South African companies are struggling to get past the initial cost of Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) compliance, and to fully recognise the advantages of diverse, inclusive organisations. Eaton South Africa believes that true transformation yields long-term benefits. In business, a diverse workforce yields huge benefits, if managed correctly. Rather than just employing people for the sake of quotas, a company needs to do thorough introspection to define its own approach to transformation.

This vision needs to be woven into everything the company does, rather than just being an isolated human resource or accounting function. Eaton embraces the power of many perspectives to drive innovation and growth that benefit our people, investors, customers and communities, an approach supported by an HR Centre of Excellence and strong internal initiatives. The company’s commitment is demonstrated in its latest diversity and inclusion initiative in partnership with eDeaf South Africa, a sponsorship programme providing deaf and hard of hearing learners with an opportunity to complete a SAQA accredited NQF level 3 qualification in end-user computing.

These and other initiatives contributed to Eaton achieving a B-BBEE Level 1 contributor status, an achievement built on a strong focus on skills developments, enterprise and supplier empowerment. – SEYDOU KANE, MD EATON AFRICA