Date of work: 2021 – 2022
Sanlam is a purpose-led financial services group headquartered in South Africa, operating across selected global markets. It is the largest insurance company in Africa with over 50 million clients and 150 000 permanent employees. The Sanlam Foundation invests in the communities in which Sanlam operates to help future generations live with confidence. Over the last ten years, the Foundation has invested more than R593 million in the education sector, financial literacy initiatives, health (HIV/AIDS), enterprise and supplier development initiatives and employee volunteerism.
In 2021, Sanlam requested Trialogue to facilitate the development of a comprehensive employee volunteering strategy, together with an implementation plan and roadmap. Trialogue conducted research to inform the strategy – including benchmarking, executive interviews, and a staff survey – and then facilitated a workshop with internal Sanlam stakeholders to decide on the parameters of the volunteering strategy. The resulting strategy focused on three types of employee involvement initiatives: company-organised volunteering initiatives, matched funding, and skills-based volunteering. A detailed implementation plan for roll out of the programmes was developed.
In 2022, Sanlam is rolling out the strategy, beginning with the company-organised volunteering and matched funding programmes. The programme will be piloted in South Africa and then rolled out across other markets. The company is looking forward to engaging its staff in this exciting new strategy.
“I really appreciated Trialogue’s approach and methodology in terms of collaborating with the client. It felt like the strategy was co-created which is a win-win for everybody and also a form of skills transfer. We are introducing something new to Sanlam and it felt intuitively right to build it together.”
Nozizwe Vundla: Head of Foundation, Sanlam