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Best Employers 2011

MTN reigns as best empowered employer in SA

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 14:51

Samantha Crous

MTN South Africa clinched the number one spot in the diversity management category in the overall Best Employers 2011 ratings due to the high value placed on meeting employee needs and driving Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) opportunities within their operations.

The Best Empowered Employers category, as part of the annual CRF Institute’s Best Employers campaign, is measured using standard BEE scorecard elements, but much more than that, it also assesses the level of transformation embedded in the corporate culture of an organisation and specifically looks at how black and female staff members are being managed, promoted and rewarded as well as the leadership thinking of the organisations.

The Best Empowered Employer category lists the top ten companies that are managing diversity most effectively. MTN South Africa led the way ahead of Legal Aid South Africa, Exxaro Resources, SAP South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Joburg Market (Pty) Ltd, Tsogo Sun Group, Ernst & Young, Microsoft SA (Pty) Ltd, Vodacom Group Limited and Telkom.

According to the latest research resulting from the campaign, 96% (up 4% from last year) of the country’s best employers have diversity as a key strategic priority. Samantha Crous, Country Manager of CRF Institute South Africa, said that this is an important indication of the direct correlation between a robust transformation strategy and being a good employer in general.

“We are very impressed with how much emphasis South African companies across all industries are placing on empowerment and their commitment to the upward mobility of these talent groups within their organisations,” said Crous.

Other findings showed that more than 80% of companies have gender and ethnic and/ or racial background as part of their diversity management programme, and 74% of companies treat succession planning for black and female candidates as high priority with 40% of internal positions available in organisations filled by black and female succession candidates.

Crous said that these high percentages are a signal of a growing movement to make human resource management a more central strategic imperative and bring it closer to the transformation agenda.

Themba Nyathi, human resources executive at MTN South Africa, said that topping the Best Empowered Employers ranking “means that we have to work hard to ensure that transformational goals are maintained.

“We run one of the biggest graduate programmes in the country and target previously disadvantaged young professionals to offer them opportunities. And all female staff access equal opportunities. We also do well when it comes to the BEE scorecard: in ownership; management employment equity skills development; preferential procurement; enterprise development and corporate social investment,” he said.

According to Crous, being ranked as a Best Empowered Employer means that a company has met the standards of the CRF Institute scorecard, but a strong focus is also placed on industry recruitment practices, training programmes, succession plans and the involvement of senior leadership in on-boarding. Mentoring and coaching, as well as statistics around absenteeism and attrition among these staff groups are also reviewed. “This research provides businesses with insight into where the real challenges in transformation lie.”

Crous added that by participating in the Best Employers campaign organisations come to understand what they need to do to assess their own performance, not just in meeting scorecard elements, but in the spirit of transformation required by legislation.

“We trust that this campaign, in assessing SA’s Best Empowered Employers, will continue to develop and positively support the critical transformation agenda of SA business. After all, it is increasingly clear that the companies that really know how to value diversity are the ones that value all their people,” she said.