OUR CAPITALS
Our Social and Relationship Capital
OUR CAPITALS
Our Social and Relationship Capital
Empowering women and creating equal opportunities
Equitable Reward and Remuneration (Race and Gender Parity)
SANBS, being a progressive organisation, is committed to equity, and as such, our leadership recognises the importance of fair remuneration practices that promote both race and gender parity. Policies and practices are reviewed to ensure that all employees receive equitable rewards for their contributions to the organisation.
Female representation in the workforce is 59.57%, while women now make up 60% of the Board (FY23: 58%) and 55.55% (FY23: 50%) of the Executive Committee. This intentional focus on inclusivity fosters a culture of equality, empowers female employees to thrive and lead, and creates the foundation for a vibrant workplace that is reflective of the community it serves.
Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all
Cultural and Leadership Initiatives
SANBS is committed to an environment conducive for our employees to thrive and perform. New employees are trained to operate seamlessly and with the appropriate support.
Our cultural and leadership initiatives are bearing fruit and the business is on a sound financial footing with our improved debt collection programme.
See our Employee testimonials for more information on this topic.
Learnerships for People with Disabilities
To further embrace our diversity, we currently have 19 (FY23:19) young people with disabilities (PWD) on a learnership. They are on an NQF Level 5 Business Analysis learnership. SANBS will soon host an additional 10 PWD learners from a TVET College on a Call Centre learnership.
Phlebotomy Learnership
The Phlebotomy learnership at SANBS supports South Africa’s National Skills Development Strategy (NSDS) by equipping previously disadvantaged individuals with essential skills. In April 2024, all ten enrolled students achieved a 100% pass rate in the board exam, with two ranking among the top ten nationally (3rd and 4th place) and earning three distinctions. See our Human Capital for more information.
Work Experience for Qualification Opportunities
As part of our community outreach, SANBS has contributed to the development of 14 Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) college interns, and 7 Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) interns, enrolled from January 2022. In addition to ensuring completion of the required work experience for their qualifications, SANBS further supplements their monthly stipend.
The placement of learners and interns is underway to place 30 intern medical technologists at accredited laboratories.
Enterprise Development and Supplier Development
Last year, our commitment to enterprise and supplier development really paid off! We achieved an impressive score of 53.67 out of 54 in our B-BBEE evaluation. This success was mainly due to receiving full points for both Supplier Development and Enterprise Development. We also earned two bonus points by helping one of our enterprise development beneficiaries graduate to the supplier level and by creating a new job linked to our initiatives. To make sure the programme ran smoothly, we teamed up with Sigma International and received great support from our CFO, the Corporate Services Executive, and the B-BBEE procurement team. Together, we positively impacted the community and helped drive economic growth.
Investment in research, development and innovation
SANBS is recognised as a centre of excellence with robust intellectual capital, encompassing the expertise of our skilled workforce, including healthcare specialists, supply chain experts, and IT professionals.
We are at the forefront of technology in blood transfusion.
Increasingly acknowledged for our contributions, SANBS participates in high-profile conferences around the world and leads the Blood Genomics Consortium, an initiative aimed at creating a comprehensive and affordable DNA test for blood group typing. This project enhances blood safety and reduces alloimmunization rates, with SANBS' diverse donor base providing unique insights that could transform transfusion practices.
Our staff actively engage in local and international research collaborations on topics like donor health and blood utilisation, resulting in 14 publications, over the FY24, in peer-reviewed journals and presentations at various academic congresses.
Committed to knowledge sharing across Africa, SANBS collaborated with the Western Cape Blood Transfusion Services and the African Society for Blood Transfusion to host the first Africa Transfusion Indaba. This event gathered over 36 participants from 12 countries to foster collaboration and propose a cooperative agenda for blood transfusion education and research.
In 2021, we established the Research, Advisory and Development (R.A.D.) Academy to empower our people and innovate our processes in line with the SANBS iHEALTh strategy. The Academy has set four strategic goals, and we are making significant progress toward meeting them.
In FY24, SANBS generated R100.4 million in alternative revenue against a target of R80 million.
Our first smart fridge is now operational, aimed at reducing turnaround times for patients needing blood, particularly in high-mortality areas for mothers during childbirth. See our Intellectual Capital for more information.
Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels
Our experienced Board and Exco collectively bring some 170 years of governance expertise to SANBS.
SANBS products and services meet the quality control requirements at regulatory bodies and national standards to meet internal and external customer requirements and ensure the safety of our blood products.
Quality is fundamental to our reputation. We uphold high standards through a comprehensive quality framework, achieving a blood safety index of 95% and maintaining a perfect 100% result in our annual SANAS accreditation for the past eight years. Recently, we also received new accreditations from two prestigious organisations, highlighting our achievements in cellular therapies and tissue immunology.
See our Intellectual and Manufactured Capitals. For details relating to SDG 12 & 13, see our Natural Capital.
SANBS have through efforts relating to corporate social responsibility events made a worthwhile contribution to SDG 2.
Employee participation in CSR events
Rise Against Hunger partnership
On Mandela Day, SANBS employees joined hands with Rise Against Hunger to make a difference in their communities. In just 67 minutes, dedicated volunteers from Port Elizabeth, Bloemfontein, Johannesburg, and Durban came together with smiles and energy. They worked hard, preparing and packing meals, resulting in an amazing total of 39,312 meals. These meals, destined for Early Childhood Development centres, would provide nourishment to young children at the peak of their nutritional needs. Everyone felt proud to contribute to such a meaningful cause, honouring Nelson Mandela's legacy of giving and compassion. It was a day of teamwork, kindness, and making a positive impact on the lives of others.