HUMAN CAPITAL
The Group’s employees deliver on our tagline which is ‘Passion for Value Creation’. We thrive to attract and retain talented and passionate people for our businesses and support them in their skills and knowledge development. Our businesses create a working environment which makes our employees feel that they are partners in fulfilling the Group’s mission, founded on mutual trust, respect and dedication to performance, quality, respect for each other and undying passion for value creation.
OUR STRATEGY
The Group consists of highly motivated executives, management and support teams that help the Group achieve its corporate strategy and goals. To achieve this, we focus on creating working conditions that inspire our employees to achieve set targets. Our businesses are strongly committed to labour and social standards that attract and retain excellent people and leaders whom we continue to develop through long life learning and support.
Our Management Approach
The Group provides employment opportunities through various forms that includes short-term contracts, casual positions, fixed-term contracts and full time or permanent positions. These opportunities are managed through adherence to local and international labour standards. We allow our employees to be members of trade unions of their choice in our business sectors to enable us to build sustainable relations. The following presents our employee base:
Employees Base (Permanent, including associate companies)
| Total Employees | Unit | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | Count | 6,259 | 6,410 | 6,207 | 5,534 | 6,707 |
| Female | Count | 1,320 | 1,320 | 1,359 | 1,205 | 1,641 |
| Total Employees | Count | 7,579 | 7,730 | 7,566 | 6,739 | 8,348 |
EMPLOYEE SKILLS BASE
The Group maintains a skills base that allows sustainable value creation. Some of the Group employees are members to the following professional bodies:
- Institute of Chartered Accountants Zimbabwe (ICAZ)
- Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)
- Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)
- Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators Zimbabwe (ICSAZ)
- The Chartered Institute of Certified Forensic Fraud Investigators (CIPFU)
- Zimbabwe Institute of Tax Accountants (ZITA)
- The Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF)
- Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT)
- Institute of People Management in Zimbabwe (IPMZ)
- Project Management Institute (PMI)
- Institute of Marketing Management - South Africa (IMMSA)
- Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM)
- Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Management (CIPS)
- Health Professionals Association of Zimbabwe
- Institute of Payroll Administrators
- Law Society of Zimbabwe
Occupational Health and Safety
The Group considers health and safety in our work place as critical to all our businesses. Any incidences are treated seriously and receive the necessary attention. Regular audits are conducted to ensure safety measures are in place at all times and appropriate training conducted to ensure that all employees are aware of health and safety issues. The Group’s policy is to ensure incidences are kept as low as possible.
| Unit | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Number of Injuries | Incidence | 405 | 317 | 260 | 266 | 344 |
| Number of work related fatalities | Incidence | - | – | - | 1 | - |
| Safety Training (days) | Days | 472 | 452 | 232 | 242 | 140 |
Health and Safety topics covered in formal agreements with Trade Unions
The Group’s commitment to health, safety and welfare for all of its employees requires all businesses to ensure that they adopt and apply best practices at all times. Our employees’ Workers Council works with trade unions on key topics and standard practices on health and safety observed in our factories and operations. Our employees are members to several trade unions. During the year, major topics discussed at various employees sessions are presented below.
In response to the above, our Wellness Programme, managed by Providence Human Capital (PHC), hosted training activities covering emergency preparedness, fire fighter training, fire drills, risks and hazards in the workplace. Audits of factories were conducted to compile adequate information to enable appropriate response and action on material issues raised.
Our Providence Team
Response to Covid-19
Innscor Africa Limited through its Wellness Program managed under Providence Human Capital sent a very clear message to its employees across all its businesses in the Group that they; our employees are the most important asset in our business and as such, there was need to invest in the necessary medical infrastructure and social employee requirements towards Covid-19 response and precautions in the workplace for the safety and wellbeing of our employees. Our response strategy included:
Communication Initiatives
The Group developed communication initiatives to provide medical perspective and interventions regarding legitimate information about the Covid-19 pandemic. Purposeful interventions were drafted into various materials. Our communication were through Whatsapp bot and bulk SMS messages with Covid-19 information and the Groups CEO’s message which was instrumental in showing solidarity between the management and employees.
Scope of Communication covered:
Providence initiated a preparedness response strategy as follows:
Awareness Campaigns - The Group together with Providence Human Capital created an internal communication plan for managing the pandemic within the workplace. The themes of the awareness campaigns were premised around the national statistics and national guidelines requirements such as social distancing, proper hand washing and facemask wearing. We communicated facts from authoritative sources on how the virus was spread and the infection prevention and control protocols. Our narrative was emphasised on preventative rather than curative as outlined in the Providence Health Covid-19 Awareness Manual.
Information and Educational Materials
The Group produced two PowerPoint presentations and a manual for internal purposes as well as for the Covid-19 learning and development. These materials included fliers, posters, short videos and audios which were circulated via social media platforms and physical areas. The materials were meant to promote safety steps for employees in the workplace covering correctly washing hands with soap, sanitisation, wearing masks and maintaining safe distance etc.
National Call Centre
IAL established a hotline number: 08607001987 and 1987 for employees to reach out to in the event of an employee showing Covid-19 symptoms. In addition, we also supported the national call centre, with the hotline number - 2023 for public use to provide clear instructions in the event of suspected cases in our communities.
Medical Intervention
The Group established a Covid-19 physical infrastructure that include a high-care hospital at 35 Fife Avenue in Harare and a Clinic in Bulawayo. The 35 Fife Avenue Hospital in Harare (Covid-19 epicentre) housed a Rapid Response team dealing with treatment of Covid-19 patients and was manned by medical personnel (includes a doctor and nurse) 24 hours. The facilities were fully equipped with vital Covid-19 essentials i.e. medicines and other consumables (including test kits, masks, sanitisers and adequate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for medical personnel) and Equipment (ventilators, monitors etc.). IAL together with Providence Human Capital partnered with the Government and Lancet Laboratories to conduct Covid-19 screening tests for our employees and their dependents.
Equipment Distribution
Providence Human Capital have been building the facilitation skills and capacity of health workers so that they can deliver Covid-19 awareness to all our employees and as first responders to care for the victims
Institutional Disinfection
In addition to the dissemination of awareness sessions and provision of crucial material, we contributed in the required disinfection of our clinics and institutions to limit the spread of Covid-19.
35 Five Avenue Clinic
Digital Transformation
Our response to Covid-19 has also enabled us to :
- Understand our customers by establishing Call Centre and feedback platforms
- Introducing digital products - the bulk SMS system and the WhatsApp platforms have become essential communication tools for us
- Using this Opportunity to enhance our new business development approaches – new business opportunities realised
- Automation
- Virtualising work environment – Employees working from home
- Performance management – can assess the employees who can work on their own
Various businesses, several schools as well as the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) Avondale Station staff were also trained by our established Covid-19 team..
Workplace Measures
To safeguard our employees and visitors entering our business premises, the following measures were taken:
- Screening employees and visitors through temperature checks
- Sanitisation premises and enhancing handwashing facilities
- Providing Rapid and PCR Tests
- Limiting staff visits to offices by having some work from home on a rotational basis
- Restricting staff travel
ENHANCING EMPLOYEE WELLNESS
The Innscor Africa Limited Wellness Program provides employees, their dependents and retirees with many opportunities that bring good health, balance and well-being. Our interactions focus on nutrition, fitness, general health education and workplace safety. In 2020 however, Our Wellness Program was disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic and we responded accordingly such that even during the pandemic, we continued to have a positive influence on health behaviours of the staff, dependants and retiree population.
Our Management Approach
The Group’s Wellness Programme provides primary healthcare to all our employees and their dependents through our industrial clinics. Our health clinics provide consultation, medication and where necessary transfers to referral hospitals. We also work with the City of Harare and the Ministry of Health in promoting primary healthcare to our employees and their dependents. The table below summarises Wellness activities conducted before the outbreak of Covid-19 in Zimbabwe and the lockdown that was introduced by Governance there after:
| Programmes | Programmes Activities & Outcomes |
|---|---|
| Annual Wellness Day | 9 years running the day event. Event activities included BMI, BP checks, visual screening, dental screening, HIV testing & counselling, cancer awareness, stress management, men’s sexual reproductive health, dental check- up, family therapy and practical basic life support training. Employees across the country participated in soccer, netball, Zumba dance and other activities. |
| Health Centres and Partnerships | Our clinics now service around 3 000 patients monthly. We contacted clients through non-communicable diseases health outreach programs, compliance medical examinations, HIV/AIDS awareness programs and other health talks. We actively operated five clinics, three in Harare and two in Kariba. |
| HIV/Aids Programmes | Provided awareness and training on rapid HIV Counselling and Testing in partnership with International Labour Organisation (ILO). We were identified as pioneers on ORAQUICK (HIV Self-testing) program by International Labour Organisation (ILO) and three members of our staff went for training at national level. |
| Outreaches | Conducted outreaches with clear target of raising awareness on HIV testing, initiation to ART, cancer management, nutrition and also management of non-communicable disease like BP/ Diabetes which are on the rise. |
| Lectures and Workshop | Conducted retirement seminars for those over 50 years through on-site training with NSSA. Activities equipped employees with understanding on how to prepare for retirement and life after retirement. Safety, Health and Environment training were conducted on emergency preparedness, risks and hazards management. |
| Cancer Awareness | Employees participated in workplace based cancer awareness and self-examination. Cancer Awareness activities were carried out in partnership with Cancer Serve. |
| Financial Wellness Outreach | Financial wellness seminars were hosted with particular attention to those near retirement. Retirement seminars were hosted in partnership with Old Mutual. |
Annual Wellness Day - Sport Tournament awards
FUTURE WELLNESS ACTIVITIES
- Raising more and more awareness on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD)’s in all staff members, their spouses and extended families
- Continuing on smoke cessation programmes
- Managing employees’ wellness
- Engaging in team goals on wellness and fitness
- Managing peer education and accountability per department
- Creating increased accessibility to health services for all our employees in every corner of the country
- Covid-19 Awareness
EMPLOYEE LIFE LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT
We strive to ensure that our production facilities maintain the highest standard and skills, by providing opportunities to our employees to attend relevant training courses and programmes which advance their knowledge and skills that benefit our business value chain. Our life learning and development opportunities are available through internal and external training activities in an equitable manner. Below are the average training hours for our employees:
| Average Training hours per Employee – Internal Training | Unit | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | Hours | 85 | 71 | 85 | 43 | 35 |
| Female | Hours | 114 | 96 | 71 | 69 | 29 |
HUMAN RIGHTS IN OUR BUSINESS
Our Management Approach
The Group believes that every human has rights that need to be observed including our employees in the work place. We recognise guiding principles for business and human rights as developed by the United Nations (UNGP) which are also included in the GRI Standards. The Group monitors practices in our business conduct and engagement with employees. All business units are encouraged to manage human rights issues as a risk to our business and brands by conducting human rights assessments. During the reporting year, no material human rights violation issues were brought to the attention of management.
RESPONSIBLE PRODUCTION
The Group strives to ensure that our production facilities maintain the highest of standards that do not compromise on quality and safety of our consumers and employees. We take comprehensive preventative measures to ensure that our production facilities meet the highest standards which allow responsible consumption of raw materials in our production processes. The Group adheres to ISO9001, ISO17025 and ISO22000 standards in managing production processes and quality.
PRODUCTS RESPONSIBILITY
Our Management Approach
Our businesses monitor and review the safety of our products through our quality control units from raw material procurement, production all the way to our customers. We do this through customer satisfaction surveys and engagements. Our businesses work continuously to ensure that our products pose no risk to our customers, consumers, employees and the environment and that they are, and are seen to be used responsibly and in the manner intended. Our Strategy is to ensure that high standards are applied in the manufacturing and distribution. For the reporting year, our companies retained their ISO9001, ISO17025, ISO22000 and FSS22000 certifications.
During the year, the outcomes of our customer satisfaction surveys showed that customers were generally satisfied with the quality of our products. Our brands received significantly higher rankings in the market in terms of awareness and satisfaction rating. The Group continues to promote responsible marketing by ensuring that all our products contains all necessary information on the product for our consumers.