a conditionalemployment offer upon graduation. Our Generation Gold program provides a select groupof high-potential university graduates with a four-year employment commitment thatincludes international work experience and leadership opportunities.Kinross also provides a wide range of training, skill and career development opportunities,structured performance management evaluations and culture-building initiatives.We regularly benchmark our progress on talent-related challenges against the bestcompanies in the resource sector and other high-performing international organizations.