Human capital

Our human capital remains an important priority. Our vision is to be an employer of choice by creating an enabling environment for all employees to reach their highest potential in an engaging, professional work environment. We reward performance excellence and address non-performance. Our employees are accountable for their individual actions, we support teamwork and the mutual exchange of knowledge. We foster mutual respect, regardless of cultures, genders and background, with zero tolerance for discriminatory behaviour. Our material focus areas within human capital address these key issues: human resources, company culture and transformation.

The company complies with employment laws and is committed to protecting human rights, ensuring that our code of ethics and disciplinary code are communicated to all employees.

Human resources

Our people are key to our business performance. Our human resources structure is based on delivering our strategy and addresses the operational demands of our business. Our head office is situated in Rosebank and management teams are deployed at our shopping centres ensuring efficient management, leasing and maintenance activities of our assets. Our goal is to attract and retain the right talented people whose values are aligned with the company's culture.

We offer competitive remuneration, comprehensive training support and skills transfer. Performance targets, training and skills development are reviewed annually and aligned with the group's strategy.

Employee profile

June 2018   June 2017  
Number of permanent employees(1) 221   219  
Number of vacancies 4   8  
Number of permanent positions 225   227  
Job vacancy rate (%) 1,8   3,5  
Average term of employment (years) 9   8  
New positions created 5   6  
Positions eliminated 7   11  
Number of internal placements 9   8  
Number of new appointments 17   15  
Number of voluntary resignations 13   19  
Number of retirements nil   nil  
Number of terminations 4   3  
Number of employees transferred due to sale of asset nil   5  
Number of employees on disability insurance 5   5  
Number of employees appointed on fixed term contracts 3   7  
Number of employees appointed on casual contract 39   52  
Employees who are permanently employed (%) 84   79  
Average age of employees 43   44  
Female employees (%) 54   55  
Black employees (%) 59   55  
Employees belonging to a trade union nil   nil  
Incidence of child or forced labour nil   nil  

(1) Excludes non-executive directors

Company culture

Core values and employee code

Our employee code focuses on creating a work culture that is transparent, respectful, fair, non-exploitative (especially with regard to compensation and benefits), dynamic, promotes open and constructive dialogue with management, involvement in decision making and provides working conditions that are safe and encourages a work-life balance.

Our people are committed to our core employee values:

Excellence   We encourage each other to reach our highest potential. We reward performance and address non-performance
Integrity   We treat each other with trust, fairness and respect
Responsibility   We take responsibility for our actions and outcomes
Diversity   We support teamwork and the mutual exchange of knowledge regardless of cultures, genders and background

Employee relations

The national human resources manager is responsible for employee relations. An employee, disciplinary and grievance policy governs these relationships and is available on request, in hard copy at each management office, and on the website www.hyprop.co.za.

Hyprop has no unionised employees and there was no impact on the business due to industrial or labour unrest during the year.

There were six disciplinary cases during the year, primarily for misconduct, which resulted in four terminations.

Grievances

The company is committed to creating and maintaining a climate where all employees and stakeholders are treated with dignity and respect. Harassment in the workplace will not be tolerated under any circumstances and perpetrators will be severely disciplined. Grievances raised in respect of harassment will be dealt with timeously, sensitively and confidentially and no person who raises a grievance about harassment will be victimised.

No grievances relating to harassment were reported during the year.

Non-discrimination

We do not tolerate discrimination. Any reported instances are immediately and appropriately dealt with under our code of ethics and conduct, and related disciplinary procedures. Policies are reviewed annually and distributed to employees.

No incidents of discrimination were reported during the year.

Health and safety

Our policy is to create a safe and healthy working environment, with procedures to manage occupational incidents, and compensation claims in line with legislation.

In brief, we aim to:

  • Provide a health and safety programme that is effective, of a high standard, and is continuously reviewed and improved
  • Comply with statutory provisions for health, safety and environmental matters that affect employees, customers, contractors and the public
  • Ensure that all employees are properly informed of their responsibilities for health, safety and environmental matters and discharge these effectively
  • Encourage employees to participate in preventing accidents and preserving health
  • Provide the resources and training to achieve these objectives.

Each management team is responsible for executing this policy onsite through its operations manager. At group level, the national facilities manager is responsible for biannual audit reports, drawing on submissions from each centre.

Construction projects have health and safety consultants appointed to represent Hyprop and monitor activities onsite. On large and complex projects such as Rosebank and The Glen, the contractor has its own health and safety officer managing contractor teams and subcontractors.

There were no serious casualties or injuries during the year at any of our properties or projects.

Injuries on duty June 2018   June 2017
Workmen's compensation claims submitted 5   8
Serious occupational injury nil   nil

Health and safety training and awareness

The company is focused on informing and training employees on health and safety. Various initiatives were arranged during the year, including:

Initiative HIV/Aids First aid Firefighting Stress
management		 Cancer Healthy
lifestyle		 Injury on
duty		 Trauma
counselling
Training by external suppliers ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Health day consultations ✓ ✓ ✓
Information distributed via the newsletters ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Employee awareness days ✓ ✓
Voluntary testing and counselling ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

HIV/Aids

HIV/Aids remains a concern in South Africa that could affect the wellbeing of our employees, leading to emotional distress, absenteeism, employee turnover and lower productivity. As per the previous years, a formal risk assessment determined the impact of HIV/Aids on the group as negligible. Hyprop does not have targets for addressing its direct impact, nor does it have strategies for addressing indirect business risks (e.g. effect on customer base/supply chain).

Our HIV/Aids policy provides guidelines on creating a non-discriminatory workplace dealing with HIV testing, confidentiality and disclosure, providing equitable employee benefits, dealing with dismissal and managing grievance procedures. It ensures affected employees' rights to confidentiality. Where employees willingly disclose their status, it is kept confidential. Hyprop offers counselling, acceptance and support.

Every year, HIV/Aids awareness days are held at each management office conducted by professional nurses, with an external service provider conducting voluntary counselling and testing. Employees are offered the opportunity to test for HIV, cholesterol, sugar and stress levels.

Engagement

Regular interaction with our employees is critical in creating an engaged workforce. We engage with our employees through several channels which enable communication from leadership, and forums through which our employees can provide feedback on their contributions, concerns and comments.

Employee forums

Staff meetings are management team specific, driving collaboration across members of the management teams and the departments that operate at the shopping centre.

Human resource site meetings are presented by the human resources management and include the employment equity forum meetings. These meetings provide opportunities for employees to provide feedback and ask questions of leadership. Three human resource meetings per management office were conducted during the year.

Employee self-service system (ESS)

The employee self-service system is used to communicate all payslip, IRP5 and employee payroll information. The system integrates with the payroll and is used for performance reviews, leave applications and approvals.

Employee events

Annual year-end functions focused on acknowledging long service and service excellence awards.

In total 18 long service awards were awarded during the year and six Hyprop excellence awards were issued to teams or individuals that worked in an exceptional manner to complete an assigned task or that independently took on an improvement initiative supported by the company.

Company employee newsletter

The newsletter encompasses information and input from all our management teams, highlighting our financial achievements, company values, communicating events to various management teams, communicating staff wellness matters, policy updates and staff information notices, and containing information about changes, challenges and staff appointments.

Employee surveys

Annual surveys ensure we address any issues concerning employee morale, productivity and turnover. Two surveys were conducted during the year with one focusing on fair labour practices and the second on adding value and what can be improved.

Our fair practice survey indicated that 95,39% (target 90%) of employees currently feel that the company's benefits, processes and policies are implemented fairly and are non-discriminatory. The survey included our recruitment and disciplinary process, employee policy implementation, HIV/Aids education, remuneration, company benefits as well as the work environment and facilities.

Our value-add survey provided feedback to leadership on what our employees value most in our shopping centres and working environment, and what the company can do to add further value.

The outcome of the survey confirmed that our employees value working within a team where there is mutual respect, trust and solid values that promote a diverse and talented workforce. We believe in leading by example and value the input we receive from our employees. Suggestions to improve value were discussed with the executive team and include tenant mix, communication and office facilities.

Hyprop ethics line

Hyprop values its reputation and recognises that over and above any financial damage suffered, fraud may reflect adversely on our reputation.

Our aim therefore is to limit company exposure to fraud by taking firm and vigorous action against any individual or group perpetrating fraud against the company. We encourage our employees to be vigilant and to report any suspicion of fraud, providing them with suitable channels of communication and ensuring sensitive information is treated appropriately. The company always expects employees to act with integrity, comply with financial regulations and to report concerns as soon as any impropriety is suspected.

The Hyprop ethics line, our anonymous tip-offs line, reports to the audit and risk committee and is administered by Whistle Blowers Proprietary Limited, an external service provider. All employees are made aware of this facility. Reporting is on an anonymous basis with feedback provided and action taken to remedy the matters raised.

During the year three calls were reported, investigated, and feedback given. None of the calls were of a serious nature.

Performance management meetings

Refer to the remuneration report.

The performance appraisal process is an opportunity for the manager and employee to review whether previously discussed performance expectations and goals have been met, to discuss professional development opportunities and to identify options for acquisition of additional skills and knowledge to foster performance improvement and career growth. Additionally, the appraisal provides appropriate documentation to support any recommended merit increases and/or other performance-based awards.

Work days and leave


Work days
June 2018   June 2017  
Total working days 68 649   71 106  
Total number of work days lost due to absenteeism (sick, family responsibility and maternity leave) 1 235   1 468  
Percentage of total days lost due to absenteeism (sick, family responsibility and maternity leave) (%) 1,8   2,1  
Total number of days lost due to industrial action nil   nil  
Percentage of total days lost due to industrial action (%) nil   nil  

Employee development and training

Training

Our training and development programme is based on the operational requirements of the business, skills shortages in our industry and transformation imperatives.

Training needs are identified during employee reviews, while the group skills base is objectively assessed to identify focus areas for training in the year ahead.

Our training strategy aims to:

  • Enhance the company's knowledge and skills base
  • Enable employees to contribute to our business and growth
  • Encourage further education to enhance competence in current positions and increase eligibility for promotion, and
  • Support employment equity initiatives.

In the review period, a combination of internal and outsourced training sessions covered the following key areas:

Training spend

June 2018
R000		   June 2017
R000		  
Leadership 679   680  
Business operations 443   431  
Graduate and trade qualification programme 242   181  
Green building management principals 200   45  
Leasing and administration 64   nil  
Health and safety 45   93  
HIV/Aids 47   99  
1 720   1 528  

New training providers were appointed for health and safety and HIV/Aids training which resulted in a cost saving during the year. We continued to promote and grow our graduate and trade qualification programme which has become a driving force in implementing our employment equity plan and driving diversity from the bottom up. Eighteen (2017: 10) employees are currently enrolled in various degree and trade qualification programmes. Green building and management principles focused on water and energy efficiency training and national lease training was presented in all regions.

Training by race profile and gender

June 2018   June 2017  
Training spend as a % Number of
training
interventions		   Training cost
as a %		 Number of
training
interventions		  
African 24 254   24 216  
Coloured 11 118   11 136  
Indian 3 59   7 39  
White 61 343   56 267  
Non-South African 1 2   1 2  
Total 100 776   100 660  
Male 51 321   53 306  
Female 49 455   47 354  
Total 100 776   100 660  

Succession planning

One of our primary objectives is to establish a succession plan by developing junior managers for middle management roles. This has proved effective with five out of the nine internal placements from designated groups.

Transformation and diversity

Employment equity

Hyprop is committed to promoting equal opportunities for, and fair treatment of, all employees, regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation, religion, language and age. Our employment equity plan focuses on eliminating discrimination and implementing internal measures to redress disadvantages and remove systemic barriers faced by designated groups, in order to ensure their equitable representation in all occupational categories.

The company recognises that past South African laws and practices were discriminatory, resulting in current disparities in employment, occupation and income in the national labour market. As a result, black people, women and people with disabilities are the most disadvantaged groups in South Africa.

Hyprop's revised employment equity plan has been approved for a five-year period (January 2017 to December 2021). The key objective of the revised plan is to ensure equal opportunities and fair treatment in employment, and that employees ultimately represent the economically active profile of the South African population demographic.

We are committed to:

  • Creating and maintaining an environment that provides equal opportunities to all employees, with special consideration for historically disadvantaged groups
  • Achieving equity in the workplace by:
    • Promoting equal opportunities and fair treatment by eliminating unfair discrimination
    • Implementing measures to redress disadvantages in employment experienced by designated groups in order to ensure their equitable representation in the workplace
  • Ensuring that recruitment and selection (when recruiting) are aligned with our business strategy and based on fairness, objectivity and competency, and seek to redress historical imbalances to achieve representation
  • Train and develop employees or prospective employees through an effective training and skills development programme
  • Prohibiting any medical testing unless required by legislation, or an inherent requirement of the job, justifiable due to employment conditions, medical facts, social policy, or the fair distribution of employee benefits
  • We understand that racial representation at all levels is required and we have implemented measures to ensure equal opportunity to grow in our organisation. These include revised recruitment policies, increased training and development opportunities and equal remuneration policies (as per section 6 of the Employment Equity Act).

For more information, please view the full employment equity policy and plan on our website (www.hyprop.co.za).

Total number of employees (including employees with disabilities)

  June 2018   June 2017  
  Male Female Foreign Nationals Total Total     Total (%)     Total (%)  
Occupational levels A C I W   A C I W   M F     A C I W   B W   B   W  
Top management(1) 1 0 0 7   1 0 0 1   0 0   10 2 0 0 8   20 80   20   80  
Senior management 2 0 1 9   0 0 1 10   0 0   23 2 0 2 19   17 83   16   84  
Professionally qualified and experienced specialists and mid-management 6 2 2 15   5 5 2 17   0 0   54 11 7 4 32   41 59   30   70  
Skilled technical and academically qualified workers, junior management, supervisors, foremen and superintendents 5 3 2 5   15 10 6 19   1 2   68 20 13 8 27   60 40   42   58  
Semi-skilled and discretionary decision-making 22 10 1 3   17 8 1 4   1 0   67 39 18 2 8   88 12   89   11  
Unskilled and defined decision-making 7 0 0 0   0 0 0 0   0 0   7 7 0 0 0   100 0   100   0  
Total permanent 43 15 6 39   38 23 10 51   2 2   229 81 38 16 94   59 41   55   45  
Reported as per the Employment Equity Act.

A – African; C – Coloured; I – Indian; W – White; M – Male; F – Female; B – Black (Black represents African, Coloured and Indian)

(1) Top management includes non-executive directors

Gender diversity at board level

The Hyprop board recognises that diversity of skills, experience, background, knowledge, thought, culture, race and gender strengthens the board's ability to effectively carry out its duties and add value to the group. We acknowledge that further work is required to improve gender equality at board level. At 30 June 2018 the Hyprop board included two female directors, translating to 20% of board members being female.

Hyprop recognises that it plays a vital role in advancing gender equality, first in the workplace and then in broader society. We have implemented measures to ensure that women are given equal opportunity to grow in our organisation. These include revised recruitment policies, increased training and development opportunities and equal remuneration policies (as per section 6 of the Employment Equity Act).

Race diversity at board level

Hyprop acknowledges that further attention is needed to achieve equal racial representation at board level. At 30 June 2018 the board had 20% racial diversity, with two black directors.

  Male (%) Female (%) Total (%)
Occupational levels A C I W   A C I W   M F  
Board representation – June 2018 10 70   10 10   80 20  
Board representation – June 2017 10 70   10 10   80 20  
Movement for the year 0 0 0 0   0 0 0 0   0 0  

Canal Walk, Western Cape

Canal Walk, Western Cape