SANLAM’S OWN TIMBER

JERMAINE CRAIG looks at what sets Sanlam’s leadership programme apart

Sanlam has long been acknowledged as a blue-chip South African company that prides itself on its ability to attract, retain and nurture bright young talent. “Growing your own timber started many years ago at Sanlam, based on the challenge of finding good young talent, particularly black talent – which is very scarce – and nurturing them through the ranks,” says Sanlam’s former CEO of market development and long-time Sanlam director and executive, Temba Mvusi.

Mvusi retired from Sanlam in December 2020, but is still involved with the company, mentoring some of its senior leaders.

He says that Sanlam has been fortunate to have a loyal group of employees that invariably stay with the company for the long-term.

“If you rely on natural attrition, it does not always open up opportunities. So how do you create spaces and opportunities for young people and entice them? Young people are impatient; they want things now. You have to find ways of managing their expectations and try to tie them down with golden handcuffs and guard against the revolving door syndrome, where young talent easily leave your company,” says Mvusi.

This is why Sanlam spends a great amount of time and effort on attracting good young talent – one of its standout programmes is the 18-month graduate leadership programme.

This programme provides structured development opportunities, focusing on self-development and leadership competencies, as well as the opportunity to earn valuable technical experience and placements across multiple fields in Sanlam’s business such as personal finance, investments, short-term insurance and experience of its Africa business.

A differentiator for Sanlam is its groupwide mentorship programme, allowing Sanlam’s bright young turks to learn alongside – and benefit from – the experience of the company’s old hands.

Other key points of difference from Sanlam’s graduate leadership programme are the functional and technical training to hone graduates’ professional skills, structured leadership development competencies, mentoring and group coaching and networking opportunities with graduates and young professionals across the group.

Sanlam prides itself on the company’s six pillars of reputation, leadership, reward, growth, balance and connectivity, and the company’s experienced staff play an important role inculcating these into new members of the workforce.

“There is a particular culture in a company that makes it different to other places. So how do you make sure when people come to you, they do not bounce or suffer from ‘organ rejection’. At Sanlam, the institutional memory resides with the experienced staff, but we also need to ensure the old establishment is receptive to new ideas. Conflicts are bound to happen, and management must be ready to deal with young people that talk back. But as a company, you have to find ways of dealing with that and ensure you expand as you grow,” says Mvusi.

SANLAM PRIDES ITSELF ON THE COMPANY’S SIX PILLARS OF REPUTATION, LEADERSHIP, REWARD, GROWTH, BALANCE AND CONNECTIVITY.