South Africa: CRF Institute transitions to global certification company
Over the years, Top Employer-certified organisations have worked hard to develop their employer value propositions at both local and global level to better reach and engage top talent. In that time, the CRF Institute has provided valuable research and publishing products to support this – ranging from titles such as Leading Manager, to Top ICT companies and of course, the widely regarded certification programme, Top Employers.
As the development of people becomes an increasingly important lever in the attraction and engagement of talent the world over, the CRF Institute has, in a progressive move, focused its core business on the Top Employers programme, now run in over 50 countries on every continent. And in so doing, has rebranded the company to the Top Employers Institute as of 2013.
The rebranded Top Employers Institute’s international research into corporate employee offerings shows that employers around the world are transitioning; shifting their focus from short-term people gains, to long-term care and development of their prized talent.
The enormous international growth of the renowned Top Employers certification tells the story of today’s quest of leading employers to invest in the development of their people; offering their staff not only a great working environment, but life-enriching career experiences.
David Plink, CEO for the Top Employers Institute says: “Globally, we certify excellence in the conditions that employers create for their people. When we first started as a company, twenty years ago, the HR department played more of an administrative role in companies. Their focus was primarily on recruitment, payroll and the like. Over the years, we have seen the role of HR within these companies develop.
“From our research we see that standardising HR as a strategic partner to the business, and formalising the processes and policies specifically around people development is high on the executive agenda, indicative of the shift in the role of HR.
“Our growth into a global certification company tells a compelling story of the investment that organisations – world-wide – are making in creating, benchmarking, standardising and reviewing their people management practices so as to provide the conditions in which their employees will thrive. The Top Employers certification recognises only the very top employers for their dedication to this goal.”
Looking ahead
The company’s focus has been on its increasing global footprint, its updated research process, including document verification and onsite validation, and significant updates to the efficiency of the research methodology.
“At Top Employers, we believe we can only create value for our Top Employers insofar as it is a direct function of our own credibility as a standards body,” adds Plink.
“This means that for us, being understood as a brand is enormously important. Since the entire core of our mission centers around the credibility and transparency of our certification process – which in turn creates value for our certified Top Employers – it makes sense that we make this the focus of our brand, so that it remains the top HR standards test a company can take every year.”
The Top Employers Institute’s credibility as a certifier lies in a combination of unbiased research and point of view, independence, over two decades of experience, its unwavering belief in the importance of HR to business success, and its winning combination of international reach and local relevance.
“On a societal level, the work that we do helps create life-enriching experiences for employees, raise the standards of HR, and advance employee conditions worldwide.
“Furthermore, the sense of recognition and pride cannot be underestimated.”
As the brand continues to develop, it will fine-tune its already high standards of research and certification, says Plink. “We will continue our dedication to leading-edge research and continuously improved audit methodology.
“We also continue to strive for increased exposure of the certification and to keep the standards high in international and industry benchmarks.
“But most importantly, the focus must always remain on the Top Employers themselves – because it is their development that is our job, and our new branding will reflect this,” he adds.
