Sustainability is at the heart of what we do. It’s our obligation as a corporate citizen to ensure that Vox Telecom, our staff members and our business partners develop sustainable business models that create and protect value for our stakeholders.
At Vox Telecom, one of our major objectives is to create a culture within all of our subsidiaries where everyone is empowered to look at their business decisions through a sustainability lens and to do so in a way that ensures high levels of corporate governance, stakeholder communication and transparent reporting.
There are a wide range of factors that we continue to engage stakeholders on, including the philosophy that underpins our operations, our investment strategies, our social responsibility initiatives and, in particular, the very dynamic face of the South African telecommunications sector. However, we are also cognisant of the importance of engaging with our stakeholders on the subject of non-financial performance and the strategies that may influence the economic, social and physical environments where we conduct our business, as well as our growth in the longer-term.
The year under review has seen many changes to the legislative framework that governs our operations, with the future far from set in stone. The major advantage for us an alternative telco, however, is the fact that both corporate and consumer South Africa are eager for more choice and better value for money. Moreover, when we analyse the telecommunications industry both in South Africa and the rest of the word, and the trends that will shape it going forward, we have no doubt that sustainability is one of the greatest opportunities to make a difference for our business, our communities, our customers and our stakeholders.
INDUSTRY CONTRIBUTION
Vox Telecom strives to reflect the guidance and wisdom of our diverse customer, employee, community and shareholder groups in our business decisions and policies on an ongoing basis. As the legislative and regulatory landscape continues to change, Vox Telecom promotes proactive participation from our stakeholders in public forums, industry conferences and through the media by encouraging positive debate for the benefit of consumers and business customers.
During the year under review, we have continued to promote our view on choice within the sector and have also invested heavily in the development of a sustainable framework, in conjunction with our stakeholders, which will ensure that we remain on top in our operational sphere.
Vox Telecom promotes liberalisation and deregulation within the telecommunications industry and, while the future holds much in the way in regulatory changes, we look forward to a more competitive market that allows alternative telcos like Vox to offer more choice and lower costs to business and consumers.
OUR PEOPLE
Employee opportunity is a major priority for Vox Telecom. We strive to make sure that our employees – whether they’ve been with us for one year or more than 12 years – have the opportunity to acquire the tools and training they need to grow and succeed in their careers. And we continue to work to build a team of individuals that are globally competitive and highly skilled in their areas of expertise. Our staff complement now sits at 788 for the year under review.
Vox Telecom shapes its workplace culture by defining the shared values, competencies and personal attributes that each employee needs to succeed. Across the group we uphold an ongoing commitment with respect to transparent communication, training and goal-orientated performance for our employees. We understand how important it is for our employees to share a common vision and, as such, ensure that we communicate with them regularly through a wide range of media.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
One of Vox Telecom’s primary responsibilities is to its investors and stakeholders, and the board recognises its fiduciary duty to maximise shareholder value and that relevant, informative and transparent communication remains a core focus of the Group. Vox Telecom strives to proactively build strong relationships with our investment and stakeholder community and, thus, provides information which is timeous, accurate and transparent when engaging with this community. Members of the executive committee meet on a regular basis with investors and stakeholders in order to ensure group strategy, corporate affairs, performance and goals are communicated effectively. Interim and year end results are communicated through SENS, results presentations, our Annual Report, investor roadshows and the Vox Telecom website (www.voxtelecom.co.za). In addition, the Group communicates with shareholders, employees, customers, regulators and the public through industry forums, public debates, surveys, social media websites such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter and the media. Our efforts are focused on providing reliable, accurate and relevant information that is viewed as a positive contribution to the broader industry at large and society in general. We continue to encourage our stakeholders to provide feedback on our communication, reporting, results and corporate responsibility activities.
BLACK ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT (BEE) SHAREHOLDING
Vox Telecom retains its status as South Africa’s largest listed black-owned telecommunications company with a BEE shareholding of 42.3%. Our major investors in this regard include the Lereko Metier Capital Growth Fund, Mvelaphanda Group and the IDC.