Human resources and training

Our Human Resources (“HR”) and Training division adds value to the business through recruiting and retaining fit-for-purpose personnel and developing and empowering the Group’s human capital resource through relevant training and support.

This report contains key information regarding the Group’s people profile, including our labour and health and safety statistics. In addition, it provides an overview and performance appraisal of the HR and Training division’s activities, achievements and priorities across the business.

2 477

Number of employees – permanent

244

Number of employees – fixed term

(>90 days)

Number of employees – temporary

(>90 days)

5,4%

Percentage of employees who belong to a trade union

32,75%

Employee turnover

(i.e. number of persons who departed relative to the total number of employees at year-end)

3 975 491

Total number of person hours worked (PHW)

2 308

Total number of employees trained for skills, including internal and external training interventions

Total number of employees with disabilities trained for skills, including internal and external training interventions

R20,8 million

Value of employee training spend

8 929

Total number of person days lost due to absenteeism

0,27%

Percentage of total person days lost due to absenteeism

Total number of person days lost due to industrial action

(i.e. strike action)

25,24%

Percentage of employees under the age of 30

68,56%

Percentage of employees aged between 30 and 50

6,2%

Percentage of employees over the age of 50

Health and safety

Number of fatalities

i.e. injuries on duty leading to death

Number of fatalities

(“ LTI”) i.e. injuries on duty leading to at least one lost day

Fatal injury frequency rates

(“ FIFR”) i.e. number of fatalities per 200 000 person hours worked

1,21

Lost time injury frequency rate

(“LTIFR”) i.e. number of LTIs per 200 000 PHW

Fatal injury frequency rates

Group LTIFR and/or TRIFR target

Note: The information presented above has not been reported on previously, and hence there are no published comparatives. Our goal is to continue to improve our disclosure in this regard.

ITALTILE GROUP

Key performance indicators	Trends 2023	Trends 2022
Recruitment and retention of fit-for-purpose personnel.
Engagement with employees across the Group.
Development of appropriate skills training, learnerships and competencies.
Support the Group’s growth objectives and overriding strategy to deliver an incomparable customer experience.
Improve productivity and performance to achieve best practice benchmarks.
Develop leadership capability and capacity.
Number of training programmes conducted.

2022/23 priorities	Scorecard
Accelerate the drive for appropriate pipeline cover for key roles, especially to reduce gender disparity in the business.
Develop high-performing, engaged store leaders.	Ongoing
Improve initiatives to entrench values and culture.	Partial
Identify initiatives to achieve maximum value for the Skills Development element of the B-BBEE scorecard.
Focus initiatives to drive employee engagement.
Cascade KPI setting from Factory Manager and Deputy Factory Manager levels to lower levels.	Ongoing
Develop a framework for career path guidelines from Trainee Factory Manager to Factory Manager.
Enhance the robustness of the recruitment and selection process to attract and retain talent fit for Ceramic Industries’ culture.	Continuous improvement
Conduct salary survey and benchmarking to establish a robust benefits structure to attract talent and to retain high performers and key critical and scarce skills.
Develop and implement a framework and platform for the transfer and preservation of institutional knowledge.	Ongoing

2022/23 major achievements	2023/24 priorities and prospects
Recruited a new executive team at Ezee Tile.	Recruit senior executives to strengthen team at Ceramic Industries.
Developed improved competency with revised hybrid training initiatives and interventions for the store pipeline.	Completion of the Ceramic Technology learnership for sanitaryware and tiles at NQF 2.
Graduate learner programme delivered on the pipeline (21% achieved).	Partner with a disabled service provider to develop employment opportunities.
Unemployed youth initiatives were implemented through the learning academy. 195 learners were recruited in the programme.	Provide work opportunities for high-performing bursary recipients as a potential feed into pipeline
Improvement in workforce upskilling and succession planning through internal training and development interventions.	Train and develop the pipeline for Joint Venture partnerships in CTM.
Re-accreditation of the Tiling, Plumbing, and Laminating academy.	Implement an organisational restructure to improve expertise and effectiveness.
Samca Wall Engineering Centre has been approved for NQF 2 qualification (National Certificate: Mechanical Engineering and Fitting: Manufacturing and Engineering). 20 employees achieved an NQF 2 through the centre.	Develop and build the pipeline of Factory Managers through a robust and fast-tracked trainee manager programme.
Continued implementation of the Trainee Process Artisan Programme to build the pipeline and improve gender disparity.	Build and improve team cohesiveness through mentoring and coaching programmes.

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT AND SENTIMENT

The Group conducts a voluntary independent evaluation survey annually to assess the quality of engagement with employees.

Italtile

In the 2023 assessment, a score of 74% (2022: 75%) was achieved, notwithstanding the testing retail operating environment. In accordance with the scoring methodology implemented, this score is classified in the category ‘striving to be world class’. Year-on-year, the scores for individual elements declined by 1% and Reward and Recognition by 3%. The employee response rate was 81% (2022: 69%). Ezee Tile was included in the survey for the first time this year. Our goal for the year ahead is to address the areas of concern. Specific focus will be on locations with lower scores, which will be managed with the respective business unit leaders.

Ceramic Industries

In the 2023 assessment, Ceramic attained a score of 70% (2022: 70%). In accordance with the methodology implemented, this classifies the business as ‘striving to be world class’. The employee response rate was 70% (2022: 51%). The increase in the participation rate is encouraging. The goal for the year ahead is to focus on the lower scores around team building and the work environmen