Safaricom 2023 Sustainable Business Report

76 OUR BUSINESS KPI SUMMARY OUR MATERIAL TOPICS SAFARICOM SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS REPORT 2023 OUR STAKEHOLDERS ISSUES FOR OUR EMPLOYEES OUR HIGHLIGHTS BECOMING A FUTURE-FIT ORGANISATION To become a purpose-led technology company, we need to ensure we are future-fit, especially in today’s competitive marketplace where the pace of technology development is fast and furious. Realising our goal is underpinned by our people. Accordingly, our people strategy continued to be anchored on four strategic pillars: • Accelerate delivery of diverse talent and future-ready skills. • Orchestrate an Agile and efficient operating model. • Foster the Purpose and Spirit of Safaricom. • Create a digital, personalized employee experience Under our drive to be future-fit, we made noteworthy progress in our Agile goals, with 36% of the organisation now Agile. BUILDING A DIVERSE WORKFORCE Recognising that high levels of diversity and inclusion in the workplace are associated with greater productivity, innovation and workforce well-being, we strive to build a diverse Safaricom and took the following actions: • Reviewed our inclusion and harassment policies. • Continued to mainstream diversity through sensitisation and celebration of diverse global days as well as themed forums that are critical in building and embedding the right corporate culture. • Established a Disability Council responsible for spearheading disability matters. • Conducted training for line managers on leading inclusive teams and educating them about unconscious bias. • Reinforced inclusive communication through sign language interpretation services and the use of sub-titles/closed captioning as a minimum standard during online meetings and making use of sign language interpreters during all in-person meetings. • Under phase 1 of the IT Bridge Academy Internship programme which trains young people with disabilities in information technology we onboarded 33 PwD interns. This was the first group of the talent pipeline from a consortium of partners led by Sight Savers to mobilise and upskill youths with disabilities. We expect 49 more young people to graduate from the programme shortly after year-end. We achieved just over 40% of women in management. This was due to the senior leadership ‘ownership’ of divisional gaps; proactive sourcing of female candidates and internal promotions; support for mothers returning to work, as well as leadership and development programmes targeted at women, including Women in Technology (WIT) and the Digital Academy. A key development was the branding of our women agenda under the Safaricom Connected Women umbrella. This was to consolidate our initiatives, drive our employee value proposition and engagement, and enhance a sense of belonging. We developed this initiative after we asked women across all levels what they wanted and 95% of them responded that they wanted to understand their purpose and know their value. Under Safaricom Connected Women, we have now established three pillars: • Financial: Aimed at promoting financial wellness. • ‘Step up’: Focusing on career growth and incorporating the Mowgli Mentorship programme, LeanIn Circles, a book club, discussion groups and fireside chats. • Thrive: Centered on issues away from workplace with a focus on body, mind, soul and heart EMPLOYEES • 36% of Safaricom is now Agile. • Over 40% of management is comprised of women. • Establishment of a Disability Council. • Launch of the Uzima App, digitising the Safaricom health, safety and wellbeing management system. • ISO 45001 recertification achieved. • Participated in the Workforce Disclosure Initiative which aims to improve corporate transparency and accountability on workforce issues through comprehensive, comparable data, improving our score 42% in 2021 to 61% in 2022. • Connection with Safaricom’s strategic direction and purpose