Olam, a leading food and agribusiness conglomerate, has emerged as an employer of choice in the African region for 2020. The agri-business firm, which has extensive market operations in Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast and South Africa, among others, emerged with a strong score during an HR Best Practice survey conducted by Top Employers Institute, a global authority on recognising excellence in people practice.

The survey conducted by the institute covers 600 ‘people development’ practices across 10 topics comprising talent strategy, workforce planning, talent acquisition, onboarding, learning & development, performance management, leadership development, diversity and inclusion, career & succession management, compensation & benefits, and culture.

Consequently, Olam joins SAP, Sanofi, DHL, NTT, Orange, Novartis, Takeda, and BAT on a list of over 1,500 organisations that have been certified by the Top Employers Institute over 25 years in 118 countries. According to the Amsterdam-based institute, the certified top employers impact the lives of over six million people globally.

Jaideep Biswas, who doubles as Regional Human Resource Head and Global Business Partner FMCG Business, Olam International, said: “We prioritise the implementation of robust people development strategies at Olam. Our approach is aimed primarily at keeping our people engaged by enriching the world of work for our employees. The recognition by the Top Employers Institute demonstrates the effectiveness of our organisation’s strategic approach to our employees’ wellbeing and overall career aspirations.”

In the same vein, Halima Akintola, Talent Acquisition Lead at Olam Nigeria, said, “This recognition as an employer of choice in the African region is simply a validation of our commitment to driving a workplace experience that matches the aspiration of our employees. This is because we focus on enriching the lives of our employees in line with global best practices in all our approaches to talent acquisition, onboarding, learning and strategic implementation of capacity development procedures, career progression plans, compensation & benefits and employee value propositions.”

While congratulating the recipients of the human resource excellence award, David Plink, Chief Executive Officer, Top Employers Institute, said, “Recognising our regional Certified Top Employers 2020 is an extremely proud moment for us all. This level of certification showcases the dedication to the consistent application of HR excellence on a regional level – an impressive commitment to enriching the world of work. Congratulations!”