Opportunities to work for the "best employer" in SA
Santam, South Africa's leading short-term insurer, has just been voted the best company to work for in the country in the annual Deloitte awards. A further accolade for the Cape-Town based company, which earlier this year was named overall winner in all three short-term insurance categories of Personal, Commercial and Corporate insurance at the Financial Intermediaries Association of Southern Africa's Insurer of the year awards.
The company is currently in hiring mode and on the look-out for talent. "We expect the best company to work for award will contribute to increased interest by career seekers," says Julia Dyssell, Santam's head of human resources. "We are recruiting for some of the more specialist and senior positions within the organisation, like underwriting, managerial and global diversity competencies as we expand our global footprint." Santam at present has 2.800 employees.
"We deal with prospective employees both directly, through our website, and with the assistance of agencies and headhunters," says Dyssell. "Employee referral is also an important channel. We endeavour to nurture and retain our internal talent but also ensure we continue to attract talent from elsewhere."
David Conradie, director of human capital at Deloitte, says Santam has won because it has continued to invest in the development and retention of talent: "Engaging with and understanding what is important to employees is more, not less important in an economic downturn, given the direct influence of employee commitment on business performance and sustainability." Rather than running the risk of losing key resources while waiting for an upturn in the business cycle, the top performing company in this year's survey has "used the economic downturn to upgrade its talent and is likely to emerge as more competitive with a stronger employer brand."
The reason for participating in the Deloitte awards, says Dyssell, was "to gain insight into what works well for our staff as well as other employers of choice and to refine our people strategy. Participation is not about winning accolades, but identifying areas of strength and weakness and using the information as a platform to improve."
