South African companies implicated in the Guptagate scandal find themselves facing a bleak future. With their reputations in tatters they risk losing the vital human resources they will need to recover, and one of their most pressing challenges is to restore employee morale and engagement.

“People do not go to work just to earn money,” says Morag Phillips, Director of 21st Century and Exco member of the South African Rewards Association (SARA), a professional body focused on promoting transparent, fair, and responsible pay practices.

“Their deeper motivations derive from the impact their work has on their feelings of self-worth and their desire to be part of something that makes a positive impact on the world –this is what drives employee engagement and energy, and builds successful companies.”

“During times of crisis, employees begin to worry about the organisation’s continued existence, their own reputation due to association risk and, of course, become targets for competitors on the lookout for talent.”

Ms Phillips advises that companies finding themselves in this situation have to undertake a rigorous process of restoring the internal organisational culture in tandem with efforts to repair the corporate brand externally. If there is a lack of internal focus – displayed through staff dialogues, support programmes, and evidence of continued job security – they might find themselves in the short to medium terms without their most important intellectual capital.

Start with understanding the true culture
Chances are that a crisis such as Guptagate would deepen any cracks that might exist in the corporate culture. It is therefore critical that corporate leaders should begin the process of consolidation and healing first by analysing the status quo honestly. That means, she says, looking behind the façade to see what employees are genuinely feeling.

“Corporate culture is driven and influenced by the leaders in an organisation, and management must play a guiding role in making it a day to day reality,” she says. “They need to find out what employees love about what they are doing, and build from there.”

Companies should undertake an active process to get input from employees about what motivates them about their jobs and what they do, along with what they love – or loved – about the organisation. If employees are involved in the process of defining the current culture, they will sign up more readily to keeping it healthy.

“We often ask ‘what are our shared values’, but a better way to frame this question might be ‘what do you want your every day to feel like’,” says Ms Phillips.

Involve more than appointed leaders
Another important action point is to identify those individuals who are influencers within the company, and make them part of the process.

“Management needs to listen to and understand what employees are thinking and saying around the proverbial water cooler, and get influencers on board to change conversations that do not fit the desired ‘flavour’ of the company.”

View company culture as strategic imperative
Ms Phillips believes that the campaign to regenerate the corporate culture should at all times be seen as a business imperative driven from the top, not a reactive feel-good campaign run by HR.

“It’s all baby steps,” says Ms Phillips. “Generate a little bit more positivity, and it could turn into renewed confidence, which could turn into a few more deals, a few more months of employment. These small steps then turn into a whole new chapter that grows into a whole new story.”

“The mistake that prompted the crisis has to be seen by everybody as an event that occurred, and not necessarily a signifier of the company’s culture,” she concludes. “That can only be done by understanding what the culture actually is, and how it needs to change if the same mistake is not to be made again.”

ENDS

MEDIA CONTACT: Juanita Vorster, 079 523 8374, juanita@thatpoint.co.za

For more information on SARA please visit:
Website: www.sara.co.za  
Twitter: @SA_reward
LinkedIn: South African Reward Association
Facebook: SARA – South African Reward Association

At the 4 November 2017 Reward Awards ceremony hosted by the South African Reward Association (SARA), AngloGold Ashanti won both the Reward Project and Remuneration Report categories. Peet Kruger received the prestigious President’s Award.

“To be a top reward professional in South Africa, individuals need to have a mix of innovation, business acumen and technical expertise in the financial and non-financial aspects of pay,” explains Morag Phillips, Exco member of SARA, a professional body focused on promoting, developing, and empowering reward professionals and practices in South Africa.

“The design of an effective reward structure is crucial for organisations that want to attract, retain, motivate, and engage the employees that are best suited to helping the organisation achieve its goals.”

Remuneration Report Award
The Remuneration Report Award recognises organisations for how well they have demonstrated compliance with the King III principles through clear and concise disclosure of the company’s remuneration philosophy and its application. The King IV™ Report was published on 1 November 2016 and effective in respect of financial years commencing on or after 1 April 2017, and therefore not applicable to the submissions received for this year’s awards.

A panel of judges evaluated nominations against the principles of King III and considered how organisations are demonstrating the broad principles of transparency, fairness and responsible pay decisions.

Specific focus was given to how organisations report on the remuneration detail, including fixed and variable pay.

“As well as adhering to the requirements of legislation and corporate governance principles, the winners displayed evidence of a commitment to best practice in reward principles,” says Phillips. “Submissions were also evaluated based on the communication of how the company’s approach to remuneration supports its business strategy, and aligns the interests of its executives with those of its shareholders.”

Special commendations were made to Sasol and Aveng for their submissions, with the winner of the Remuneration Report announced as AngloGold Ashanti for striking a balance of sharing details in an interesting and informative way, and creating a very clear impression of the AngloGold Ashanti remuneration strategy.  There is a very clear link across business strategy, reward strategy, performance targets and performance payments.

Reward Project Award
The SARA award for the Reward Project of the year recognised a team who have been responsible and actively involved in the development and implementation of a new reward project. The winning nominees of the 2017 Reward Project of the Year Award was Anglogold Ashanti in first place, Avbob in second, and Gautrain Management Services in third.

AngloGold Ashanti was congratulated for their new share plan as a profound new approach to incentive remuneration. The approach follows feedback from shareholders to better align the interests of the company management with those of shareholders.

President’s Award
A special President's Award that honours outstanding achievement in the field of reward was awarded to Peet Kruger for his outstanding contribution to the profession over many years.  Kruger was one of the founding members of SARA in 1997 and has been instrumental in many of its activities, including starting the Reward Awards.

“By continuing to host the Reward Awards, SARA hopes to highlight pay practices that adhere to good governance and industry best practice,” says Phillips. “We hope to inspire reward professionals to always aim for transparency, fairness, and responsibility in determining how employees and executives are rewarded for their effort.”

ENDS

MEDIA CONTACT: Juanita Vorster, 079 523 8374, juanita@thatpoint.co.za, www.atthatpoint.co.za

For more information on SARA please visit:
Website: www.sara.co.za  
Twitter: @SA_reward
LinkedIn: South African Reward Association
Facebook: SARA – South African Reward Association