5 minute read
Driving Transformation in South Africa
Attaining and Maintaining BEE Level 1 - Crucial Steps
By Nimmita Maharaj, Diversity and Transformation Director, Anglophone Africa at Schneider Electric
Schneider Electric recently attained a Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Level 1 certification. It is a tremendous accomplishment and testament to our continued commitment to economic and socio-economic development in the South African business landscape.
However, our certification goes beyond compliance, it represents our steadfast focus on transformation that stimulates an inclusive economy. As a B-BBEE Level 1 contributor we are in a strong position to drive transformation in South Africa to bring about change to the nation.
Audre Lorde, black American writer, feminist and civil rights activist said: “It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognise, accept, and celebrate those differences.” When different people come together, unique and innovative ideas and perspectives are fostered. From an organisational point of view, the more diverse your team the greater potential for creative, innovative, and solution-oriented thinking.
Diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) endeavours to understand people on a deeper level. When you have a better understanding of others, you can build closer and more effective relationships. This, in turn, enhances teamwork. Growing an organisation that really understands and fosters the DE&I agenda requires dedication. It is an ever-prevailing goal that extends beyond mandates and diversity-related initiatives. To establish the above, a fair amount of work needs to go into educating people; fostering a growth mindset that embraces change, thereby allowing employees to step out of their comfort zones, and engage in difficult conversations. Respecting different opinions is an important part of this growth process.
Transforming an organisation to embrace diversity and inclusion involves several crucial steps:
What are your company’s core values? Once you’ve established it, ensure that it explicitly emphasises diversity, equity, and inclusion. These values should not just live on paper but become the guiding principles of an organisation’s culture.
Leadership commitment sets the tone. Leaders must demonstrate a genuine commitment to a company’s core values; leading by example is a solid foundation for others to follow.
Designated responsibility - companies should appoint individuals to drive transformation and diversity and inclusion efforts. This role should ensure that these initiatives are not just a matter of meeting regulatory requirements but become ingrained in the organisational culture.
Performance appraisals should incorporate diversity and inclusion metrics. This ensures that employees are evaluated based on their commitment to these values. It will reinforce the importance of diversity and inclusion in the organisation.
Education and awareness must be driven by tailored programmes that address biases, stereotypes, and prejudices (conscious or unconscious) that individuals may hold. It’s essential to create a safe space for employees to reflect on their biases and learn how to rectify them.
Consider establishing programmes that champion diversity, equity, and inclusion and appoint champions who can, in turn, actively promote inclusion within their teams, creating a cascading effect throughout the organisation.
Transparency – be transparent about your diversity and inclusion efforts. Share progress, successes, and challenges openly with employees.
Employee engagement - encourage open conversations about diversity and inclusion. Also, create platforms where employees can share their experiences, concerns, and suggestions. This engagement fosters a sense of belonging and inclusion.
Continuous improvement – it’s important to recognise that diversity and inclusion efforts are an ongoing journey. Regularly evaluate and refine your strategies based on feedback and evolving best practices.
At Schneider Electric, we place a strong focus on understanding and learning from the various cultures within our organisations. Due to the very nature of our business, Schneider Electric has a smorgasbord of engineers, technicians, sales executives, HR, marketing, supply chain and many other roles that support our business.
In these roles, we have an equally diverse group of personalities, from introverts to super-extroverts and everything else in between. Across the various business units, teams, committees, and programmes, we encourage these diverse individuals to work together – you’ll be pleasantly surprised at what initiatives an engineer, or a digital expert and an HR employee can come up with when working together.
Furthermore, we provide our employees with opportunities to diversify and even change career paths. For example, many of our senior executives are today responsible for vastly different portfolios from those when they initially joined the company, reflecting again that unique capabilities and strengths are both encouraged and recognised.
Providing flexibility is also encouraged within the organisation. The pandemic has taught us that with the help of technology we can be equally productive at home, in a coffee shop or at the office. These flexible work policies go a long way, for example, in helping working moms juggle their careers while prioritising the wellbeing of their children.
Our South African offices serve as the headquarters of our operations throughout the entire Anglophone Africa cluster which includes 24 countries. This means that beyond accepting and celebrating our own diverse cultures and heritage we must also consider the already diverse cultures of our colleagues from East, West and Southern Africa.
Bringing the discussion back to Schneider Electric’s B-BBEE status; the complexity of maintaining Level 1 is compounded by the constantly evolving nature of government regulations, BEE codes, and scoring methodologies. Schneider Electric has adapted to these changes, even when the landscape has shifted, again highlighting the company’s continued commitment to meeting set compliance requirements as a base line, whilst ensuring that the impact is much broader than just ticking the boxes.
To this end, as an organisation we must continuously assess our internal operations and seek ways to enhance our scorecard. In terms of corporate social investment and socio-economic development, the fifth B-BBEE pillar, we must continue to evaluate how we are making a positive impact in society and who we are supporting, in the true spirit of our mission and purpose, which is #lifeison.
In conclusion: McKinsey, in a recent report, listed ‘making meaningful progress on diversity, equity and inclusion’ as one of the top ten shifts transforming organisations today - it is therefore clear that DE&I is not only the right thing to do, but also makes sound business sense.
