| The building of long-term and
transparent relationships with
the most significant stakeholders
is one of Blue Label’s core values.
A broad range of internal and
external stakeholders having a
material interest in or who are
affected by Blue Label have been
identified. The group has a
deliberate and measured
approach to its interaction with
stakeholders, taking into account
the impact that each stakeholder
may have on the business, while the frequency and form of that
engagement is commensurate to
its estimated impact.
Initiatives and methods used to
engage with stakeholders
comprise face-to-face formal or
informal, individual or group
meetings (including the annual
general meeting); media and
stock exchange announcements;
presentations; road shows;
conference calls; the Blue Label
website (www.bluelabeltelecoms.
co.za); an intranet site for employees; investor days and site
visits; perception studies and
reputation audits; whistle-blowing
facilities and formal grievance
mechanisms; financial and
sustainability reports;
newsletters, circulars and e-mail
updates; regular customer,
business partner and supplier
meetings and formal consultation
and audit processes. Dialogue
and feedback is encouraged
wherever possible which is
presented to Exco for
consideration and/or further
action.
Blue Label’s stakeholders consist of the following main groups:
 Employees
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Nature of engagement |
|
Method of
engagement |
|
Frequency |
|
Dialogue |
| |
Communication with employees
involves matters of an
operational nature such as
health and safety initiatives,
internal policies and practices
such as the establishment of the
ethics hotline, new products,
competitions, business initiatives,
charitable initiatives, human
resource matters and regulatory
and compliance matters. |
|
Intranet, staff
meetings,
newsletters,
electronic mail,
staff notices |
|
Ongoing |
|
Staff performance is reviewed on
an annual basis with the intention of
measuring performance, however it
also provides a forum at which staff
may make recommendations and/
or requests. Several
recommendations have been
received in this manner, such as
the requirements for increased
access to skills and development,
and career development objectives.
Blue Label Academy was
established in August 2011, as an
e-learning portal which is accessible
to all staff. Blue Label purchased
two licences per staff member,
which entitled them to access and
complete two business skills
courses or one business skill and
one technical course as
appropriate. |
| |
In addition to the ongoing communication Blue Label also holds an annual management conference attended by senior and middle management of the group. The purpose of the conference is to obtain input and feedback from the attendees on matters of a strategic nature specific to each business segment. |
|
Annual
management
conference |
|
Annually |
|
|
 Providers of
capital,
including
shareholders,
investors and
financial
analysts
| |
Nature of engagement |
|
Method of
engagement |
|
Frequency |
|
Dialogue |
| |
Engagement with this
stakeholder group involves
presentations and ad hoc
meetings covering the financial
performance of the group, an
overview of the strategic
direction, investment proposition,
investor days and site visits. This
also includes offering
management access to financial
analysts, institutional and retail
investors. Names and contact
details are registered on the
Blue Label investor database. |
|
Roadshows to
institutional
investors in South
Africa, Europe,
USA and United
Kingdom |
|
Ongoing |
|
This stakeholder group indicated
that they would like a deeper
exposure to the management
team and increase their
understanding of the business
model.
To address this request an
Investor Day was held in October
2010 hosted by the Joint CEOs
and management team. The
event was attended by 50
interested and affected parties.
The presentation is available on
the company website.
The company has furthermore
established a demonstration
room at which transactions are
simulated on the various
terminals. |
| |
|
Half-year results
and year-end
results
presentations to
shareholders |
|
Bi annually |
|
| |
|
Annual report and
annual general
meeting |
|
Annually |
|
| |
|
Press
announcements of
its interim and
year end results |
|
Bi-annually |
|
| |
|
SENS
announcements
via the JSE
Face to face
meetings, group
meetings,
conference and
video conference
calls |
|
Ongoing |
|
| |
|
Speaker at
conferences and
workshops
Investor alerts via
website
registration |
|
Ongoing |
|
|
Journalists,
reporters
and other
members
of the media
| |
Nature of engagement |
|
Method of
engagement |
|
Frequency |
|
Dialogue |
| |
Announcements of activities and
events in the group, including the
release of financial information,
are communicated timeously to
the financial media, trade press
and other interested media
registered on the Blue Label
media database |
|
News releases
are distributed to
media
representatives
Group briefings
are held, followed
by Q&A
Interviews are
conducted |
|
Ongoing |
|
This stakeholder group was
included in the Investor Day. |
|
Customers
| |
Nature of engagement |
|
Method of
engagement |
|
Frequency |
|
Dialogue |
| |
The group’s customer base
comprises corporate clients,
chainstores, large independent
retail clients, wholesale/
cash-and-carry stores, mom
& pop stores and petroleum
industry forecourts. Engagement
with customers involves
information on new products,
market trends, business queries,
device installations, marketing,
Blu Approved branding,
maintenance and support.
Blue Label senior management
liaises regularly with senior
management of customers and
suppliers, and in so doing, have
built long-term relationships. |
|
Face-to-face
formal and
informal
meetings, formal
consultation.
The company has
implemented a
Client
Relationship
Management
(CRM) system to
enhance its
customer
engagement. |
|
Ongoing |
|
Frequently asked questions by
customers centre around matters
of a technical nature or account
queries.
If it is a technical issue a call out is
logged and a technician will visit
the store within 24 to 48 hours.
Account queries that need to be
escalated are dealt with by
Customer Service Representatives
(“CSR”) who will visit the merchant
to resolve the query.
Our CSRs also provide point of
sales material, check if the
merchant requires an additional
product and to a degree are also
able to assist with minor repairs
and rebrand machines.
The Contact Centre will also
regularly send merchants emails
and sms’s to keep them up to
date. The Business Unit
Managers have good relationships
with merchants and also pay
them courtesy visits to ensure
open lines of communication. |
|
Business partners and suppliers
| |
Nature of engagement |
|
Method of
engagement |
|
Frequency |
|
Dialogue |
| |
The relationships that Blue Label
has with its business partners
such as Vodacom, MTN, Cell C,
Telkom, municipalities and
parastatals, service providers,
among others, are managed in
terms of distributor and/or
dealer agreements. Relationship
managers are appointed to each
partner to provide a single and
dedicated point of contact.
Suppliers are subjected to a
formal procurement process
whereby issues such as quality of
product, creditworthiness and
B-BBEE status are confirmed
prior to becoming suppliers.
Suppliers of services are, if
appropriate, initially engaged
through a tender process and if
successful, agreements are
concluded. The majority of the
group’s goods and services are
procured from locally based
suppliers. |
|
Distributor and/
or dealer
agreements
Face-to-face
formal and
informal meetings |
|
Ongoing
Monthly
|
|
Matters raised pertain
predominantly to technical and
operational matters which are
resolved timeously to ensure
smooth service delivery. |
|
Communities
| |
Nature of engagement |
|
Method of
engagement |
|
Frequency |
|
Dialogue |
| |
The TPC Community Channel
specialises in the development
and empowerment of broad-based
communities through the
deployment of mobile technology
and products. The community
channel aims to not only
distribute the group’s products
more widely but to create job
opportunities for the members of
the communities and to share a
portion of the revenues earned
with those communities.
The company also engages with
the business community on a
regular basis. The joint chief
executive officers are involved in
collaborative projects with the
Gordon Institute of Business
Science (GIBS).
The joint chief executive officers
are regularly recognised for their
contributions to the community
eg Entrepreneur of the year
finalist, IT personality of the year,
as detailed in each person’s
biography under the Board of directors. |
|
Face-to-face
formal and
informal meetings
and forums
Training and
workshops
Presentation at
conferences
Participation in
panel and round
table discussions |
|
Ongoing
Informal
weekly
sessions
and formal
monthly
sessions
Ad hoc as
requested. |
|
The communities in which the
TPC Community Channel operates
are concerned about the
upliftment of their community, the
enhancement of skills and the
provision of services to their rural
areas. This concern is directly
addressed by the objective of the
Community Channel as it focuses
on providing services to these
communities as well as creating
job opportunities and economic
upliftment. |
|
Government,regulatory bodies and the
public sector
| |
Nature of engagement |
|
Method of
engagement |
|
Frequency |
|
Dialogue |
| |
The group regularly engages
government (at national and local
level), parastatals and other
public organisations through
various tender processes. From
a compliance point of view, the
completion and rendition of
statutory returns are undertaken
diligently. Blue Label is not a
member of any industry
association and/or national/
international advocacy
organisation in which the
company has positions in
governance bodies, participates
in projects or committees or
provides substantive funding. |
|
Formal meetings
and tender
processes |
|
Regular
and
ongoing |
|
During the year under review no
prosecutions or fines were
brought against the group for the
contravention or non compliance
of any laws or regulations. |
|
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