Company: SABC Pension Fund & SABC Medical Scheme
Company Description: The SABC Medical Scheme is a closed medical scheme for the staff and pensioners of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), the national broadcaster. It is governed by a management board and a Chief Executive Officer and administered by external administrators (Medscheme.) The Scheme has 3,910 members, with 4,262 dependants and in total 8172 beneficiaries.
Nomination Category: Corporate Communications, Investor Relations, & Public Relations Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Communications or PR Campaign of the Year - Brand / Reputation Management
 Nomination Title: SABC Pension Fund: Leveraging annual measurement as a primary reputation management tool during sustained turmoil
- Which will you submit for this nomination, a video of up to five (5) minutes in length about the nominated campaign or program, OR written answers to the questions for this category? CHOOSE ONE:
Written answers to the questions
- If you are submitting a video of up to five (5) minutes in length, provide the URL of the nominated video here, OR attach it to your entry via the "Add Attachments, Videos, or Links to This Entry" link above, through which you may also upload a copy of your video.
- If you are providing written answers to the questions for this category, you must answer this first question: Specify the date on which this campaign or program was launched:
Programme date: 2022/23.
(Please note that we have undertaken rigorous monitoring and measurement since 2014 which has enabled us to sustain Fund reputation despite severe micro and macro environmental indicators. Activities reported on in this entry encompass activities during 2022 and 2023.)
- If you are providing written answers to the questions for this category, you must answer this second question: Describe the genesis of the nominated campaign or program: the reasons it was initiated, the challenges it was created to address, the problems it was developed to solve, etc. (up to 250 words):
Total 250 words used.
Although the SABC Pension Fund is a private Pension Fund, independently governed by an elected Board of Trustees and one of the top performing funds in the South African retirement industry, times have been difficult for our stakeholders (2100 members, 3158 pensioners, 10 trustees and 55 employer Human Resource partners.) External influencers in the South African retirement sector and factors pertaining to the employer (the state owned South African Broadcasting Corporation) continue to exert a significant impact. (See Annexure A)
Within the macro-environment current and pending legislation with regard to retirement funds has aroused concern amongst stakeholders and within the micro-environment, the employer has been the subject of a parliamentary enquiry into governance, mismanagement and fiscal irresponsibility. 2021 also saw the retrenchment and early retirement of 20% of the workforce.
For the past nine years we have made it our business to undertake regular measurement of stakeholder perceptions, information and service needs. This has enabled us to tailor our service and engagement strategy to meet these stated concerns.
We have found this annual survey and perceptions monitor to be our primary method of two-way engagement with our core stakeholders, who proactively leverage this mechanism to raise their voices. It is also used to track uncertainty and issues with regard to broader socio-economic variables impacting on the retirement space.
This annual measurement process has become a tried and tested engagement mechanism and reputation management tool in and of itself, enabling us to maintain trust and confidence in the SABC Pension Fund.
- If you are providing written answers to the questions for this category, you must answer this third question: Describe the development of the campaign or program: the planning process, the goal setting, the creative and media development, the scheduling, etc. (up to 250 words):
Total 248 words used.
Conceptualised and managed by the entrant, the CEO, the stakeholder engagement and reputation management process incorporates rigorous stakeholder perceptions and needs auditing, communication and engagement planning based on findings, implementation/intervention and measurement of the impacts of this intervention annually.
When issues with the employer first arose (in 2014), SABC Pension Fund management prioritized the development of a sustainable stakeholder engagement process to regularly assess and tailor measurable engagement reputation management strategy. This strategy has been research driven, and is needs directed as well as being aimed at ensuring and sustaining Fund credibility and reputation.
Using the services of the same research partner over the seven years of measurement we model, analyse and extrapolate research data encompassing both best practices and situational indicators as well as to ensure comprehensive analysis and reporting across all demographic group variables.
The primary goals of the annual stakeholder engagement and reputation management process have been to:
- Assess stakeholder perceptions as to Fund reputation, service, educational, information and communication needs both in the short term as well as for long range, sustainable intervention
- Track the broader socio-economic concerns of the stakeholder base in order to develop support where feasible and relevant
- Implement sustainable intervention and engagement strategy based on research findings which will address stakeholder understanding, acumen in the retirement and space and confidence in a fluid and controversial environment
- Assess the impacts of this intervention on stakeholder confidence and wellbeing, fund reputation and service ratings annually and modify engagement and messaging strategies accordingly
- If you are providing written answers to the questions for this category, you must answer this fourth question: Outline the activities and concrete results of this campaign or program since the beginning of 2019. Even if your initiative started before 2021, limit your response to activities and results since the beginning of 2021 only (up to 250 words):
Total 247 words used.
In 2022 we conducted full stakeholder perceptions, engagement and service research amongst the four stakeholder groupings.
- Surfaced stakeholder issues and concerns with regard to the micro and broader socio-economic environments (refer to specific batteries in research model as well as openended comment in these reports)
- Used these findings to align core and sustainable engagement, reputation management and education strategy
- Dealt with these issues in:-
- Our newsletter
- On our website
- In-member roadshows
- At annual pensioner luncheons/roadshows around the country
- Ongoing personal communication from the CEO
The success of the reputation management process findings speak for themselves. In terms of Fund engagement and communication stakeholder ratings range from 73,60% (members) through 78,73% (HR partners) and 90,87% (pensioners) to 100% (trustees) and the overall reputational index remains high as noted below.
|
Variable
|
Trustees
Average
93,01%
|
Members
Average
75,65%
|
Pensioners
Average
95,94%
|
Employer
Human Resource Practitioners
Average
84,49%
|
|
expertise of Fund management and staff
|
97,22%
|
77,57%
|
97,46%
|
85,34%
|
|
Perceived credibility within retirement industry
|
94,44%
|
74,81%
|
97,85%
|
87,50%
|
|
Management of Fund and its assets
|
91,67%
|
80,87%
|
97,46%
|
84,48%
|
|
Financial performance
|
91,67%
|
74,81%
|
97,21%
|
82,76%
|
|
Member and pensioner benefits
|
94,44%
|
75,99%
|
95,23%
|
84,48%
|
|
Compliance and ethics
|
96,88%
|
75,53%
|
96,64%
|
87,93%
|
|
Governance structures
|
94,44%
|
75,54%
|
95,86%
|
83,93%
|
|
Contribution to society
|
83,33%
|
70,18%
|
88,90%
|
79,46%
|
- You have the option to reference here any attachments of supporting materials throughout this nomination and how they provide evidence of the claims you have made in this nomination (up to 250 words):
Total 143 words used.
- Full reports of all four components of the integrated research study showing research modelling, process and findings
- Appendix B1 - Member Needs Research (Executive Summary)
- Appendix B2 - Member Needs Research (FULL Report)
- Appendix C - Pensioner Needs Research (FULL report)
- Appendix D - Human Resources Department Needs Research (FULL Report)
- Appendix E - Trustees Needs research Report (FULL Report)
- Other Supporting documentation
- Appendix F - Newsletter (Info included as per previous research)
- Appendix G - Calendar (Contains information about pay dates, relevant contact people, advice on exit, composition of Fund etc, a handy to have info)
- Appendix H - Invitation to Annual Lunch (all pensioners, 13 regions/venues) (Pensioners are updated on trustee issues, investment returns, increases in pensions, and other relevant information about the Fund)
- Appendix J - Personal Correspondence to Members and Pensioners on relevant topics throughout the year - examples
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