What drives us at work

At KGHM, safety is one of the basic company's values. Hard working conditions in the mining and processing industry oblige us to care about safety and health of our employees and subcontractors. The basis of our activities is a constant improvement of OHS area. This initiative is delivered under the principles defined in the Health and Safety Policy. In strategic terms, we assume delivery of the ‘zero accident’ objective by development of technology and management systems as well as intensive promoting of safety culture and proper behaviours among the employees.

System of training for employees plays a key role in OHS activities. Every year, thousands of people are referred to take part in periodical OHS training. Additionally, a couple of thousand of employees participate in technical courses to improve their professional qualifications. The frequency of training depends on the job position and the degree of being exposed to hazard. To increase both attractiveness and effectiveness of H&S trainings in 2012 – 2014, we introduced innovative courses using multi-media materials and new forms of education deriving from high competences of the Company’s employees. They present the technological line and the specification of individual work positions. Owing to such approach, we make employees aware that the safety of the entire company depends on their individual behaviour. By perfecting the safety culture in the company, we care about the improvement of communication at all organisational levels. I am convinced that effective communication and teamwork is the key to safe work.

I am very pleased with the fact that our activities result in tangible effects. Within the last several years, total number of accidents has radically decreased, coefficients of accident rate have improved (coefficient of accident severity and frequency), followed by decreased rate of occupational disease incidence. What’s important, this trend continues, which confirms the reasonability of the executed activities. However, in the mining industry safety improvement is a continuous work. Soon, as part of the implementation of the Integrated Management System at KGHM, a system unified with PN‍-N 18001/OHSAS 18001 norm will be created. This system will also cover work safety management issues.

Dariusz Teodorski

The cooperation of KGHM with the Department of Mining and Geoengineering at AGH University of Science and Technology has a very long tradition. In recent years, we have jointly organized the programme of abroad student internships - Go Global Internships. I appreciate full professionalism of programme preparation, starting with the recruitment process, through travel organisation, departure and, finally, the settlement. The employees of KGHM responsible for internships offer help and are at the disposal of interns. The are willing to support them formally and organisationally. What is more, I believe that the implementation of such programme by KGHM testifies to the fact that the employees behave according to the values of the company, such as responsibility and teamwork in their daily work. Go Global Internships aimed at admitting the best students of mining faculties at the internships abroad and enabled them gaining unique knowledge and experiences. Young people have solved the real challenges supported by knowledge and competences of KGHM mining plant employees. Young people were solving real tasks, were using the capital of knowledge and employees' competencies from KGHM International mining plants.

The Go Global Internships programme was a perfect opportunity to strengthen cooperation between the scientific units and KGHM. In the future, this cooperation may result in innovative solutions based on students' experience.

Edyta Brzychczy
Deputy Dean for Full-time Education Department of Mining and Geoengineering

Accountability is a very broad term at KGHM. It applies not only to the behaviour of employees while they perform their daily work; it is also a value that shapes long-term ethical activities of the company affecting the environment and the society.

Bone Marrow Team has been created at KGHM. It is one of the initiatives that implements the ideas of corporate social responsibility. Since 2011, KGHM has been registering potential donors who consciously and responsibly make a decision of saving another person's life. Every year doctors diagnose blood cancer among 10 000 of people. A chance for the patients is the so called "drip of life", which is bone marrow transplant from a genetic twin. Finding a genetic twin is a big challenge. The chances are like 1:25000

The Bone Marrow Team has already registered 1000 people who are ready to help another person. What is more, some of them have already taken this opportunity! It is a beautiful gift who can be given only by selfless, courageous and accountable people. Before a person is registered in our bank, the whole preparation process is thoroughly explained, all the procedures are described as well as the specificity of this test. Our job is to fill the list of potential donors with the biggest number of names. We would like the persons who register to make really conscious decisions and to treat the declaration they make with full accountability.

Not every person will be able to help others by sharing their bone marrow. The uniqueness of KGHM's team is its diversity. Some team members are responsible for communication, others by promoting the idea of donation by taking part in sports events. They are needed though. Their support is a relaistic image of accountability which is an important value at KGHM.

What is courage for me? It is readiness to face fear, weaknesses and anxiety. It surely requires engagement, but only in connection with deliberation it is profitable. Courage does not equal lack of fears or worries, but rather involves facing them. In my work, I constantly make various decisions both prosaic and more important ones on which human life depends. We have the courage to be different, think outside the box, discard fears before implementing innovative ideas, remembering, though, that we are at the same time accountable for all changes introduced. Courage is also openness to changes in myself, but also in my colleagues. I am glad that I can work with people who expect from me and from themselves decisive and courageous actions, who define specific expectations and are jointly involved in their implementation. Our goal of overriding importance is to help the injured, make courageous decisions, but still following the principles of zero harm. By being engaged, we take responsibility for our actions. Mark Twain said that: "Courage is mastery of fear, not absence of fear".?

Piotr Cukrowski
Emergency Mine-Smelter Rescue Services Unit

Performance management is the process that supports the implementation of business goals of KGHM. Their implementation made it possible to precisely define employees' KPIs, both solidarity and individual goals and tasks. The assigned tasks always take into account company's strategy and values which are followed on a daily basis at work.

At the moment, goals and tasks at KGHM are set jointly and according to SMART principle. As a result, the sense of being result-driven is strengthened among the team members. We build accountability, we cooperate closely, we improve effectiveness of activities, we enhance involvement and motivate employees.

Owing to the integrated approach to performance management, the set goals are monitored on an ongoing basis. We have introduced common criteria for employees assessment and employee-supervisor meetings. We already see the benefits of these changes. We have facilitated internal communication, we have learnt more about our expectations, and our team is composed of people who are aware of the development directions of the company and wish to participate in challenges taken up by the company. Professional development of employees is noticeable not only at the individual level, but is also correlated with the entire organisation and its possibilities to expand.

I am sure that as a company we are going in the right direction, and being result-driven has become at KGHM one of the values that leads the company to achieve strategic goals and global success. 

Magdalena Lipinska
Department of Remuneration and Incentive Systems