Sanlam certified as top employer for fifth year running

Sanlam has been awarded the Top Employers certification for the fifth consecutive year by the Top Employers Institute. The award is testimony to Sanlam’s ongoing commitment to enhance its employee value proposition (EVP), people practices, and workplace to meet the shifting demands of work and our people.

Established more than 25 years ago, the institute is a global authority on certifying people practices. It has certified more than 1,500 organisations in 118 countries/regions.

Jeanett Modise, chief executive of human resources (HR) at Sanlam, says people will always be the greatest differentiator for our business. “Receiving the Top Employers certification for the fifth consecutive year validates our commitment to our 21,000-plus staff. As the leading non-banking, financial services pan-African company in 34 countries, we consistently review our EVP to keep pace with what people value in terms of culture, connectivity, flexibility, balance, growth opportunities and rewards.”

The Top Employers HR best practices survey certified more than 1,500 top companies around the world. In a time of fierce competitiveness over scarce skills and high performers, the certification helps differentiate organisations and presents a distinct proposition for the companies people want to join.

“It’s vital to recruit, develop and retain diverse talent as diversity creates resilience and improves the success and sustainability of our business. We grow from the innovation that comes from our people. People are ‘culture carriers’. They advance the company’s culture and success,” says Modise.

Promoting people diversity is an integral part of Sanlam’s talent-management approach, which helps us to have the right people as our business evolves, says Modise and adds: “Future-gazing is paramount to being future-fit. We have to ensure we have the right capabilities to grow. And we need to identify the skills Sanlam, and Africa, will require.”

Continuous learning is a strong focus for the Top Employers HR survey. The World Economic Forum predicts that by as early as 2022, 54% of all employees will require “significant re- and upskilling”. 

Modise says: “Employees must embrace continuous learning to stay relevant and resilient. We focus on making learning opportunities a critical part of our model through mentorship and training initiatives like our Future Leaders and Graduate programmes.” 

One important benefit of participating in the Top Employers certification is access to insightful, actionable data. “It’s extremely valuable to measure people practices against the best of the best around the world. It validates our efforts as well as the business and people practices we’re executing, to position us optimally in the future,” says Modise.

For more on the Top Employers Institute visit www.top-employers.com. For more about Sanlam visit www.sanlam.co.za.

This article was paid for by Sanlam.