Automotive giant, Volkswagen Group South Africa, took the initiative and was the first original equipment manufacturer (OEM) to participate in, be rated as a Best Employer and be declared winner in the Automotive Industry Sector in South Africa for 2011/12 by the CRF Institute in its annual Best Employers Ranking.
The ranking is based on the evaluation of Companies’ formal and informal HR policies and practices against an international standard applied across 14 countries. The results are benchmarked by the CRF Institute – an international research and media group, specialising in HR, strategy and leadership research. The award comes after the culmination of months of intense research, with findings independently audited by Grant Thornton.
Companies are rated on the following broad criteria: Primary Benefits, Secondary Benefits and Working Conditions, Training and Development, Career Development, Company Culture and Diversity. Companies named the Best Employer in their industry must have featured in the top 15 percentile of all certified organisations, and have scored the most points out of all participating organisations in that particular industry in the annual research.
In Volkswagen Group South Africa, the CRF Institute confirmed the following ‘reasons for excellence’: strong leadership focus, benchmark learning organisation, innovative, fast paced and exciting work environment, performance-based rewards culture, local and global passenger car leadership and a comprehensive range of benefits.
“This is a great achievement for Volkswagen Group South Africa. We were the first OEM to participate in the survey, and although we were confident in entering, the recognition is nevertheless humbling. Also, being recognised as a Best Employer will assist us in attracting the best talent – particularly young people – to the organisation,” said VWSA Managing Director, David Powels.
“Openly recognised as ‘an employer of choice’, VWSA believes in seeking out the best talent through various initiatives, and in consistently developing its staff to be the best they can be within a global company.”
“As a global motor manufacturer, VWSA seeks employees in engineering, production, quality assurance, communications and PR, sales and marketing, human resources, purchasing, logistics, finance, information technology and internal audit and systems. But regardless of their area of expertise, they are men and women who reflect the same innovative spirit as the Volkswagen Brand,” said Powels.
“The HR Management of these lauded organisations has been holistically researched, and only these organisations received the BEST Employers 2011/12 Certification Seal,” said CRF International CEO, Steven Veenendaal.
