SA`s first full-service interactive customer management facility, run by Dimension Data`s Customer Contact Solutions (CCS), is showing the way in employment equity. Seventy-four percent of the organisation is from designated groups (which includes white females) and 66% comprise previously disadvantaged individuals (PDIs).
CCS has 270 staff nationally, servicing 28 organisations, in its 24x7x365 facility. The CCS i-Media Centre combines traditional call centre services with the full range of i-Media, covering fax, e-mail, cellular and Internet-enabled customer management. Some of the added-services include Web Chat, Page Push and Voice-over IP facilities. This means that the CCS agents can manage leading-edge Web-enabled interaction channels, to support customers with their online shopping, Web searching and general browsing.
The purpose of SA`s Employment Equity Act is to achieve equity in the workplace by promoting equal opportunity and fair treatment in employment. The Act also states that all corporations need to implement affirmative action measures to redress the disadvantages in employment experienced by designated groups ensuring their equitable representation at all levels of the workforce.
Keneilwe Grace Mshengu, human resources development manager for CCS, says: "We are a very competitive organisation and we set our targets higher than most corporations, aiming for 75% of our staff to be from previously disadvantaged communities or specified designated groups by October 2001.
"We still have two months to spare and are well on our way towards achieving these goals," Mshengu continues.
"All corporations were required by law to submit employment equity plans (EEPs) to the Department of Labour by December 2000," says Mshengu. "An organisation`s EEP is required to state agreed objectives for each year of the plan, providing numerical goals for achieving equitable representation - this includes monitoring and evaluation procedures."
CCS developed its existing equity status from difficult beginnings. "Eighteen months ago, only 10% of the company comprised black employees; 67% of CCS` senior management were foreign nationals - the remaining 33% were white South African males."
Today, CCS boasts more women - black and white - in senior management positions, with major improvements also visible at middle management and staff member levels.
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Dimension Data Holdings plc (LSE: DDT), is a leading global technology company that represents a new category of systems integrator providing network and multi-channel e-business solutions to deliver the complex integration and connectivity requirements of global corporations.
Founded in 1983 as a specialist supplier of technology and services, Dimension Data`s strategy has evolved with the emergence of the intelligent network as the most important enabler in business today.
Dimension Data`s global presence combined with its expertise and extensive skills base in network infrastructure and e-business solutions environments enables its customers to ascend into the global marketplace through 100% connectivity and integration. Listed on the London Stock Exchange, Dimension Data is a member of the FTSE 250 index, employs over 12 000 people and operates in over 30 countries on six continents.
Dimension Data has achieved a three-year compound annual growth rate in US dollars of 73% in revenue and 36% in basic earnings per share. For more information, please go to www.didata.com.
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