Aon South Africa and Aon Benfield certified as one of the Top Employers South Africa 2018

‘Our aim is to create an environment where employees are inspired to reach their full potential’

Aon South Africa has been officially certified by the Top Employers Institute (TEI) for its exceptional employee offerings. The annual international research undertaken by the TEI recognises leading employers around the world that provide excellent employee conditions, develop talent throughout all levels of the organisation, and which strive to continuously optimise employment practices. Aon South Africa and Aon Benfield have been awarded the exclusive Top Employers South Africa 2018 certification.

Crucial to the Top Employers qualifying process is that participating companies must complete a stringent research process and meet the required high standards in order to achieve certification. To further reinforce the validity of the process, all answers were independently audited.

The TEI assessed Aon’s employee offerings on the following criteria:

• Talent Strategy

• Workforce Planning • On-boarding

• Learning & Development • Performance Management • Leadership Development • Career & Succession Management

• Compensation & Benefits • Culture

Zanele Dintwa, head: Employee Engagement & HR Business Partner at Aon South Africa, says: “Aon invests heavily in value creation for all its stakeholders, and it starts with understanding and driving employee engagement. Our aim is to create an environment where employees are inspired to reach their full potential and thereby enhance organisational value by delivering the very best service and outcomes for clients.

“We believe in creating opportunities for personal and professional growth to the benefit of the company, our clients, our people and the insurance industry in general. That means putting people at the heart of the business and being intentional about growing them.

Entering the Top Employer Awards was an opportunity for us to rate our performance against our peers in the industry, uncover and improve on any gaps and build further on our successes. Receiving the award of Top Employer 2018 in our very first year of entering is a great validation of our efforts towards being the employer of choice in our industry,” she says.

“Our people strategy is premised on being the employer destination of choice for great people, leaders and experts, and to grow and develop our people within Aon on this dual career path. This demands an environment that fosters learning and provides clear direction for career advancement, encompassing everything from career paths, professional development, continued education, advancement opportunities, mentorship programs and progressive compensation and benefits structures,” adds Zanele.

Aon embraces the diversity that comes with being a multinational business, employing people of multifaceted talents and from diverse cultures, leveraging the best talent in each local market, and supplementing any gaps with skills from global business units, transferring skills and knowledge in the process.

“Aon’s Global Talent Mobility opportunities are very attractive, especially to the millennial employee who strives for international work experience and exposure. It allows operations to import talent to bring in significant knowledge and international experience, which directly benefits local employees, and it also provides opportunities for local employees to be seconded as expatriates into other countries where Aon has business operations.

It is here where they gain exposure to the range of functional and geographical issues they can expect to encounter as future leaders and experts. We service a multinational client base with global challenges, so it makes sense for our people to have experience across multiple geographies. And it is fundamental to our ability to deliver a universal Aon experience for our clients, no matter where in the world they find themselves,” says Zanele.

Terence Williams, chief executive of Aon South Africa, says that one of the key drivers in Aon’s employee engagement and talent management strategy is to contribute towards reducing the skills shortage in the insurance industry. “Through career pathing, mentorship programmes, learning and development, graduate and internship programmes, as well as a focus on transformation, we aim to contribute towards growing the skills base in our industry.

“As risk advisors, our role is to provide professional, qualified advice, so it’s essential to grow our people across both technical and management competencies. Our work in developing, mentoring and upskilling new talent, as well as matching that with mentorship from very experienced veterans of the industry, contributes significantly to the growth and sustainability of the insurance sector.

“Our achievement of Top Employer certification is affirmation of our commitment to inclusive transformation, ensuring that all our colleagues are correctly matched to jobs, skilled and technically competent so that we have empowered and balanced employees who are able to master their current work requirements with a view to advancement and up-skilling,” says

Williams.

“Our ability to attract and retain top talent underpins our ability to deliver the best results and outcomes for our clients.

Engaged employees who feel valued in their work environment will put our clients first with distinctive service, measurable results and actionable insights that address their most pressing risk challenges. It’s the foundation upon which the successful growth and continued profitability of our business and the industry depends.”

The TEI globally certifies excellence in the conditions that employers create for their people. It has just announced the results of this year’s research into the employee conditions of significant employers in South Africa. Aon is one of the select organisations to achieve the Top Employers South Africa 2018 certification and is delighted to be officially recognised as a leading employer.