Vodacom is apparently the best company to work for in Africa

South Africa’s Vodacom has been ranked as the company with the best people strategies and practices on the continent by the Top Employers Institute.

In second place was Unilever, followed by Mondelez – a company equivalent to that of Willy Wonke’s chocolate factory.

 The top-ranking organisations were recently announced at a dinner held in Johannesburg.

Adrian Seligman, Member of the Executive Board at the Top Employers Institute, highlighted that, in these tumultuous times, these employers are distinguished by never losing their focus on the continued success and development of the people that work in their organisations.

“Their workplaces are transforming, partly because of external factors, but mostly through their deliberate efforts towards a better world of work.

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“These companies are leading the way, navigating the world inside and outside of the workplace, with laser focus on human-centric strategies and a culture of people development,” Seligman said.

The changing world of work

Workplaces constantly change, with the Covid pandemic sparking the most transformations in the shortest space of time.

These changes involve adapting to new technologies and needing both employers and employees to be adaptable and work together while creating a happy work environment.  

Linda Trim, director at Giant Leap, a workplace design consultancy, says that being happy at work is not just a win for employees.

“It is also a win for employers. Research from Oxford University found a causal link between happy workers and a 13% increase in productivity.

“On the flipside, unhappiness at work costs the world $7.8 trillion in lost productivity, equal to 11% of global gross domestic product according to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2023 report,” she said.

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Almost 8000 employees strong

Vodacom has almost 8 000 employees on the African continent. About 5 000 of them are based in South Africa.

The company said that it relies on its people to maintain and build on the success of the business, and so therefore chooses to invest in them in whatever way it can.

A decade ago, however, the company was hauled to court by its previous employee, Nkosana Makate, who proposed the “Please Call Me” concept to Vodacom.

He claimed he never received payment for the concept. He laid a charge against Vodacom and won the case against the company after an 8-year battle.

Additional reporting by Ina Opperman