SAS Institute South Africa voted Best Employer

For the second year running, SAS South Africa, a subsidiary of the global leader in business analytics software and services, has been voted as a top employer in the annual BEST Employers SA project run by the international CRF Institute.

To date, BEST Employers currently researches and identifies the best companies to work for in South Africa based on the employment framework adopted by individual organisations. The selection criteria look at pay and benefits, working conditions, career development, training and development as well as the overall employee experience from a corporate culture perspective.

“At SAS we strive to create and encourage a culture that promotes a work life balance,” says Millicent Sibeko, Human Resources manager at SAS. “We closely mirror the global efforts of our parent company that was voted as the best company to work for by Fortune magazine, and adapt this to meet the very specific needs of the local people in our employ.”

The CRF collates local and international data and compares candidates' offerings to global standards, identifying only the very best in HR management, employee well being and benefits. According to the CRF, employees working for a company with this stamp of approval are working for only the very best and their careers are in excellent hands.

As per the research conducted by the company, SAS was awarded the honour as a result of its focus on people as its greatest asset, where from the sales teams to trainers it recognises that all of its achievements and business successes are thanks to its staff, making retention programmes a top priority of the company.

“By virtue of the nature of our business we have to call on a pool of enormously talented people with scarce skills, this makes them a target for poaching. We get around this by a carefully structured remuneration programme that offers highly competitive salaries, ongoing training and mentorship programmes, encouraging a work life balance and particular attention to our retention strategies,” adds Sibeko.

Looking ahead, the company will be focussing on five main streams, including: people development and retention, this involves the inclusion of programmes like mentorship and empowerment of staff. These programmes have already being launched with much success. In addition to which SAS is also developing a culture among its customers to be positioned as a trusted advisor in the business analytics and business intelligence market.

The CRF BEST Employers methodology is adapted to each country in which it operates and is updated annually, developed in close co-operation with a local panel of HR experts and other selected partners. Since 1991, more than 2 500 leading organisations around the world have participated in the Best Employer projects.

“We are honoured to have received this award as it adds impetus to our employee programmes and the emphasis we place on the value of our people,” states Maphum Nxumalo, managing director of SAS South Africa. “The results of being awarded this prestigious title once again, encourages us to continue on the path of employee wellness as a focus for our ongoing success as a business in the region.”