Capital Hotels and Apartments’ “Unlimited Leave Policy” nabs SARA Project of the Year Award
Barloworld cream of the crop in Remuneration Report category
John Skelton from Capital Hotels and Apartments Group received the 2022 SARA Project of the Year Award, and Barloworld took home the Remuneration Report of the Year award at the recent 2022 annual Reward Awards ceremony, hosted by the South African Reward Association (SARA).
Ray Harraway won the prestigious President’s Award.
The awards recognise businesses and individuals who create excellence in reward that attract and retain employees while motivating them to contribute to their organisations.
SARA Project of the Year Award
The 2022 SARA Project of the Year Award honoured an individual: John Skelton from Capital Hotels and Apartments Group for his “Unlimited Leave” project.
During the pandemic, support office employees were working from home, and because they had a "never off" attitude, this meant that burnout was beginning to have an impact on the company. On June 1, 2021, the group's unlimited leave policy went into effect, and results were significant and noticeable right away.
Without the typical limitation that specifies how many vacation days they are allowed each year, it offered support office personnel the opportunity to take as much (or as little) time off as they deemed fit. Positive effects were seen on both staff morale and the leave liabilities on the balance sheet. The project, which was a component of the group's strategy for rewards and benefits, increased employee trust while boosting productivity.
The results speak for themselves: Staff retention has improved to less than 0.005% annual attrition and a bottom line saving in the balance sheet of R575 000 monthly.
Against the backdrop of many reductions in salary and large scale retrenchment in the hospitality sector, the Group has been able to weather the pandemic storm.
The runners-up of the 2022 SARA Project of the Year Award were Nedbank’s Project Impilo (offering staff a richer choice of medical aid) in second place, and tied in third place was BCX with their Reward Modernisation project, and Shoprite Checkers with their Shoprite Employee Trust project.
Remuneration Report Award
From a record of nine nominations this year, Barloworld took top honors in the 2022 SARA Remuneration Report of the Year award.
They were followed by Old Mutual in second place and Anglo American Platinum Limited in third for their submissions.
This award recognises organisations for the alignment of their remuneration reporting and disclosure against the key principles of the King IVTM governance guidelines. These exemplify fair, responsible and transparent policy and practice. Submissions were evaluated by a panel of independent and expert judges across all spheres of stakeholders.
The judges praised Barloworld for its attention to detail, transparency of the information, creative and distinctive presentation and the appropriate balance of text and graphics. The simplicity of the writing and the connection between the strategy, approach, and concept of compensation also contributed to its success. The panel was very impressed with Barloworld's declarations on fair and responsible remuneration (with specific action items) and their good explanation of shareholder participation, in addition to the chair's thorough background statement.
President’s Award
Ray Harraway from Nedbank received the esteemed President's Award, which recognises exceptional achievement in the field of Total Reward.
In his distinguished career, Ray has worked at prestigious consulting and corporate businesses and has more than 35 years of experience in Total Rewards on a local and international level. He is regarded as one of the top Reward experts and thought leaders in the country and served as the founding chair of the IoDSA's Remuneration Committee Forum.
Throughout his career, Ray has proven to be adept at leading diverse reward teams and establishing and upholding reliable, purpose-driven incentive programmes at all organisational levels.
Given his command of complex subjects, his capacity to spark difficult conversations, and his ability to contribute to professional discourse on current and emerging trends over the course of more than three decades of practice, Ray is a deserving recipient of the 2022 President's Award.
Ray leaves a lasting legacy that will benefit the profession for many years to come.
MEDIA CONTACT: Rosa-Mari Le Roux, rosa-mari@atthatpoint.co.za, 060 995 6277, www.atthatpoint.co.za
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