Top Employers Adapting to a new generation
has found that its most engaged and productive associates are the ones who are happy, and has created various initiatives to bring associates and their families together, to create a broader sense of belonging within the organisation.
Responding to its young employees’ drive to make a difference to the broader society, TCS Africa trains more than 500 underprivileged children in IT each year, with a focus on Diepsloot outside Johannesburg, and Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape. Employees also volunteer to organise the annual Mandela Day Soccer Cup for under-privileged children from the heart of Johannesburg.
Moloto notes that the millennial workforce at Nestlé has indicated that in addition to competitive remuneration, they seek benefits such as flexible working conditions, technology-enabled work-from-home solutions, access to senior leadership and exposure to international colleagues, as well as accelerated career development opportunities.
“For this reason, we strive to provide a workplace environment that speaks to their needs and those of the different generational counterparts, which include on-site gyms, extensive health programmes and access to a variety of health care professionals such as dieticians, psychologists and physiotherapists,” he says.
Vodacom offers a selection of benefits that include performance bonuses, share scheme participation, recognition, learning and development, as well as focusing on creating a positive working environment.
“We know that different employees have different needs in finding a healthy balance between their professional and personal lives, and allow them sufficient flexibility to achieve work-life balance, while we retain key skills,” Mbungela says. “We also strive to create a culture of recognition to motivate and coach employees with the view to achieving extraordinary performance that is above and beyond what is expected. This not only encourages individual performance, but maximises effective teamwork too.”
International collaboration
Dinesh notes that millennials at TCS Africa also respond well to opportunities for collaboration with their colleagues abroad, noting that global mobility is key in the IT sector.
“Our associates travel across the globe on assignments to explore opportunities and interact with a globally diverse group of colleagues and customers,” he explains. “The success of the organisation thus far has been our model of putting local resources and expatriates under one roof. Not only does this bring people of different cultures together, contributing to cultural diversity, it brings bight minds together to learn and create new technologies.”
The company also responds to millennials’ need for continuous growth by insisting that each associate is expected to attend at least 15 days of learning in each financial year, providing various frameworks within the organisation to meet training needs, and they are measured on the achievement of this goal.
On-boarding and retention
Mbungela explains that Vodacom’s entire talent management process is directed at engaging, developing and retaining key talent, with the company offering a range of growth and development opportunities. However, when they join the company, new recruits are taken through a comprehensive induction programme that includes being assigned a buddy to assist with practicalities and adjusting to the new environment.
Formal training includes leadership development programmes, formal executive coaching, the Harvard senior executive programme, as well as short and long-term international assignments. As part of its commitment to be a truly diverse business, Vodacom also hosts unconscious bias workshops to promote an inclusive culture without bias for race or gender.
Not only does Vodacom South Africa send local employees abroad, it welcomes employees from overseas who have been seconded to the local operation, enabling skills transfer in multiple ways.
Even though TCS Africa, Nestlé and Vodacom have very clear strategies for attracting and retaining top talent for their respective industries, Moloto notes that a challenging business environment, a constrained economy, socio-political challenges and the impact of currency devaluation all present challenges in human capital management.
“HR leaders are required to adapt by aligning their plans to business needs, and the surrounding context creates uncertainty and job insecurity, which in turn drives attrition and impacts employee engagement,” Moloto says.