The institute researches and identifies the best employers to work for in South Africa, based on objective, fact-based research. Key drivers, practices and policies for critical employment criteria, like pay and benefits, training and development, career opportunities, working conditions and company culture are reviewed.
"The outstanding employee offerings that the certified Best Employers have in place for their staff show that they regard talent management as a top priority. They don't just provide their employees with the things that interest them now, but also with those that will prepare them for their next career step within the organisation. Best Employers clearly show that they appreciate and foster their employees," says Samantha Crous, general manager at the CRF Institute.
Linda Fine, human resources executive for the MEA Group, says they have a great corporate culture across their group of companies, which includes Dimension Data, Internet Solutions and Plessey. "We have always lived by the maxim 'work hard and play hard' and we have an open, diverse and high performance work culture. We love team players, we celebrate excellence and initiative in our ranks, and we are delighted that our work to create a professional, supportive work environment has been recognised."
"Our success is founded on our ability to build lasting relationships with our clients, and as we move to a more services-led business model, our people have become our greatest differentiator. Some of the structures we've implemented to support employees and help them along their career path with us include initiating an interactive career management portal, a corporate university with both online and classroom learning, mentorship and coaching programmes, a comprehensive wellness programme, and the establishment of an internal global job framework to allow career pathing and goals," Fine says.
Other facets of Dimension Data's operations include its advanced internal communications platform, and its corporate social responsibility programme, which covers the primary areas of environmental issues, social issues and ethics and governance. In addition, it received credit for its Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) status and an innovative BBBEE deal that ran over a seven and a half year empowerment period and vested in 2011 - a full eight years before the ICT Charter was promulgated as law, as well as various green and sustainability initiatives.
