Fast-moving consumer goods manufacturer Tiger Brands has been recognised by the Top Employers Institute as a Top Employer 2019 for excellence in employee conditions.

Organisations certified as Top Employers dedicate themselves to providing the best working environment for employees through their progressive ‘people-first’ human resource (HR) practices. This global certification programme has certified and recognised more than 1 500 top employers in more than 118 countries across five continents.

The Top Employers Institute Programme provides certified organisations with the ability to leverage their employer branding, benchmark their practices against other top performers and globally align their policies.

As an independent HR certification company, the Top Employers Institute assesses participants through its global HR best practices survey. In order to be certified, organisations must successfully achieve the required minimum standard as set out by the institute.

The HR best practice survey encompasses over 100 questions which cover 600 ‘people development’ practices across 10 topics: talent strategy, workforce planning, talent acquisition, on-boarding, learning and development, performance management, leadership development, career and succession management, compensation and benefits as well as culture. The Top Employers Institute evaluates the implementation of these HR practices and reviews how they are supported through strategy, ownership, practices, measurement and technology.

“We believe the 2019 certified organisations demonstrate exceptional employee conditions and encourage the development of these practices by putting their people first. These companies help enrich the world of work with their outstanding dedication to HR excellence and because of this, they are recognised as an employer of choice,” Tiger Brands CEO David Plink states.

However, Top Employers are organisations of the highest calibre that have worked hard to create, implement and progress their people strategies. They provide an outstanding experience through strategic and thoughtful workplace programmes which create an environment that empowers and develops employees.

Tiger Brands chief HR officer S’ne Magagula says to be recognised as a Top Employer 2019 in South Africa is incredibly rewarding for Tiger Brands. “We are the only food manufacturing company on the JSE Top 40. Our brands and products have been part of South African homes for many generations. The heartbeat of Tiger Brands is certainly our people. We would never have become the force that we are, had we not placed a premium on creating a great place to work where our talented people can grow, thrive and excel,” she adds.

Magagula explains that diversity is a competitive advantage for Tiger Brands. Unleashing the power of people and creating the conditions for success are of paramount importance to the company.

“Therefore, the key pillars of our strategy focus on building a diverse talent base and core capabilities to enable the execution of our strategy, developing inspirational leaders and creating a great place to work that energises our agile, consumer-obsessed teams to deliver winning performance,” she says.

The Tiger Brands Women’s Network is a prime example of diversity in action. This network is a tool that helps drive change and is aimed at giving a voice to women within the company.

“The Tiger Brands women’s strategy is about empowering women and adding value to the business. The forum seeks solutions to complex, business-related matters that directly impact women in the workplace. I believe this directly contributes to creating conditions for our people to succeed,” says Magagula.

Food Safety

Tiger Brands confirms that ready-to-eat chilled processed meats, such as polony and viennas, will soon return to shelves following the opening of its Enterprise Foods factory in Polokwane, Limpopo. This is subsequent to the opening of its Germiston factory, in Gauteng, which began producing ready-to-cook products like bacon and pork sausages in October.

In December last year, the Capricorn municipality’s Environmental Health Department provided the company with an official Certificate of Acceptability for the Polokwane factory after rigorous assessments were completed, giving the company licence to resume production. This certificate endorses the factory’s standards and operating procedures for the safe production of food products.

Underpinning the decision to open the factory is the firmer guidance provided to the industry on safety standards for the production of ready-to-eat chilled processed meats. “The Department of Health has referred the industry to the CODEX standard, which says that, for finished ready-to-eat products which promote growth of the bacteria, there must be zero listeria detection in products, as they leave the

factories as well as to the point of sale,” Tiger Brands CEO Lawrence MacDougall states.

Further, the industry has agreed to mandatory implementation of the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points protocol – Food Safety Management programme – which allows for the identification of hazards and the implementation of control measures to ensure that risks are managed.

Enterprise Foods has gone a step further to providing product safety assurance to all its consumers. It has introduced a revolutionary Seven-Step Quality Check process, which creates transparency to consumers across the entire farm-to-table value chain in the production of quality meat products. These details will appear on-pack, as well as on the Enterprise Foods website.

MacDougall concludes that, in addition to providing consumers with assurance, the company has committed to playing a leading role in driving a multisectoral approach, aimed at enhancing food safety in the country.