2019 Sustainable Business Report

SAFARICOM SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS REPORT 2019 INTRODUCTION OUR BUSINESS OUR MATERIAL TOPICS STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT CONCLUDING REMARKS 70 We work hard to create an inclusive and safe environment that enables our staff to achieve both individual and business objectives. Initiatives include: • training all our line managers and employees on unconscious bias; • training at least 500 employees in basic Sign Language, which is a key driver for inclusive communication (these will be deployed “on the ground” in shops and centres to facilitate communication with the hearing-impaired community); • providing customised business tools (assistive devices and technologies); • ensuring our physical environment is accessible, such as by installing braille lift buttons and audible instructions; • procuring specialised evacuation equipment and continuous training; and • celebrating our diversity. EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT Safaricom uses the Employee Engagement and Manager Index (part of our “SEMA Survey”) and staff turnover rates to measure the morale of employees. While staff gave their overall work environment a rating of 81 (-2 vs FY18), we have made in-roads through a variety of initiatives. In the year under review, our engagement score rose from 91 to 95. Ninety-four per cent of our staff are likely to recommend Safaricom as a great place to work, reflecting an affection for and commitment to the brand that is corroborated by Safaricom being rated the best company in Africa to work for in 2018 by Forbes Magazine . Staff turnover, at a five-year low of five per cent, bears this out. Our Manager Engagement Index is 84% - this speaks of our ability to create a conducive environment for our employees to be at their very best when working at Safaricom - developing self and team, leading to creating a compelling career growth. Employee engagement measures how employees view the organisation by which they are employed, the level of connection and commitment they feel to the organisation and how they passionate they are about their jobs. Case Study: Thrive One of the fundamental pillars of Safaricom culture is Humanness, which affirms that we all matter and that our diversity is our strength. In line with our efforts to be 100 per cent “human at work”, our health and safety team has launched a holistic employee wellness programme called Thrive, a work-based intervention programme designed to provide support to members of staff and create a happy, healthy and productive workforce. This programme offers interventions to support and sustain the integrated wellbeing of our staff based on: • Body – physical fitness, nutrition, sleep and movement; • Heart – a sense of connectedness and belonging; • Soul – a sense of purpose; • Mind – mental health and wellbeing through mindfulness, meditation, connections with family, gratitude and empathy. The Thrive programme, which is in phase 2 in FY19, has a 90 per cent reach across the business.