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Cultural sustainability
INTRODUCTION
An innovative, values-driven corporate culture is an essential cornerstone of Nedbank
Group's overall sustainability commitment. The group strives to create an empowering
environment, representative of SA demographics, in which employees have the freedom
to contribute to the corporate culture they desire, and that encourages personal and
career growth, values alignment, and a shared vision for the future.While there is significant human resources (HR) investment with a view to fostering and entrenching cultural sustainability across the group, the achievement of such cultural sustainability is not viewed as the exclusive responsibility of the HR Department. Rather, it is a process that is driven by all levels of leadership and it demands buy-in and commitment from all stakeholders in the organisation.
A key emphasis of this sustainability commitment remains on two specific areas, namely transformation and culture – both of which are aimed at ensuring that Nedbank Group achieves its aspiration of being truly a great place to work.
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| Transformation beyond the numbers |
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| Building a unique culture for competitive advantage |
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| Leadership/Management effectiveness |
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| Talent management |
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REVIEW OF THE YEAR
Despite continued challenges in the global and local financial environments, Nedbank Group remained committed to achieving the cultural sustainability objectives set out for 2011.
The group's integrated approach to transformation continued, with the ultimate aim of building a bank that reflects societal demographics. Numerous diversity programmes, combined with an intensive focus on people with disabilities and the close monitoring of the group's employee/workforce profile, were core contributors to achieving many of the defined HR targets and objectives.
The group continued to monitor its culture and climate from the point of view of its employees, using the quantitative and qualitative feedback obtained to assess and validate its cultural sustainability achievements and to develop action plans and relevant interventions.
The year 2011 saw a focus on enhancing leadership capabilities and management effectiveness, which culminated in the launch of a new approach to learning across the organisation. In support of this, the first jobfamily- related academy, the HR Academy, was launched, aiming to ensure functional as well as technical on-thejob training and heightened employee effectiveness of HR staff. This was followed by the launch of the Risk Academy, which will focus on building risk and compliance capability within the group.
In addition to these and other interventions aimed at developing Nedbank Group's existing talent, the group sharpened its focus on attracting the best new talent. A key aspect of this focus area was on redefining and refining the scarce-skills categories relevant to the operations of the organisation.
2011 ACCOLADES
- Received the 2011 Best Remuneration Report Award from the SA Remuneration Association.
- Received a gold award for the Best Graduate Print Media Advert, as well as for the overall integrated graduate strategy and campaign, both from the SA Graduate Recruitment Association.
CREATING A GREAT PLACE TO WORK
- Building the capabilities of employees through
training and development initiatives
- Relaunched the LFDG programme with more than 700 middle and senior managers having participated. An internal LFDG facilitator unit was also established to build inhouse capability to run the programme, which is aimed at building effective personal and team leadership.
- More than 100 graduates participated in the Nedbank Graduate Development Programme, thereby creating a pipeline of suitably qualified young individuals from which the bank can source talent.
- Coaching capability was rolled out across the group, with 22 line managers participating in an International Coaching Federation (ICF) accredited coaching programme, and more than 500 line managers being upskilled to improve coaching on the job.
- More than 450 line managers participated in business education and executive development programmes (BEP and EDP), more than 60% of whom were black employees.
- Altogether 75 HR managers participated in the HR Academy in an effort to improve frontline HR capabilities.
- A total of 44 employees obtained property finance qualifications through the Nedbank Property Finance Academy, and more than 50 employees graduated from the Business Banking Talent Academy – thereby building the group's credit and sales pipeline.
- Some 699 delegates participated in various learnerships, including those offered to unemployed youth, allowing Nedbank Group to contribute to the broader SA transformation agenda.
- Transformation and culture development
- Nedbank Group overachieved on its internal skills development targets for 2011, as well as the junior management employment equity targets for blacks and black females. The group has achieved 11,83 points on the skills development pillar of the black economic empowerment (BEE) scorecard. This achievement exceeds the internal target of 10,29 points. The internal target for the percentage of people with disabilities has also been exceeded, as the year-end achievement was 2,76% against an internal target of 2,52%. Similarly, Nedbank Group's performance on black and black female as a percentage of junior management is ahead of its targets (black as a percentage of junior management: 79,6% achievement versus 78,1% target; black female as a percentage of junior management: 52,8% achievement versus 49,6% target).
- Transformation dialogues were completed – including sessions with the board, Group Exco and senior manager focus groups – to help set an informed transformation tone for Nedbank Group for the next three years.
- The Batho Pele Diversity Programme was rolled out to more than 2 000 employees across the group.
- The recruitment philosophy and procedure are in alignment with the spirit of the Employment Equity (EE) Act as well as the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) Act. During 2011 foreign nationals made up 2,4% of new hires.
- Looking after the wellbeing of employees
- Over 2 500 employees participated in the HIV Counselling and Testing (HCT) campaign, and an HIV impact assessment study was finalised. The Employee Wellbeing Programme was utilised well, with 35,9% (2010: 21,5%) of employees having made use of this service to assist them with various wellness issues.
- Managing the talent pipeline
- A full review of top management succession plans was undertaken, coupled with talent conversations for all their direct reports.
- A new bursary advertising campaign and selection process was implemented for external bursars.
- Nedbank Group did not achieve its EE targets at senior management level, but has identified specific areas of concern and put plans in place to increase efforts to make senior management more representative in terms of race, gender and disability status.
- Challenges were also experienced in terms of meeting the group's African targets at all management levels – however, the group's dti compliance target of 80% black at junior management will be achieved by the end of 2012.
- The design of the Nedbank Leader/Manager Academy has progressed slower than anticipated and further work will be required in 2012 prior to the launch of this initiative.
- Continued promotion and enabling of a clientcentred culture.
- Ongoing building of personal and team leadership effectiveness through the LFDG programme.
- Development of an Integrated Talent Framework – including succession planning and talent acquisition, as well as workforce planning and revitalising the employee value proposition (EVP).
- Repositioning the Nedbank Group reward strategy to create a differentiated employee proposition and ensure consistent understanding and addressing of all of the issues related to employee rewards.
- Building functional expertise in prioritised job roles through job-family-related learning academies.
- Leveraging technology to provide value-adding HR systems and management information systems (MIS) to the business – including an enterprise resource planning programme.
- Development and retention of key black talent in order to create bench strength for senior black managers through recruitment, retention, replacement and accelerated development.
- Conducting 100 LFDG workshops that impact at least 1 000 leaders and managers to create a culture shift and build personal and leadership effectiveness.
- Achieving a target of 2,58% for people with disabilities (PWD) and black PWD target of 1,44% of the total workforce profile.
- Reaching 12,6 points on the skills development pillar of the dti Scorecard out of a maximum of 15 points; an improvement on the 10,29 internal target for 2011.
- Attaining a score of 11,3 points in EE against the increased movement targets effective from 2012.
| Strategic focus area (objective) |
Risk associated with objective |
Mitigating action(s) |
| Enabling a client-centred culture | Not achieving full integration andbuy-in from all stakeholders. | The development of a client-centred philosophy (business case) to obtain a common understanding within Nedbank Group of what client centricity means, leading to buy-in from all stakeholders. |
| Implementing transformation as a qualitative as well as quantitative process | Failing to embed transformation holistically into the group’s culture. | Achieving and sustaining senior management targets. Accelerated development plans for knowledge and skills transfer – especially for designated groups. |
| Integrated Talent Framework | Not succeeding in holistically considering talent to ensure all aspects of the integrated offerings are geared to attract, retain and motivate talent. | An integrated talent framework that includes:
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| Learning academies | Not realising the vision to improve performance through building core capabilities that are required for specific job families. Successful completion of academy courses will require that talent is reevaluated, job profiles are realigned and further job opportunities are highlighted. If this is not achieved, it could result in the loss of talent. | Job family talent forums will need to be established to develop plans for transitioning individuals who have been through the academy and overseeing the implementation of these plans. |
| Enabling HR technology | HR and line managers being ineffective in the delivery of services. | Business benefits case to be developed to determine return on investment. |
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NEDBANK GROUP EMPLOYEE PROFILE |
| Nedbank Group | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 |
| Total number of employees opening balance | 27 525 | 27 037 | 27 570 |
| SA permanent employees at the beginning of the year | 24 044 | 22 416 | 22 720 |
| Add: | |||
| Recruitment | 2 930 | 2 844 | 1 812 |
| Take-on | 0 | 1 030 | |
| Less: | |||
| Terminations | 1 895 | 2 246 | 2 116 |
| Resignations | 1 453 | 1 733 | 1 538 |
| Deaths | 341 | 32 | 26 |
| Dismissals | 210 | 230 | 293 |
| Retirements | 139 | 188 | 155 |
| Retrenchments | 7 | 17 | 32 |
| Emigration | 27 | 46 | 72 |
| Disability | 25 | 02 | 02 |
| SA permanent employees at the end of December 2011 | 25 079 | 24044 | 22 416 |
| Add other employee categories: | |||
| Contractors and financial planners | 1 763 | 1 777 | 1 802 |
| International employees (including Africa) | 1 608 | 1 658 | 1 666 |
| External entities | 44 | 46 | 1 153 |
| Total number of employees (excluding temporary staff) | 28 494 | 27 525 | 27 037 |
2 Disability temination numbers were included in total termination numbers (2009: 44;2010: 42).
A UNIQUE AND INNOVATIVE CULTURE
Nedbank Group recognises the value of its people and the importance of an empowering, healthy and productive environment that contributes to a positive work experience and a culture that takes each person's unique circumstances and needs into account.
ENGAGING WITH EMPLOYEES
The Nedbank Group culture is one of the group's key competitive advantages. As such it is fiercely protected and carefully measured on an ongoing basis. Once measured via annual employee surveys such as the Barrett Survey and the Nedbank Staff Survey (NSS), required actions are mapped out and implemented to ensure continuous improvement of the culture and alignment with employee desires and requirements. Progress is continuously monitored through the appropriate internal governance structures.
The results of the Nedbank Culture (Barrett) Survey in 2011 remained positive, with the overall entropy score decreasing from 13% in 2010 to 11%, with six value matches across the group's current and desired organisation culture. The entropy score measures the extent of dissonance in an organisation, with the entropy score for an ideal organisational culture being 10%. The 11% score for Nedbank Group is therefore closer to the ideal score.
The year 2011 saw a decline in the NSS score to 74,4% (2010: 75,9%). Although the percentage drop may not seem significant, Nedbank Group considers this as a statistically significant decline, and will seek to understand the main causes of this drop with a view to formulating corrective measures where required. The dimensions that experienced a statistically significant decline include strategic direction, communication as well as change and transformation. Dimensions that experienced improvements include diversity, training and development as well as rewards, recognition and performance management.
Nedbank Group also conducts an Employee Engagement Survey, using the Hewitt Engagement Model, as part of its annual staff survey. This model measures three key behaviours that indicate engagement levels via employees' responses to six questions. Past results of this survey indicate that the engagement levels of staff remain stable relative to prior years and performance on the critical drivers of engagement is still strong.
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In 2011 Nedbank Group moved from its previous 'high'
performance range of 67% to a score of 63% – putting
it in the 'indifferent' category. While this score is below
the Global Best Employers score, it is still above the
global financial services score of 56%, and the group
scored better than the global financial benchmark on
four of the six engagement statements. In 2011 the group also took a more integrated approach to reviewing the information received from the various staff surveys conducted, as well as various other sources of employee culture feedback. The result was a holistic view of the key themes impacting on the lives and work of Nedbank Group employees. Recommendations to address and build on these themes were then developed and these will be monitored on an ongoing basis to ensure impact and effectiveness through the appropriate internal governance structures. In 2010 focus group sessions were held with middle managers to gain a deeper understanding of the key issues that needed to be addressed at this critical management level. The year 2011 saw continued exploration and implementation of the key interventions to address these issues. The middle management focus group sessions resulted in the revision of existing interventions such as LFDG and the production of a managers' newsletter aimed at equipping this essential level of leadership with relevant HR information that is linked to the HR calendar. |
BUILDING EFFECTIVE PERSONAL AND
TEAM LEADERSHIP
In 2006 Nedbank Group launched the LFDG
programme, which was aimed at building effective
personal and team leadership. The programme initially
focused only on executive and senior management.
However, based on feedback received from the various
employee surveys, a decision was taken to cascade the
programme to over 6 000 managers across the group
by 2014.
The LFDG programme provides an opportunity for
individuals to identify and improve on the manner in
which they lead and relate to their team members,
thereby building effective personal and team
leadership that contributes to making Nedbank Group
a great place to work. Feedback from managers who
have participated in the programme indicates its
effectiveness in achieving this objective.
'Thanks to Leading for Deep Green my team relationships
shifted, resulting in a more effective team. Our values
system is more congruent and we now have a shared
working approach. The tension within the team has
declined as well and we trust each other more. There
has been a move from individual performance to team
performance.
' Veronica Motloutsi – Business Architect
'Leading for Deep Green allowed my team to connect,
to build better relationships, and to be motivated and
energised to go forward.'
Peter James – Executive:
Systems Development
'Leading for Deep Green has resulted in improved
relationships with team members as I now better
understand how they like to work and don't like to
work. So it builds respect for people's individual way of
working. The programme helps create an environment of
positivity, happiness, and employee contentment, and a
drive to move forward together to reach the company's
goals.'
Beverley Kieck – Senior Manager
ENABLING EMPLOYEES TO EXCEL
THROUGH EFFECTIVE PERFORMANCE
MANAGEMENT
A culture that encourages and rewards good
performance is vital to Nedbank Group's sustainable success and growth. High priority is placed on
reinforcing behaviours that drive a high-performance
culture through the use of performance management
as an enabler. Effective engagement between manager
and employee is encouraged to review performance
and identify areas of development and support on a
continued basis. In 2011 a total of 92,1% employees
documented and confirmed their performance ratings.
RECOGNISING AND REWARDING
EMPLOYEES FOR GOOD PERFORMANCE
The Nedbank Group recognition process places
extensive emphasis on employee recognition, with a
validated link to the remuneration and performance
management processes. It acknowledges and highlights
those employees who have exceeded expectations by
pushing beyond boundaries, demonstrate behaviours
that support the Nedbank Group values and contribute
to Nedbank Group's overall success, thus creating
a high-performing organisation. By encouraging
managers and employees to recognise extraordinary
performance in others, a culture of mutual appreciation
is fostered which, in turn, contributes to making
Nedbank Group a great place to work.
As a way of thanking and showing appreciation to
employees for good performance, Nedbank Group
rewards them through the Nedbank Achiever programme.
This programme acknowledges employees contributions
to the overall objectives of the organisation. In 2011
Nedbank Group formally recognised 843 employees
for their performance with a weekend away with their
partners. Out of these achievers, 152 were selected as Top
Achievers and formally recognised (with their partners) for
their top performance with a seven-day Mediterranean
cruise. In addition 247 were awarded with a two-night
stay (with partners) at the Nedbank Ndlulamithi Game
Lodge in the Welgevonden Game Reserve.
DEVELOPING EMPLOYEES
Supporting employees and enabling them to reach their
full potential through continuous personal development
is key to making Nedbank Group a great place to work.
Not only does such support empower employees to
perform optimally, it also enables them to engage more
effectively with management, thereby ensuring that
the group is well positioned to achieve its strategic
objectives. In 2011 82% of staff underwent training.
This equated to an average of 43 hours (2010: 39) of
training per employee. The gender breakdown of this is
46 hours for males and 41 hours for females.
The various programmes aimed at developing Nedbank
Group employees include:
- Business education programmes (BEPs) are based on a holistic view of building competencies for the various management levels across the group.
- Executive Education Programmes (EDPs) are offered by various local and international institutions. The objective of these programmes is to provide senior managers and executives with a global perspective, enabling the participants to become global leaders who are able to lead in a complex and changing world.
- Internal bursaries offer employees the opportunity to study while they work. In 2011 Nedbank Group spent R11,6m on internal bursaries towards various qualifications ranging from undergraduate to post-graduate degrees, including PhD degrees.
- Coaching received much attention during 2011 to ensure the successful introduction of coaching as an important capability to enhance the application of learning in the workplace, to assist with career transition, and to entrench desired leadership behaviours. More than 500 line managers were upskilled to improve the application of learning of their staff, and 22 internal coaches were accredited to assist managers with career transition and leadership behaviour development.
- Nedbank academies are aimed at establishing
job-family-related learning academies that will
address the functional requirements of prioritised
jobs. The job family approach will allow staff to be
developed within their current or future aspired
roles, opening up new career opportunities. The
academies will be underpinned by clearly defined
job profile requirements, a thorough pre-and
post-assessment process, and interventions that
will cover both formal and informal learning.
Two such academies were launched in 2011,
namely the HR Academy and the Risk Academy.
More academies are to be launched in 2012 and
beyond. Here is some feedback from staff who
participated in the HR Academy:
'I will give the HR Academy an A. I am fascinated by the journey.' Oldjohn Mothupi – Human Resources Manager Personal Loans '
After going through Phase 1 of the HR Academy, I now realise that I am the CEO of my own life.' Anvitha Sahadeo – Human Resources Manager Small Business Services
'Great time and effort has gone into building the HR Academy. Thank you for starting the academy journey with us.' Wilna Jensen – Human Resources Manager: Corporate Shared Service
As a caring employer, Nedbank Group offers its employees the comprehensive Employee Wellbeing Programme, facilitated through independent counselling and advisory services (ICAS). This programme provides employees with assistance and support for a wide range of personal issues, including stress management, financial matters, and even an onsite debriefing and counselling service for employees who have been exposed to traumatic events such as bank robberies.
In 2011 the overall rate of engagement in the Employee Wellbeing Programme, which includes uptake of all services offered, amounted to 36,3%. Annualised individual usage of the core counselling and advisory services of 18,5% was also recorded. This is ahead of the industry average of 13,3%. Concerns relating to relationship issues (23,3% ), stress (11,9%) and legal issues (7,9%) constituted the most common concerns raised during this period. The group will continue to provide support with regard to these issues via workshops and communications and will continue to remind staff of the ICAS resource for legal enquiries.
During the latter part of 2010 Nedbank Group conducted a behavioural risk assessment audit, which provided valuable information on the areas where assistance can be provided to employees with managing their health risks. One of the interventions that resulted from this audit was the Nedbank Biggest Loser Challenge. As part of Nedbank Group's broader employee wellness commitment, employees were invited to participate in a 12-week healthy weight loss challenge during 2011. Specific entry criteria were required and the initiative was overseen by a registered dietician. Regular weigh-in sessions were performed to track the progress of participants, who altogether lost 3,1% body fat and 228 kg over the challenge period. The overall winner was Sean de Necker who lost more than 6% of his body fat and gained a new lease on life.
'When I saw the communication introducing the Nedbank Biggest Loser Challenge 2011, I was overweight and suffering from high blood sugar and high blood pressure. I struggled to focus at work and at home and always felt lethargic with low energy levels. As a result of my involvement in the challenge, I was equipped with the knowledge to overcome my bad eating habits and unhealthy lifestyle. The Biggest Loser Challenge motivated me to lose weight by sharing my hardships and victories with the rest of my team, and proved that anything is possible if you persist. Yes, it does take a lot of hard work, dedication and discipline, but it can be done.' Sean de Necker
The group also provides its employees at senior management level with a structured executive health programme called EXEC|care, the cornerstone of which is a comprehensive wellbeing assessment undertaken by experienced wellbeing professionals, including biokineticists, medical doctors and nutritionists. During the year under review 118 Nedbank Group executives made use of this facility – a 35% increase on the 2010 usage. The group provides generous maternity benefits.
Between 1 November 2010 and 4 August 2011 the group ran its HIV counselling and testing (HCT) campaign in support of the national HCT drive. During this time 2 548 employees were tested for HIV/Aids. Also during 2011 Nedbank Group embarked on a process to revamp its approach to HIV/Aids testing and education for its employees. The rollout of an integrated wellness strategy, looking at lifestyle diseases more broadly, is planned for 2012.
OTHER 2011 INITIATIVES
Other 2011 initiatives aimed at making Nedbank Group a great place to work include education assistance for employees' children or dependants, onsite childcare facilities (95,5% of female employees were retained in 2011 post maternity leave) and flexible work practices.
- Education assistance – through various grants aimed at providing financial assistance to qualifying employees whose children or dependants study at primary and secondary school level. Study grants are also provided to employees to fund the fulltime studies of their children or dependants at university level. During 2011 Nedbank Group assisted a total of 874 employees via grants to the value of R4,6m.
- Onsite childcare facilities – offered at three of Nedbank Group's headoffice buildings in Gauteng. By meeting the childcare needs of working parents, these facilities help to boost the productivity of employees and reduce absenteeism. Together these facilities accommodated 238 children in 2011.
- Flexible work practices (FWP) – for qualifying employees. The number of employees taking advantage of this option increased from 672 in 2010 to 895 in 2011. The various FWP options include, but are not limited to, telecommuting, flexitime and compressed working hours. Altogether 90% of the employees who utilise FWP take advantage of the flexitime and telecommuting options.
| 'It is rare to have a corporate and especially a bank which lives its values and culture through its offerings to its staff. The flexible work practices are a leap in trust and as the experience deepens management of it becomes second nature. The benefit to staff and their families provides for enriched working experience where work and home life can be balanced giving back to the bank a much more present staffmember. Keep it up, Nedbank, great place to work!' Alan Wight |
LEADING INTERNAL TRANSFORMATION
Nedbank Group is committed to continuing to accelerate transformation both within the group and in support of the country. As such the group developed and finalised a new three-year EE plan for the period 2011 to 2013 (in accordance with the requirements of the EE Act), as the previous EE plan expired in December 2010. At the end of 2011 the workforce profile of the bank was as depicted in the table.
In addition, the EE governance structures continue to function well, in an increasingly coordinated manner, to ensure that EE issues are properly escalated for decisionmaking in the group. A subcommittee of the Nedbank Group board on transformation, sustainability and ethics (GTSEC) has the overall responsibility for the direction and management of the group, and actively monitors EE action plans. A subcommittee of the Group Executive Committee on transformation and human resources (TRAHRCO) ensures full integration of all transformation processes within the group and advises on strategies for transformation. Each cluster has an EE forum that is made up of employer and employee representatives. In turn, each cluster is represented on the Nedbank Employment Equity Forum (NEEF), a consultative body constituted in accordance with the EE Act. NEEF continues to measure its performance through relevant and identified key focus areas, and 2011 was no different. One of the key focus areas the forum identified and successfully concluded in 2011 was the consultation and signoff of the new three-year EE plan.
Employees are also provided with an additional channel, the internal ombudsman, to voice any concerns they may have regarding unfair discrimination, sexual harassment and victimisation. In 2011 the office of the ombudsman handled 68 incidents (2010: 99), which were used to facilitate resolving the issues by the aggrieved staffmember, his or her line manager and HR manager.
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2011 EMPLOYMENT EQUITY ANALYSIS (BASED ON THE EE ACT) |
| Male | Female | Foreign nationals | ||||||||||
| Occupational levels | A | C | I | W | A | C | I | W | Male | Female | Total | |
| Top management | 6 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 19 | |||||||
| Senior management | 65 | 21 | 63 | 385 | 41 | 11 | 31 | 110 | 29 | 10 | 766 | |
| Professionally qualified | 819 | 371 | 633 | 1 645 | 843 | 519 | 692 | 1 744 | 90 | 88 | 7 444 | |
| Skilled technical | 2 031 | 795 | 713 | 656 | 3 746 | 1 843 | 1 366 | 1 900 | 31 | 99 | 13 180 | |
| Semiskilled | 649 | 198 | 113 | 74 | 1 434 | 536 | 272 | 404 | 3 | 15 | 3 698 | |
| Unskilled | ||||||||||||
| Unmatched | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 9 | ||||
| Total permanent | 3 571 | 1 385 | 1 523 | 2 770 | 6 067 | 2 910 | 2 361 | 4 163 | 153 | 213 | 25 11S6 | |
| Temporary employees | 398 | 108 | 87 | 323 | 692 | 164 | 117 | 255 | 28 | 29 | 2 201 | |
| Grand total | 3 969 | 1 493 | 1 610 | 3 093 | 6 759 | 3 074 | 2 478 | 4 418 | 181 | 242 | 27 3171 | |
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REMUNERATION AND EYETHU STAFF SHARE SCHEMES
The group embarks on an annual exercise – after salary increases – to ensure that there are no discriminatory pay disparities in the various occupational levels and job families as well as no race and gender discrimination.
During 2011 the Department of Labour requested information from Nedbank Group to demonstrate its alignment to the principle of 'equal pay for work of equal value'. The information has been shared with the department and the group awaits feedback, which will be available in 2012.
Nedbank Group is committed to building Africa's most admired bank (by staff, clients and shareholders, regulators and communities) and therefore complies with all requests from the department to minimise any risk of non-compliance. In addition, the group's total remuneration and reward philosophy is aimed at attracting and retaining motivated, high-calibre people.
The minimum wage for all permanent staff is R90 000 per annum for the 2011 financial year, an increase of 9,76% from the R82 000 per annum in 2010.
For further information with regard to the Nedbank Remuneration Policy please refer to the Remuneration Report.
Nedbank Group's BBBEE transaction in 2005 saw the launch of the Eyethu Empowerment Schemes, which allowed participation by employees, strategic black business partners, corporate and retail clients and a community trust. The schemes consist of the Black Executive Trust and the Black Management Scheme (both aimed at attracting and retaining black senior and middle managers), as well as the Evergreen Trust, aimed at empowering black employees at lower income levels. The Eyethu Broad-based Employee Scheme vested in 2010. However, certain employees are still participating in the schemes, subject to the approved rules of the schemes.
ENABLING TRANSFORMATION THROUGH EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT
Of the 429 employees who participated in Nedbank Group's business education programmes during 2011 70% (2010: 59%) were black employees and 35% (2010: 30%) black females. Of the 58 (2010: 61) employees who participated in the executive education programmes 48% (2010: 41%) were black and 19% (2010: 19,7%) were black females, helping towards building the group's transformation bench strength and pipeline. As was the case in 2010 more than 1 000 employees also benefited from Nedbank Group's internal bursaries, of which 78% were black (2010: 79%).
One of the pillars of the group's transformation efforts is the development of EE forum members to ensure that they acquire the capacity to fulfil their roles as employee representatives on EE matters. Capacitybuilding workshops are conducted on a quarterly basis for this purpose and ad hoc sessions also take place on request from various areas nationally. During 2011 a total of 15 such sessions were conducted and 269 people were trained.
Sessions were also held with line HR managers to create awareness and sensitise them to people with disabilities in the workplace. Altogether four sessions were held, attended by 55 employees. The sessions are part of the bigger PWD strategy to ensure that the group's employees with disabilities are reasonably accommodated and that Nedbank Group is a great place to work for them as well.
Disability training workshops were also provided by the employee wellbeing service provider, ICAS. The training was aimed at creating awareness and providing employees with information on where to get support. The Nedbank Employee Wellbeing Programme also offers employees the opportunity to 'Ask a Disability Expert' about specific PWD issues, and present case-bycase referrals for the verification of disabilities and the relevant information on reasonable accommodation.
During the year 20 sexual harassment awareness sessions were offered with the aim of making employees aware of the existing Nedbank Group Sexual Harassment Policy and escalation procedure. The sessions were conducted in partnership with the employee wellbeing service provider, who is also equipped to deal with the psychological impact of sexual harassment on affected employees.
DIVERSITY INITIATIVES
Nedbank Group's aim is to have an inclusive culture where all employees feel welcome, with particular focus placed on women and people with disabilities.
- People with disabilities (PWD)
In 2011 Nedbank Group's commitment to being a great place to work for employees with disabilities was reinforced further. Interventions and plans in support of this commitment included the Nedbank PWD Communications Plan, which was launched in the first quarter of 2011 and is closely aligned to the national and international calendar of events for people with disabilities.
In the runup to the International Day for Persons with Disabilities 2011 Nedbank Group increased its efforts in creating awareness of disabilities as well as providing support to managers. To bring the communications alive for employees it was decided that some employees who had declared their disability status would be used as the face of the campaign to enhance its credibility. The slogan for the initiative was 'My disability has little to do with my ability'.
The campaign was aimed at raising awareness among all employees as to the different types of disabilities and the challenges facing those with such disabilities. It also encouraged employees to declare their disability status in order to ensure that Nedbank Group is best able to accommodate its employees who have disabilities. The group encourages staff to declare their status, because the group needs to ensure that Nedbank Group is well equipped to provide reasonable accommodation (a requirement of the EE Act) as well as to create an inclusive culture that caters for all staff.
The campaign included the following:- Leaders Conversation Guide, a guide targeted at managers with direct reports covering tips on holding a 10-minute meeting with employees, defining disability and a list of disabilities.
- An internal TV advertisement broadcast on the internal TV channel.
- Promotional buttons and articles on internal communications channels.
- A audio-visual message that was aired on every employee's computer screen.
- The PWD intranet site, which was updated to ensure it was a suitable avenue of support and source of information for all employees.
The percentage of Nedbank Group employees with disabilities has increased from 0,21% (in 2006) to 2,76% at the end of 2011, and much of this increase between 2010 and 2011 can be directly attributed to the 2011 awareness campaign.
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| Male | Female | Foreign | nationals | ||||||||||
| Occupational levels | A | C | I | W | A | C | I | W | Male | Female | Total | ||
| Top management | |||||||||||||
| Senior management | 3 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 28 | |||||
| Professionally qualified | 8 | 9 | 17 | 81 | 13 | 6 | 14 | 72 | 1 | 3 | 224 | ||
| Skilled technical | 42 | 14 | 23 | 34 | 77 | 37 | 25 | 93 | 1 | 2 | 348 | ||
| Semiskilled | 25 | 5 | 5 | 12 | 26 | 12 | 9 | 41 | 135 | ||||
| Unskilled | |||||||||||||
| Unmatched | |||||||||||||
| Total permanent | 78 | 29 | 47 | 141 | 116 | 55 | 48 | 212 | 3 | 6 | 735 | ||
| Temporary employees | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 20 | |||
| Grand total | 80 | 30 | 48 | 147 | 119 | 56 | 50 | 215 | 4 | 6 | 755 | ||
- Women initiatives
Through Nedbank Group's strategic relationship with Wiphold (one of Nedbank's black business partners), a relationship with African Women Chartered Accountants (AWCA) was established to provide female staff, particularly those working in areas of scarce and critical skills, with informal networking opportunities. The involvement with AWCA also assists in positioning Nedbank Group as employer of choice, especially in areas where it is a challenge to meet EE targets. In addition, the partnership has allowed the bank to forge a relationship with Adcorp, a placement agency.
Through this relationship Adcorp has been used as the supplier for a number of talent management acquisition projects, including the preselection processes for the bursary and graduate programmes. Through the Brimstone Consortium (also a Nedbank Group black business partner) the group has also recently established a relationship with SA Women in Engineering, as part of its commitment to providing support to women in areas of scarce and critical skills.
The group also leverages on the current Nedbank sponsorship of the Business Women's Association of South Africa (BWA) for further strengthening its gender equity position.
- Transformation dialogues
During the course of the year under review various transformation dialogue sessions were conducted. A series of talks by invited guest speakers and panels addressed current transformation topics. These included sessions by:- Statistics SA in response to a previous talk by an Adcorp labour analyst on the state of unemployment in SA; and
- a national planning commissioner on the first
diagnostic report released by the commission
earlier in the year.
These types of sessions are aimed at encouraging employees to hold open and honest debates on broader transformation matters that affect the way Nedbank Group implements its transformation initiatives.
Other transformation dialogues took the form of one-on-one sessions with preselected board members, all Group Executive Committee (Exco) members, as well as focus groups comprising a representative sample of senior managers. The dialogues allowed participants to gain an understanding of the latest opinions of decisionmakers about the state of transformation at Nedbank Group and will inform the formulation of position statements on transformation within the group for the next three years. The dialogues were also necessary to provide input into the next three-year EE plan (2011 to 2013) to direct an informed and updated transformation tone.
- Batho Pele Diversity Management Programme Batho Pele (humanness first) is Nedbank Group's
foundation diversity programme that aims at
creating an inclusive culture and providing support
for the creation of a work environment where no
one is made to feel unwelcome. The programme
has been rolled out into several business units over
the past three years, and this will continue across
the rest of the business during the course of 2012.
Given the nature and extent of the diversity challenges facing SA businesses, it is natural for employees to experience a measure of discomfort as a result of a diversity journey. Despite this, there is a clear willingness among Nedbank Group employees to embrace diversity as a key cultural sustainability imperative and support leaderdriven diversity that underpins Nedbank Group's 'business as usual' approach.
A total of 120 managers and teams across the group have agreed to include diversity matters on their regular meeting agendas, and will be basing these conversations on Stanley Bongwe's book 100 Lessons in Diversity.
As part of its commitment to promoting and fostering good employee relations, Nedbank Group acknowledges its employees' rights to representation, freedom of association and collective bargaining. The minimum notice period for bargaining and non-bargaining units, as specified in agreements, is three months for any significant operational changes.
While the number of disciplinary incidents and disputes referred to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) in 2011 was lower than in 2010, this cannot be ascribed to any single factor. The number of dismissals due to disciplinary incidents also decreased to 171 for 2011 (2010: 209), with most being related to instances of dishonesty or gross negligence. Nedbank Group's approach to dismissals remains firmly rooted in a fair disciplinary process.
During the year under review formal and informal management training and various focus group discussions were offered on the industrial relations aspect of managing discipline, grievances and performance. A total of 284 managers and supervisors attended these sessions.
COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
The group continues to embrace the principles of collective bargaining, which assists in creating healthy employeremployee relationships. At 31 December 2011 a total of 67,6% permanent Nedbank Group employees belonged to the collective bargaining unit. The organisation utilises this process to agree fairly and equitably on the terms and conditions of employment with all member employees.
The group also consults with employees and their recognised unions on any restructuring that may be required. During 2011 all such restructuring initiatives were successfully concluded without any forced retrenchments. Furthermore, actions taken to support the right to exercise freedom of association and collective bargaining are entrenched in the existing HR policies.
| 2011 | 2010 | |
| Total number of employee relations incidents logged | 8 258 | 8 426 |
| Incidents resolved through counselling | 3 779 | 3 554 |
| Resolved by means of verbalwarnings | 1 473 | 1 575 |
| Resolved by means of writtenwarnings | 2 236 | 2 717 |
| Cases referred to the CCMA | 124 | 142 |
| Of the cases referred to the CCMA: | ||
| Settled | 54 | 67 |
| Withdrawn | 19 | 15 |
| Dismissed in favour of Nedbank | ||
| Group | 30 | 31 |
| Unfavourable decisions against | ||
| Nedbank Group | 2 | 3 |
| Still in progress | 21 | 37 |
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY
Since Nedbank Group sincerely believes that its people are its most important and valuable asset, the highest priority is placed on ensuring a culture of occupational health and safety, driven by the Group Risk Occupational Health and Safety Division.
To entrench this culture of health and safety the group in SA complies fully with the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 85 of 1993, including its various regulations, and the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act, 130 of 1993. Nedbank Group subsidiaries in other countries are required to comply with their local occupational health and safety legislation or Nedbank Group's Occupational Health and Safety Policies – whichever is more stringent. All Nedbank Group stakeholders, including staff, contractors, partners and clients, are required to agree to, and comply with, the Nedbank Group Occupational Health and Safety Policies and Procedures. In 2011 Nedbank Group compliance with the Occupational Health and Safety Act was maintained at Gold (98%) level.
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY COMMITTEES
All Nedbank Group sites have established occupational health and safety committees that meet monthly to review health and safety matters and to implement corrective measures. An Occupational Health and Safety Management team within the Group Risk Occupational Health and Safety Division also meets monthly to manage high-risk matters. A quarterly occupational health and safety regional forum serves to monitor and maintain compliance in each region with relevant legislation, programmes and policies.
The table below indicates the total number (3 306) of occupational health and safety appointees within Nedbank Group in 2011:
| Chief Executive |
Chief Risk Officer |
Appointee head office and area offices |
Deputy assistant to 16.2 appointee |
Section 8 | Safety representative/ Accident investigator |
Evacuator | First-aid officer/ Medic |
Fire marshal |
| 1 | 2 | 100 | 11 | 446 | 559 | 674 | 759 | 754 |
INCIDENT RECORDING AND INJURY REPORTING
In accordance with the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act, 130 of 1993, Nedbank Group records and documents all workplace injuries, including minor first-aid incidents, medical incidents and injuries on duty.
Qualified accident investigators thoroughly assess and record all injuries on duty sustained by group employees and contractors.
The table below reflects incidents and injuries recorded in 2011 compared with 2010:
| Category | 2011 | 2010 |
| First aid (minor incident) | 511 | 1 240 |
| Medical | 56 | 40 |
| Injury on duty – Nedbank Group | ||
| (reported to WC1 authorities) | 19 | 61 |
| Injury on duty (contractors) | 2 | 16 |
| Fatalities | – | 1 |
| Days lost | 357 | 696 |
1 Workmen's compensation.
As can be seen, there has been a significant year-onyear
decline in first-aid incidents, injuries on duty and
days lost due to injury. This is a direct result of the
continued focus on occupational health and safety
awareness and monitoring across the group.
In 2011 a total of 2,0% of man-days were lost to sick
leave, a marginal increase on the 1,9% lost in 2010.
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY
EDUCATION AND TRAINING
Comprehensive occupational health and safety training
is available on the Nedbank Group intranet site and is
compulsory for all group employees. Occupational health
and safety awareness events are also held annually and
regular updates are communicated to all employees.
Employees appointed to occupational health and safety
positions complete formal training in their relevant
field of appointment, as required by legislation. Training
and certification of occupational health and safety
appointees is recorded, monitored and audited annually.
A Pandemic Committee is in place to advise employees
on communicable diseases and the Occupational
Health and Safety Division is represented on both the
Wellness Forum and the People with Disabilities Forum.
RISK CONTROL: COMPLIANCE AND
EMERGENCY PROCEDURES
The group has an Emergency Procedure Policy for
all headoffice and retail outlets. All headoffice sites
are also equipped with evacuation chairs, medical
equipment and portable public address systems to
assist with emergencies. All occupational health and
safety appointees are trained in emergency procedures.
Two annual evacuation drills are held in all headoffice
buildings and one in every retail outlet, and all staff,
contractors and visitors are compelled to participate.
TRADE UNIONS
Nedbank Group consults with its trade unions, when
necessary, on occupational health and safety matters.
Health and safety appointees are not permitted to
belong to any trade union.
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