Olam raises workplace profile, gets certification as top employer for third consecutive year
By Trek Africa Newspaper
Olam, a leading agribusiness, has raised its profile as one of the best places to work for top talents with a recertification as a top employer for the third consecutive year by Top Employer Institute. The company’s operations in Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, and the Africa Region were recognised and awarded the Top Employer Certification underscoring its full compliance with international best practices in HR practices.
This latest certification was announced by the Netherlands-based Top Employers Institute, a global authority on recognizing excellence in people’s practices, on Tuesday, January 17, 2023, during a virtual ceremony hosted to celebrate the certified organisations.
Emphasizing the significance of the certification, David Plink, CEO of Top Employers Institute, said: “Exceptional times bring out the best in people and organisations. And we have witnessed this in our Top Employers Certification Programme this year: exceptional performance from the certified Top Employers 2023. These employers have always shown that they care for the development and well-being of their people. By doing so, they collectively enrich the world of work. We are proud to announce and celebrate this year’s group of leading people-oriented employers: the Top Employers 2023”.
The Top Employers Institute conducts an annual certification audit in 121 countries to assess organisations’ people strategy and the impact on employees’ career journeys. Olam’s stellar human resource strategy and employee positive feedback have continued to earn the organisation a top rating as one of the top employers, best place to work and build a thriving professional career. In addition to the latest recognition, the business was certified as a top employer in 2020 and 2021.
According to the Institute, participants were appraised on people strategy, organisation and change, career, digital HR, work environment, employer branding, talent acquisition and onboarding, performance management, learning, wellbeing, rewards and recognition, diversity and inclusion, and sustainability.
Speaking on the latest certification, Jaideep Biswas, the Senior Vice President, Regional Head of Human Resources at Olam Agri, said, “As employee value propositions and aspirations continue to see a transformation due to a changing outlook on life, Olam keeps focusing on helping its workforce find fulfilment. Our human resource strategy aligns with the expectations of the bourgeoning global talent market. This trendy focus forms our corporate DNA across our operating market.”
Ashish Pande, Country Head of Olam Agri in Nigeria, explained that while the business’ continues to investment in agriculture and food production, human capacity development, knowledge/skills transfer, professionalism, workplace tolerance, staff welfare, and employment generation in Nigeria is targeted at deepening the economic contributory role of the country’s labour force in line with the Federal Government’s economic development agenda.
He said, “We keep investing in our workforce to smoothen their career journey. We are also embarking on projects such as the Seeds for the Future Foundation that focuses on empowering women and providing life advancement opportunities for young people across the country. These are in addition to our impressive internal engagement programmes that engender work-life balance, career growth and ultimate fulfilment for our employees.”
In 2021, Olam launched a refreshed Strategic Plan to capitalise on the key trends shaping global food and agriculture to better meet its customers’ needs. This saw the creation of two distinct operating groups focused on food ingredients and global agri-business – ‘Olam Food Ingredients’ and ‘Olam Agri’. This exciting change has enabled the company to sharpen its focus and align to better meet its customers’ needs while continuing to leverage the benefits of the Olam Group.
About Olam Agri
Olam Agri is a market leading, differentiated food, feed and fibre agri-business with a global origination footprint, processing capabilities and deep understanding of market needs built over 33 years. With a strong presence in high-growth emerging markets and products across grains & oilseeds, animal feed & protein, rice, edible oils, specialty grains & seeds, cotton, wood products, rubber and commodity financial services, Olam Agri is at the heart of global food and agri-trade flows with more than 40 million MT in volume traded annually.
Focused on transforming food, feed, and fibre for a more sustainable future, it aims at creating value for customers, enable farming communities to prosper sustainably and strive for a food-secure future. Olam Agri is a fully owned subsidiary of Olam Group. For more information and to subscribe to our news alerts, please visit https://www.olamagri.com/
About Olam Group
Olam Group is a leading food and agri-business supplying food, ingredients, feed, and fibre to 20,900 customers worldwide. Our value chain spans over 60 countries and includes farming, processing, and distribution operations, as well as a global network of farmers.
Through our purpose to ‘Re-imagine Global Agriculture and Food Systems’, Olam Group aims to address the many challenges involved in meeting the needs of a growing global population, while achieving positive impact for farming communities, our planet and all our stakeholders.
Headquartered and listed in Singapore, Olam Group currently ranks among the top 30 largest primary listed companies in terms of market capitalisation on SGX-ST.
Since June 2020, Olam Group has been included in the FTSE4Good Index Series, a global sustainable investment index series developed by FTSE Russell, following a rigorous assessment of Olam’s supply chain activities, impact on the environment and governance transparency. The FTSE4Good Index Series identifies companies that demonstrate strong Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices and is used by a variety of market participants to create and assess responsible investment funds.
About Top Employer Institute
Top Employers Institute is the global authority on recognising excellence in people practices. We help accelerate these practices to enrich the world of work. Through the Top Employers Institute certification programme, participating companies can be validated, certified, and recognised as an employer of choice. Established more than 28 years ago, Top Employers Institute has certified over 1500 organisations in 118 countries/regions. These certified Top Employers positively impact the lives of 6 000 000 employees globally.
Top Employers Institute. For a better world of work.
www.top-employers.com
