Building Clarity in Talent Acquisition: A Strategic Framework for a Mining Giant
Client: Large South African Mining Group
Industry: Mining and Resources
Focus: Talent Acquisition; Talent Strategy; EVP Optimisation; Employer Branding; Talent Process Optimisation
What They Were Up Against
The client was facing increasing challenges in attracting and retaining the right talent to meet both current operational needs and future growth priorities. At the time, they had no clear Talent Acquisition strategy, philosophy, or framework in place. Practices across the group were fragmented, inconsistent, and largely reactive.
Employer branding was underdeveloped, with career site content and employee stories failing to showcase culture, values, and employee experience. Talent sourcing depended heavily on reactive recruitment, with limited ability to build proactive pipelines for critical skills. Screening and selection were slowed by manual processes and lack of standardisation. Onboarding varied widely across teams and lacked digitisation, leading to uneven candidate experiences.
Without a unifying strategy, the group risked losing talent to competitors, weakening succession pipelines, and falling short in securing scarce skills for future expansion.
Where We Chose to Focus
Our diagnostic process, including in-depth sessions with the Head of Talent Acquisition and a review of existing practices, identified the absence of a unifying philosophy and strategy as the root issue.
We focused on designing a comprehensive Talent Acquisition Strategic Framework that would provide clarity, alignment, and direction across the organisation. Key elements included:
Overarching Philosophy
Defining the role of Talent Acquisition as a strategic business enabler
Guiding Principles
Establishing the core beliefs and non-negotiables that would underpin all Talent Acquisition practices
Strategic Framework
Prioritising the initiatives needed to move from fragmented, reactive processes to an integrated, future-focused approach
Specific strategic initiatives identified for implementation included:
Employer Branding refresh to position the group as an employer of choice
Proactive Sourcing strategies, including talent pools, alumni, and internal mobility
Standardised Screening & Selection with multiple data inputs
Digitised and consistent Onboarding to strengthen culture and engagement
How We Partnered for Impact
We worked closely with the Head of Talent Acquisition and key stakeholders to co-design a framework tailored to the organisation’s culture, priorities, and language.
Our approach included:
Diagnostics and maturity analysis to understand strengths, gaps, and systemic challenges
Collaborative design sessions to co-create the philosophy, principles, and framework
Innovation and change principles to ensure the framework was forward-looking, practical, and easy to embed
The framework was deliberately designed to be both strategic and actionable, providing clarity to leaders while being practical enough for HR and managers to use consistently.
What Shifted
While full implementation is still in progress, the project has already created clarity, alignment, and momentum.
Talent Acquisition now has a defined philosophy and guiding principles that set the tone for how the function operates
Strategic initiatives have been prioritised, creating direction and focus for the Talent Acquisition team
The client has already begun experimenting with AI and digital tools to streamline aspects of sourcing and selection, building early momentum for the broader strategy
Leaders and managers have a clear framework for future decision-making, enabling consistency across business units
Awareness campaigns are underway to build visibility of the new vision across the business
Success Enablers
Several factors made the design of this strategic framework successful:
Co-Design With Stakeholders
Engaging HR, business leaders, and managers in shaping the philosophy and framework created alignment
Clarity and Simplicity
By avoiding jargon and unnecessary complexity, the framework became a practical tool rather than a theoretical document
Future-Focused Thinking
Incorporating digital, AI, and proactive sourcing trends ensured the framework was not only relevant today but also positioned for tomorrow
Strategic Alignment
The framework connected directly to business strategy, embedding Talent Acquisition as a lever for competitiveness and growth.
