Having recently applied for accreditation with the Institute for Leadership and Management (ILM) and the Society for Human ResourceManagement (SHRM), I have been contemplating a critical question: What is the most important business skill for success?

Forbes Online Magazine published an article on this very question and cited links to online discussions. Opinions abounded and each opinion supported by experience.The author for Forbes Magazine: Michele Corey gave her input which was pleasantly unexpected: “the single most important skill I see that creates more failure when you don’t have clarity or actions in alignment and more success when you do, is – know yourself”.

This is essential in order to ensure we are equipped with the right skills, knowledge and ability (competence) to perform effectively in any business environment.I encourageyou to assess your competence and performance goals in establishing your individual skills needs. Emergence Growth has a number of solutions: Self Evaluation toolkits, Personality Assessments, Competence Evaluation Systems and a comprehensive skills library and qualification portfolio to assist. Contact me, the Head of Learning and Development, Peta Horn and I will be more than willing to assist you in this regard.

Tel: +2711 026 3442, Mobile: +2783 296 5108 email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Executive Summary

This survey derives from the need to understand employee engagement in the context of continued growth in Africa. The aim of the survey is to provide detailed data that organisations can use to improve their employee engagement initiatives in Africa. The scope and reach of the survey ^[1] allows for the detailed comparison of employee engagement across different countries and regions in Africa for the first time ^[2].

Finding 1

Employee engagement scores differ across the Globe. Africa scores broadly correlate with those from other Emerging Markets. In line with this, Emerging Markets tend to have higher employee engagement scores overall.

Finding 2

Africa cannot be considered as one geography in terms of employee engagement. Significant ‘regional’ differences in engagement scores occur. These differences are shown in the table below:

Finding 3

Several Employee Engagement trends have been identified. Perceptions of work, leadership and career opportunities appear to be the largest concerns, as shown in the next table.

Leadership is covered in the area of relationship with management and peers (Section 7)

Finding 4

Each aspect of total rewards attracts a differentiated level of importance in employee engagement.
The following were identified as the top three most important elements for Sub-Saharan Africa:

It is notable that the 3 most common elements of a remuneration package, across various levels within organisations have obtained a similar score.

Finding 5

There were a number of patterns that emerged from analysis of generational differences regarding current practices within their organisations. Generation X and Millennial respondents are closer to each other in terms of engagement needs than Baby Boomers, indicating a degree of potential polarisation.

The top 3 and bottom 3 similar rated areas are as follows:

Top 3

• Trust;
• Honesty; and
• Creativity & Innovation.

Bottom 3

• Reward for high performers;
• Creating career opportunities for top talent; and
• Openness and transparency when communicating with employees.

Finding 6

The data supports a customised approach that takes into consideration all aspects of employee engagement, rather than a “one size fits all” approach.

₁ This is the first set of results in an anticipated multi-year approach to surveying engagement in Africa
₂ In our research limited employee engagement data exists for Africa, including the Aon “Trends in Global Engagement Survey”, upon which this survey is based.

For more information

Emergence Growth Human Capital Africa is a specialist Human Capital and Reward Consultancy, based in Johannesburg, with a passion for assisting organisations to grow and expand their businesses in both South Africa & Africa. We do not believe in “suitcase” consulting. Instead, we partner with organisations to deliver against their mandate, and to exceed performance criteria. All interventions combine local knowledge with global insight to ensure practical changes and meaningful performance improvement.

We are one of Africa’s premier HR consultancies, which, together with our international partner, Birches Group, has a footprint in over 50 African countries and 148 countries globally. We tailor solutions to meet the specific requirements of our clients. Relationships and superior service form the cornerstone of Emergence Growth . Our consultants have consulted to over 2500 organisations both locally and globally. We have offices in a number of African countries staffed by locally empowered employees, with branch offices in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and Gauteng.

We believe that relationships with clients are built through providing superior service, and delivering practical and innovative solutions that are tailored to the specific requirements of the organisation.

AonHewitt is a global leader in Human Resource consulting and outsourcing solutions. The company partners with organisations to solve their most complex benefits, talent and related financial challenges, and improve business performance. AonHewitt designs, implements, communicates and administers a wide range of human capital, retirement, investment management, healthcare, compensation and talent management strategies. With more than 29,000 professionals in 90 countries, AonHewitt makes the world a better place to work for clients and their employees. For more information on AonHewitt, please visit www.aonhewitt.com . AonHewitt have a global database of salary survey data – Total Compensation Measurement (TCM).

OpenSymmetry is a global consultancy specialising in Sales Performance Management. This includes all aspects of designing the right commission structure to drive solid business results, managing commission calculations and payments with stringent governance protocols as well as helping organizations attract and retain the best staff by rewarding people for results. Our solutions help customers reduce admin overhead, move away from inefficient commission spreadsheets to use reward structures that drive the right behavior.

The Emergence Growth “End-to-End” Human Capital service offering is as follows:

All interventions combine local knowledge with global insight to ensure practical changes and meaningful performance improvement.

Organisational information:

Emergence Growth staff are members of the following associations:

• Institute of People Management (IPM);
• South African Reward Association (SARA);
• South African Board for People Practices (SABPP); and
• Coaches & Mentors Association (COMENSA).

Why use Emergence Growth?

There are a number of advantages to using an independent professional consultancy, namely that we offer:

• Added credibility;
• Specialised industry knowledge;
• Access to a large database of statistics, trends and information;
• Access to a large database of statistics, trends and information;
• An objective and unbiased standpoint which can be presented without fear of internal pressure for promotion of a particular solution; and
• A customised consultant/organisational fit.

Conclusion

We would like to thank you for taking the time to read this report. Should you require any further detail with regards to Employee Engagement, or if you have any queries regarding this report, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Raun Smythe – Managing Director of Emergence Growth Human Capital

Jaco Kok – CEO of AonHewitt

Rodney Barnes – HR Director of East Rand Water

Pat Smythe – Chairman of Emergence GrowthIPM Annual Conference 2012