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.Cape Town - The results of the Top Employers Africa 2014 Certification Programme published on Thursday shows that leading employers in Africa continue to invest heavily in developing their people and that this is a key part of their growth strategy on the continent.
The annual certification programme, which is carried out by the Top Employers Institute, and independently audited by Grant Thornton, shows that good people management can help mitigate this and mean the difference between success or failure on the continent.
SAP, which was named the number one company in the Top Employers Africa 2014 Certification Programme, operates in 130 countries across the globe.
Unilever has been certified as the Top Employer in South Africa for 2014 with Nestlé and EY following closely on its heels.
According to the African Development Bank, the costs of starting a business in Africa have fallen by more than two-thirds over the past seven years while delays for starting a new business have been halved.
Yet many big companies and corporations extending their reach into Africa still stumble because they fail to adapt business strategy and operational models to uniquely African circumstances.
“It is important to stress that Africa is not one country, but consists of 54 countries," said Elanie Kruger, regional HR director of G4S Africa, that received the Top Employers Africa 2014 Certification.
"If you want to do business in Africa you need to understand the individual countries, cultures, languages, politics and economic models and obviously unique business and people challenges."
Globally, there has been a shift in the importance businesses place on talent and people management within company structures – and this is very evident in businesses operating in Africa, according to Samantha Crous, Top Employers Institute, regional director for Africa and Benelux.
“There is a great demand for talent and human capital and companies find themselves competing for the most experienced and skilled staff.”
The institute is seeing companies spend more on developing local expertise through employee training and education. Benefits like child care and special working conditions as well as internal communication platforms are also evident.
SAP was certified in four African countries, namely Cóte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa.
According to SAP's HR manager for Africa, Queen Mokonoto, taking care of employees and ensuring that people are developed efficiently is a crucial part of SAP’s vision.
“Working across Africa is not always convenient, for example we struggle with network connectivity, transport, electricity and so on," said Seshni Samuel from EY, another Top Employer 2014 in Africa, certified in Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Nigeria and South Africa.
"However, you also learn to adapt, improvise and move on."
Clotilde Boury, telecommunications company Orange’s Africa Middle East and Asia HR vice-president said that their main challenge doing business in Africa is the fierce competition.
“It is this competitive market that requires our people to be agile and highly responsive to the market evolution and customer expectations," she said.
Orange, which achieved the Top Employer Africa certification in Senegal, Uganda, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali and Egypt.
Cherise Mendoza, HR Lead for West, East and Central Africa for Microsoft Africa – another Certified Top Employer – agreed that caring for employees and offering them consistent opportunities for growth is key.
“Microsoft has a fundamental belief that no matter where you are in the world, our brand needs to stay consistent," she said.
"This means, that what is available to employees in the US or Europe is available to employees in Africa."
This mirrors the belief of Erna Oldenboom, director of the programme HR as Strategic Business Partner at the UCT Graduate School of Business.
“Successful organisations are becoming more adaptive, resilient, quick to change direction and people-centred,” said Grootboom.
"Never has this been as relevant as in the current economic climate, which is still battling the consequences of a global recession."
She said there are many more opportunities for business across Africa today than there were five years ago. At the same time the competitive landscape has intensified as more companies try to leverage these opportunities.
Other organisations certified as Top Employer Africa 2014 include British American Tobacco (certified in South Africa, Angola, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe), Old Mutual (Kenya, South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe) and Unilever (Ghana, South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria).
Other organisations in the top 10 Top Employer South Africa certification include Old Mutual (ranked as number one in two financial services and insurance), Accenture SA, MTN SA, Microsoft SA, Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs and Peninsula Beverage Company.
- Fin24
The annual certification programme, which is carried out by the Top Employers Institute, and independently audited by Grant Thornton, shows that good people management can help mitigate this and mean the difference between success or failure on the continent.
SAP, which was named the number one company in the Top Employers Africa 2014 Certification Programme, operates in 130 countries across the globe.
Unilever has been certified as the Top Employer in South Africa for 2014 with Nestlé and EY following closely on its heels.
According to the African Development Bank, the costs of starting a business in Africa have fallen by more than two-thirds over the past seven years while delays for starting a new business have been halved.
Yet many big companies and corporations extending their reach into Africa still stumble because they fail to adapt business strategy and operational models to uniquely African circumstances.
“It is important to stress that Africa is not one country, but consists of 54 countries," said Elanie Kruger, regional HR director of G4S Africa, that received the Top Employers Africa 2014 Certification.
"If you want to do business in Africa you need to understand the individual countries, cultures, languages, politics and economic models and obviously unique business and people challenges."
Globally, there has been a shift in the importance businesses place on talent and people management within company structures – and this is very evident in businesses operating in Africa, according to Samantha Crous, Top Employers Institute, regional director for Africa and Benelux.
“There is a great demand for talent and human capital and companies find themselves competing for the most experienced and skilled staff.”
The institute is seeing companies spend more on developing local expertise through employee training and education. Benefits like child care and special working conditions as well as internal communication platforms are also evident.
SAP was certified in four African countries, namely Cóte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa.
According to SAP's HR manager for Africa, Queen Mokonoto, taking care of employees and ensuring that people are developed efficiently is a crucial part of SAP’s vision.
“Working across Africa is not always convenient, for example we struggle with network connectivity, transport, electricity and so on," said Seshni Samuel from EY, another Top Employer 2014 in Africa, certified in Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Nigeria and South Africa.
"However, you also learn to adapt, improvise and move on."
Clotilde Boury, telecommunications company Orange’s Africa Middle East and Asia HR vice-president said that their main challenge doing business in Africa is the fierce competition.
“It is this competitive market that requires our people to be agile and highly responsive to the market evolution and customer expectations," she said.
Orange, which achieved the Top Employer Africa certification in Senegal, Uganda, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali and Egypt.
Cherise Mendoza, HR Lead for West, East and Central Africa for Microsoft Africa – another Certified Top Employer – agreed that caring for employees and offering them consistent opportunities for growth is key.
“Microsoft has a fundamental belief that no matter where you are in the world, our brand needs to stay consistent," she said.
"This means, that what is available to employees in the US or Europe is available to employees in Africa."
This mirrors the belief of Erna Oldenboom, director of the programme HR as Strategic Business Partner at the UCT Graduate School of Business.
“Successful organisations are becoming more adaptive, resilient, quick to change direction and people-centred,” said Grootboom.
"Never has this been as relevant as in the current economic climate, which is still battling the consequences of a global recession."
She said there are many more opportunities for business across Africa today than there were five years ago. At the same time the competitive landscape has intensified as more companies try to leverage these opportunities.
Other organisations certified as Top Employer Africa 2014 include British American Tobacco (certified in South Africa, Angola, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe), Old Mutual (Kenya, South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe) and Unilever (Ghana, South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria).
Other organisations in the top 10 Top Employer South Africa certification include Old Mutual (ranked as number one in two financial services and insurance), Accenture SA, MTN SA, Microsoft SA, Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs and Peninsula Beverage Company.
- Fin24
