Basic Materials Practice

Hybrid working models

can leverage talent and
skills across industries
Digital technologies and advanced analytics are here to stay. Cognitive,
digital, and self-leadership skills can help hybrid working models thrive
in mining and heavy industries.

This article is a collaborative effort by Eddie Elizondo, Shailesh Lekhwani, Tarusha Moonsamy,
Lapo Mori, and Sebastian Reiter, representing views from McKinsey’s Basic Materials Practice.

© Daniel Balakov/Getty Images

July 2022
 The past two years or so have served as an
impromptu experiment in testing the efficacy of the
remote workplace. Many organizations saw the early
stages of the pandemic as an opportunity to rethink
how people, management systems, and technical
infrastructure are set up to not only support the
business but also complement the operating model.
From a people perspective, there have been
numerous challenges with balancing work and
personal commitments, mobilizing teams outside of
traditional roles and operating models, and nurturing
a cohesive culture amid periods of high uncertainty.
For these reasons, among others, many people
strongly prefer a remote or hybrid working model,
even as we begin to think of a post-COVID-19 world.
Our research shows that employees crave investment
in the human aspects of work. They want a renewed
sense of purpose, and they want to feel a sense of
shared identity with their colleagues. Yes, they want
fair pay, good benefits, and ample perks, but more
than that, employees want to feel valued by their
organizations and managers. They want meaningful
interactions, not just transactions—though not
necessarily in person.1
The following article explains how management
systems and tech infrastructure have accelerated to
support revised operating models since the outbreak
of COVID-19. Today, hiring, retaining, and building
sufficient skills are critical to ensuring productivity is
not lost through the changes in the ways we work.
The future operating model will
implement digital technologies and
advanced analytics
In the years to come, a hybrid working model that
combines being on-site with working remotely will
become increasingly popular, even for mining and
metals companies with many geographic locations. In
fact, research shows that more than 50 percent of
employees prefer remote and hybrid ways of working
1
A aron De Smet, Bonnie Dowling, Marino Mugayar-Baldocchi, and Bill Schaninger, “‘Great Attrition’ or ‘Great Attraction’? The choice is yours,”
McKinsey Quarterly, September 8, 2021.
2
A aron De Smet, Bonnie Dowling, Mihir Mysore, and Angelika Reich, “It’s time for leaders to get real about hybrid,” McKinsey Quarterly,
July 9, 2021.
3
Roberto Gallardo, Dave Goddard, Stephan Görner, and Bernardo Rubinstein, “Remote operating centers in mining: Unlocking their full
potential,” McKinsey, October 29, 2020.
2 Hybrid working models can leverage talent and skills across industries
postpandemic, compared with approximately 40
percent prepandemic.2
Organizations can leverage talent across the globe by
taking this dual approach, defining teams based on
the best available experience and skill sets rather
than availability. There is also the option of
broadening the recruiting pool for industries that
struggle with attraction, whether because of remote
locations, fly-in-and-fly-out work modes, or live-in
situations, all of which are not uncommon for mining
and heavy-industry players.
That said, the future operating model requires teams,
as well as management and technical systems that
complement the operating model, to be agile. The
technology dimension lies in selecting the
appropriate IT architecture, platforms, and innovation
and technology projects to complement the
organization’s overall digital and analytics vision,
inclusive of cost effectiveness for the business and
efficiency for end users. Yet implementing these
changes can present several obstacles.
One South American mining company initiated
remote operating centers (ROCs), which were
designed to allow maintenance, operations, and site
management to function in a central location.3 The
project was successful in bringing to life all the
technical capabilities needed to operate the mine
from a remote location. However, the operations team
and frontline staff were only peripherally engaged
during planning and implementation. Shortly after
implementation, it became clear that the site needed
to rethink roles and responsibilities and, ultimately,
the organizational structure of the operations team.
Thus, the full potential for improving the operating
efficiency of the team was never realized, indicating
the relevance of incorporating planning, ownership,
and decision guidelines throughout the project phases.
Although this example of an ROC in the mining
industry indicates opportunities for improvement, the
concept of ROCs certainly has the potential to
 influence an organization’s costs, adoption of — Digital skills. Having digital skills means being
technology, and day-to-day efficiencies. able to identify, evaluate, and communicate
concepts through the means of digital platforms.

Hire, retain, and build sufficient skills
to support long-term sustainability
The sheer scale of workforce transitions in response
to COVID-19 means many businesses and policy
makers have had to provide additional training and
education programs for workers. On this point, a
recent McKinsey article set out to define the jobs and
skills that will be created as automation, AI, and
robotics retool the workplace.4 The findings show that
high-level cognitive, digital, and self-leadership skills
will become increasingly important, particularly in
heavy industries (exhibit).
— Cognitive ability. Having a high level of cognitive
ability means adding value beyond what can be
done by automated systems and intelligent
machines. Being able to think critically, structure
thoughts, and communicate efficiently while
adapting to developing circumstances are key to
achieving cognitive excellence.
— Self-leadership. This is the practice of
understanding the role, identifying aspirations,
and purposefully guiding oneself toward
achieving one’s goals. In other words, it’s
understanding what we do, why we do it, and
how we do it.
Three examples demonstrate how companies can
make shifts around hiring, retaining, and building
skills to support the long-term sustainability of the
digital and analytics mission.
Cognitive
A North American mining company embarked on a
digital transformation with a combination of
insourcing and outsourcing roles. From a process
management and technical perspective, the
organization formed a digital and analytics team
comprising data scientists, translators, and designers
across Asia, Europe, and the United States. The

Web 2022
Basic Materials
Exhibit
Exhibit 1 of 1

Three categories of
Three categories offoundational
foundationalskills
skillscan
canhelp
helpemployees
employeesthrive
thriveininhybrid
hybrid
working models.
models.

Cognitive Digital Self-leadership

• Structured problem solving • Digital literacy • Ownership and decisiveness

• Time management and • Digital collaboration • Inspiring change and innovation
prioritization • Computational and algorithmic
• Agile thinking thinking
• Translating knowledge to • Data literacy
different contexts
• Tech translation and enablement

4
Marco Dondi, Julia Klier, Frédéric Panier, and Jörg Schubert, “Defining the skills citizens will need in the future world of work,” McKinsey, June
25, 2021.

Hybrid working models can leverage talent and skills across industries 3
 rationale behind the team selection was based solely
on industry experience in building similar products,
depth of knowledge on optimization, and tenure
within roles. By focusing on expertise, this hybrid
team was able to deliver a high-quality product on an
accelerated timeline.
digitalization enabled changes to the operating
model such as reduced stretch targets for fuel and
dynamic dispatching. This allowed for increased
production and a better overall financial position.

Digital As the world pushes toward the next normal and

A US-based mining and processing company
adopted advanced analytics and modeling to
maximize production. The company did so through
the implementation of agile practices and leveraging
the operations, engineering, and data science
functions of the business. Advanced analytics helped
achieve record production, identify improvements to
instrumentation for more accurate data capture, and
initiate innovative problem solving to prioritize model
recommendations for production gains.
ROCs are another example of digital platforms that
can identify and communicate improvements or
changes. Mining players are increasingly turning to
ROCs that leverage software and analytics to run
day-to-day operations, resulting in the benefits of
productivity, safety, and planning. This is evidenced
by the recent success of autonomous haulage
systems at some Australian mining sites.
companies across all industries aim to return to the
status quo, it’s clear that digital technologies and
advanced analytics, supplemented with agile
practices, are here to stay.5 Players in heavy
industries that adopt hybrid ways of working will be
better positioned to provide employees with the
human interactions they crave as well as the tools
they need to stay connected.
In addition, these players should look to capitalize on
future work trends and integrated operation centers
to achieve the hybrid working models that employees
favor. Executives must also consider the desired
culture for an organization and choose the operating
model that best supports safety and sustainability.
This can also help answer the questions of how to
address capability building and adapt HR policies to
support new ways of working for the future.

Self-leadership
An Asian mining company embarked on a three-tier
strategy in which digitalization enabled diversification
and decarbonization efforts. The early adoption of

Eddie Elizondo is a consultant in McKinsey’s New York office; Shailesh Lekhwani is an associate partner in the Houston
office, where Tarusha Moonsamy is an associate partner; Lapo Mori is a partner in the Denver office; and Sebastian Reiter is
a partner in the Munich office.

Copyright © 2022 McKinsey & Company. All rights reserved.

5
L avkesh Garg, Christopher Handscomb, Akhil Sehgal, and Richard Sellschop, “Five agility myths in energy and heavy industries,” McKinsey,
February 7, 2022.

4 Hybrid working models can leverage talent and skills across industries