Safcor Panalpina wins top sector accolade

Safcor Panalpina has taken top spot in the Logistics, Shipping and Transport sector of Deloitte’s 2008 Best Company To Work For survey. Says Sean McSweeney, HR Director, Safcor Panalpina: “Since we first entered five years ago, we have improved significantly year on year. At the time, we decided it was the only way to measure our progress against a benchmark. “It’s not about how many entered in our industry sector but about who was brave enough to enter in the first place. And it has nothing to do with a warm fuzzy feeling but rather with attracting the best people in a world where there is a desperate shortage of skills. We were afraid first time round. It takes some risk both internally and externally as you are exposing your weaknesses. “The strength of our company is not only our technology, but the knowledge and expertise in people’s heads. We want the best heads. “Staff retention is not about loyalty. It’s about fulfilment and engagement. The most important investment you will ever make is not your house or your pension fund. It’s your working life which totals on average 40 years and which begs the most important question. How do you want to spend your 40 years of working life? The answer: you want to be fulfilled! “We rank as equal the goals of our business and the growth of our people. Our people are investing their lives and our task is to maximise the return they receive. We want their experience to be meaningful.” Overall Wesbank won the award for the best large-sized company; Brandhouse Beverages the best mediumsized company and Business Systems Group Africa the small company category. This is the ninth successive year that Deloitte has conducted the survey. In addition to the overall rankings, top companies across 17 industry sectors were recognised this year ranging from agricultural and financial services to logistics and automotive. At least four contenders are required for a sector award to be made, according to Deloitte.