Staff matters

EMBEDDING TALENT MANAGEMENT

 

TALENT ATTRACTION

Employer branding and employee value proposition

In 2008 Nedbank Group made extensive progress in the communication of its employer branding to both existing and prospective employees. The essence of our employer branding is that we believe Great Things Begin with Great People, and it is through our people that we are able to deliver on our brand promise to Make Things Happen.

In 2006 Nedbank Group implemented an employee value proposition (EVP), which packaged the various components of the Nedbank experience, ranging from employee benefits to career and developmental opportunities. The year 2008 saw us building on the success of the EVP, which is aimed at attracting and retaining the right people in Nedbank Group and creating an environment in which our people can fulfil their potential and develop themselves.

Sourcing and selection

Nedbank Group’s comprehensive staffing policy and recruitment advertising guidelines not only comply with legislative requirements, but also support our transformation intent and objectives. In cooperation with Group Marketing a robust and comprehensive advertising process was instituted in 2008, including campus recruitment drives, to ensure that we reach our target population across all designated groups.

 

Recruitment

Throughout 2008 various tools and channels were used to recruit prospective candidates, which included the following:

• Our internal and external web-enabled recruitment system. This yielded great benefit with 628 jobs advertised and 22 654 CVs registered on our talent database.
• Referrals of prospective employees from staffmembers. Where such referrals lead to permanent placements, those staffmembers are rewarded after a period of six months.
• Focusing on recruitment of people with disabilities (PWD). We contracted agencies that specialise in placing PWDs and success has already been achieved in certain divisions as part of a pilot project.

An external recruitment campaign was launched using radio as the primary advertising medium. The campaign promoted the Nedbank Group employer branding externally and positioned Nedbank Group as a lifestyle choice employer, while communicating the diverse range of career opportunities available in banking.

TALENT RETENTION

Employee engagement

The extent to which employees engaged with their managers has been recognised as a key factor in the retention, motivation and development of employees. Nedbank Group has instituted mechanisms to ensure such engagement via management conversations, performance feedback sessions, team interventions, recognition functions, cluster and group- based road shows, etc.

Nedbank Group has conducted a detailed employee engagement survey, as part of Old Mutual plc, to determine the drivers of engagement and their impact on retention and performance.

Nedbank’s learning philosophy

Nedbank Group is striving to create a sustainable learning environment that promotes lifelong learning, organisational wisdom and improved business performance, as well as becoming a leader in transformation by developing leaders and managers at all levels.

To this end the group’s learning and growth function enables all employees to build their competence and raise their performance, both to meet the future requirements of the bank and to contribute to skills development in the banking sector as a whole.

Career management

Nedbank Group enables all employees to take ownership of their careers through a transparent career options grid, which enables them to explore opportunities across the bank. All job families and career streams are displayed and career conversations with managers help guide employees’ career decisions.

 

Coaching and mentoring

Nedbank Group implemented a coaching and mentoring framework to create a culture of dialogue, accountability for people management and inspirational leadership. The group offers both internal and external coaches to its employees with a particular focus on support for the growth of managerial levels.

 

Succession management

Executive succession management takes place annually within Nedbank and aligns with the broader Old Mutual talent review process. This process aims at ensuring business continuity as well as assisting with executive career development needs and transformation.

 

Talent management

The ongoing challenge for Nedbank Group is the attraction and retention of talent. The Nedbank talent management strategy is based on the following talent philosophy:

• All staff are considered talented in unique and different ways.
• The group strives to have the best people in the industry across our organisation as opposed to having the best people in key areas only.
• The group strives to find the  ‘best fit’ talent for the business through accurately matching people’s talents and abilities to the roles available in Nedbank Group.

Two of the key focus areas for 2008 were embedding a succession management culture and customising talent management strategies for each business cluster. Talent plans are in place in the clusters and actions are monitored and measured.

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT, RECOGNITION AND REWARD

Performance management

The alignment of Nedbank Group’s business goals, individual performance and employee development is a significant component of developing a high-performance culture. The performance management process enables the group to assess business performance against the goals set and ensures that employees are on track to achieve their targets and contribute to the achievement of business objectives. The performance management process consists of two formal reviews per year, in addition to the monthly monitoring through operational committee meetings.

 

Recognition

Nedbank Group is committed to a workplace where employees’ performance is rewarded and recognised and where they feel valued for their contribution. To this end the Nedbank Achiever Recognition Programme recognises excellence on an individual and team basis over a calendar year. July 2008 saw 167 Nedbank Top Achievers (123 individual winners, 43 top team winners and 1 CEO winner), and their partners, jetting off on a well-deserved trip to Thailand.

 

Reward

The group endeavours to reward its people equitably and consistently according to their role and individual contribution. Consistent application of reward principles is encouraged throughout the organisation.

Nedbank Group strives to have the appropriate mix of ‘total reward’ for its diverse groups of employees, which will attract, motivate and retain employees and lead to workplace fulfilment. Such total-reward comprises fixed and variable pay, reward and recognition, work-home balance, talent management, and development. All of these play a critical role in attracting, motivating and retaining high-performing and talented individuals.

The group’s market position is to pay for performance. Where such performance exceeds targets, this is rewarded through short-term incentives and the group’s recognition programme. Nedbank Group’s long-term incentive schemes are primarily aimed at the retention of key and high-impact employees and are driven by market factors.

Above: from l – r: Grace du Plessis; Cornel Wentzel, Brinsley du Plessis and Zita Clarence. Front: Faizel Mohamed; Jaco Swart; Jan Vorster and Vanessa Clarence outside the Royal Palace.

Top: from l – r: Diane Trompetter, Anisha Moosa and Evashnee Rogers delighted to be at a shopping mall in Phuket. Below; Gladness Modikwe and Claudia Gossmann take to the surf on the Phi Phi Island excursion.