Fit-for-purpose people practices
Certain practices can be customised to suit different regions
Old Mutual believes there are three key attributes that contribute to creating an e mpl o y e r o f c h o i c e , with the first attribute being the importance of building a foundation through thoroughly benchmarked human resources (HR) practices. This it does through multiple surveys and diagnostics that strengthen its employer brand in the marketplace.
“This way we know how we compare against industry leaders across the world,” explains Anisha Archary, human resources director, Old Mutual Emerging Markets.
“The second attribute is leadership linked to business strategy. Business leaders who play their role in driving accountability, lead change and build organisational renewal enable our employer of choice efforts. The third attribute is a sound employee engagement strategy with a multidisciplinary team leveraging multiple communication channels.
“Our biggest success right now is that we are certified as a Top Employer in Africa in 13 countries where we do business — we are the most certified business in Africa.” Old Mutual has been certified again in 2017 in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana, Malawi, Swaziland, Nigeria, Rwanda, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and South Sudan. It has been participating in the Top Employers Certification Programme for the past six years.
“This means we have consistent people practices across all the operations,” continues Archary. “This is phenomenal for our business and in line with our aspirations to be the leading financial services champion in Africa.
“One of the lessons we learnt was to ensure that we customise certain practices in line with the country and the language requirements of each territory.
“This survey has also allowed us to support our people strategy through building fit-for-purpose people practices, enabling business growth with the right innovations to support talent management, culture management, leadership development and ultimately to create the right employee experience, which strengthens our employer brand for talent attraction and retention.
Building leadership
“At Old Mutual, we believe in creating people practices that are applied consistently across regions and across different countries. We have developed our flagship employee engagement programme of action called The Old Mutual Way, which builds leadership and management practices to lead people in a consistent manner in our business. The Old Mutual Way is our where we also build leadership ability to drive authentic conversations and engagement as a way of being in our business.
“One of our examples is our partnering with the Old Mutual Foundation in support of staff volunteerism on the first Friday of each month. Employees across regions and countries observe and engage in this programme, which connects employees with our purpose — to enable positive futures for our customers and communities.”
No employee is just a number on the Old Mutual payroll. Archary says: “Our secret sauce is that we are a values-based business, and our leaders are focused on creating a great place for people to work at.
“Through our focus on culture and values, we engage employees