GROUP SERVICES

It has been a year of growth and restructuring for our service divisions, which focus on supporting our three South African sectors efficiently and in a cost-effective way. This enables profitable delivery and the ability to better serve our clients. Group Services reorganised to help us work more smartly and efficiently Responding to our significant portfolio growth and large rise in staff numbers, we reorganised our service divisions to help us work more smartly and efficiently. This new structure also strongly supports our client-focused approach. Reporting lines were restructured at the beginning of the year and, in doing so, we placed a focus on our service divisions to ensure it was appropriately resourced. The large business acquisition of Acucap and Sycom grew our employees from 528 at FY14 to 700 at FY15 and added 46 properties to our portfolio. Our incorporation of the Tiber and Abseq portfolios and employees in FY14 had highlighted some weaknesses, so we undertook several initiatives in our service divisions to improve the quality of service internally and externally. Our Investor Relations division is benefiting us with a fresh and dedicated focus. Taking a proactive approach to this important role, we have appointed Lauren Turner to head our Investor Relations division. This will ease up capacity for our Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director and ensure that the flow of information to investors is more efficient. It will also help us target specific investors in certain jurisdictions.

Julia Modise was appointed as our new head of Human Resources and we have expanded the capacity of the division. Our learning and development team was reintegrated with the Human Resources division. We’ve also added new business partners to carry out our Human Resources strategy across our business units.

Our Facilities Management and Procurement division restructured. It introduced a Centre of Excellence to set policy and ensure consistency and quality of service within our three property sectors. We established a call centre and an electronic invoice submission system for suppliers. Procurement, which plays a major role in this division, ensures that we are meeting our B-BBEE procurement targets and strive to optimise the benefit of Growthpoint’s scale as well as ensuring that service levels are maintained by our service provider.

We have added capacity to our corporate marketing and communications team which took Growthpoint’s distinctive branding forward this year by introducing an iconic new brand mark to our logo. Launched in June, the ‘Growthpoint Window’ is a modern crest that builds on the strength of Growthpoint’s existing brand, creates an icon that can stand alone and offers more flexible use of the logo.

Our marketing team continued to broaden and increase awareness of Growthpoint with our marketing and brand awareness strategies.

The Information Technology division, which underpins our service division’s operations, will be tackling the considerable task of integrating our new employees on to our Information Technology system. The IT division also continued developing Growthpoint’s tailor-made property and financial management system, as well as furthering their focus on business continuity and disaster recovery.

Besides providing vital on-going legal support to our different sectors and service divisions, our Legal division managed the successful Acucap and Sycom Competition Commission and Tribunal merger approval. It continues to play a key role in negotiating our acquisition and lease agreements and effecting the transfer of properties for both acquisitions and disposals. In fact, during the year, it managed our largest land acquisition so far, Samrand, as well as assisting with the transaction’s joint venture suite of agreements.

ACUCAP AND SYCOM

Bedding down our Acucap and Sycom acquisition is a major focus for Growthpoint. We have put together a steering committee to oversee the planning and implementing of the Acucap and Sycom business operations and property portfolio integration. By April 2016, a year after the transaction became effective, the Acucap and Sycom staff, systems and properties will be assimilated into the Growthpoint structure.

We have already taken the first big strides toward this goal. During the final few months of FY15 our management became more familiar with the properties and people of Acucap and Sycom. We worked closely with the former Acucap and Sycom teams on our FY16 budgets and made it a priority to develop an intimate understanding of all the development projects and transactions in progress.

Division	Objectives	Key performance indicators	Highlights for FY15
Corporate Marketing and Communications	To establish and increase positive engagement with the Growthpoint brand for all our stakeholders	• To maintain and uphold the Growthpoint brand and corporate identity • Identify marketing opportunities in line with the sector’s strategic objectives to promote Growthpoint’s activities and projects, and to execute these creatively and cost effectively • Nationally integrate and promote the Growthpoint culture and values among all staff, in collaboration with the HR Department • Drive and measure research and additional initiatives to improve tenant attraction and retention • Continue to effectively engage our clients through all communication platforms with emphasis on “green” media (very limited print) • Enhance client and supplier relationships through clear, regular communication – as well as providing opportunities for face-to-face interaction • Support the property industry through strategic sponsorships and congresses • Support our vision by providing information to our stakeholders which is relevant, substantial, understandable and factual	• Print and electronic media coverage for the brand valued at R60 million • Successful execution of 148 events • Growthpoint exhibition stand at the 2015 SAPOA annual conference awarded most innovative stand prize for the second consecutive year • Growthpoint quarterly digital newsletter Touchpoint steadily gained readership, having increased twentyfold this year • Exponentially increased usage of social media, engagement and “shares” through digital platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and our YouTube channel • Office and Industrial sector broker incentive now in its fifth year and gaining popularity in the industry • Our five year partnership with Growthpoint Kings Park (since May 2013) continues to provide us with good exposure across South Africa
Facilities Management and Procurement	• Focused on fostering a culture of collaboration to support the strategy of Growthpoint, delivering maintenance solutions, value adding client experiences and quality facilities throughout the asset life cycle, guided by best practice and legislation • Partnering with our stakeholders to deliver international best procurement/supply chain practices through value adding, innovative and sustainable services	• Maintaining an excellent state of condition and functional performance of all properties which in turn directly influences attraction and retention of tenants • Achieving the most sustainable and predictable cost of maintaining and operating the properties. The outcome directly supports achievements of profit margins and consequent investment returns • Maintaining compliance with legislation governing the operation and use of buildings, plant and machinery • Maximising the B-BBEE spend on services procured for the operations and maintenance of properties and thereby directly impacting the B-BBEE scorecard of Growthpoint, notably in preferential procurement and enterprise development • Increasing knowledge sharing, standardisation and consistency of the facilities management function across the organisation • Brokering business to business and client collaboration partnerships • Investing in enabling technological solutions to streamline service delivery and automate integrated processes • Continuously researching and benchmarking supply chain/ procurement and facilities management best practices thereby creating value for all stakeholders	• Restructuring of procurement team to align with the organisation’s procurement vision and leverage on team’s strengths • Creation of a Facilities Management centre of excellence to drive standardisation and consistency across the organisation • Creation of a new Facilities Management operating model to improve service delivery across the three sectors of the organisation • Setting up of a Growthpoint Maintenance Service Desk to track client logged maintenance requests thereby ensuring client satisfaction and improved service delivery • Cleaning, tenant installations and small industrial works request for proposals successfully completed, resulting in the organisation achieving a significant improvement in black woman-owned and black-owned small and medium enterprises B-BBEE targets • Preferential procurement score of 17.16 out of 20 achieved on total procurement spend • Asset register for the Tiber and Abseq acquired properties has been completed • A pilot project to create a governance framework of physical and technical security building solutions is being rolled out across the three sectors of the organisation to address unique building security risk profiles • Round one of Live@5 procurement systems training completed • Live@5 phase 1, which includes digital invoicing and payment for contracted services, has been successfully implementedLive@5 phase 1, which includes digital invoicing and payment for contracted services, has been successfully implemented • Business needs analysis and prioritisation of supply chain/ procurement opportunities conducted across the three sectors and strategic business units of the organisation to leverage economies of scale
Human Resources	To attract, develop and retain engaged talent and teams	Talent attraction: • Maintain recruitment turnaround time of ninety days • Utilise cost effective alternative recruitment methods • On-board new employees to facilitate seamless integration into the organisation • Attract a representative workforce	• HR Business Partners appointed to better and closely service the business • Recruitment Service Level Agreement launched • On-boarding programme launched
		Development: • Number of black employees trained • Enhanced compliance and alignment of key employees with regulatory requirements of the Estate Agency Affairs Board (EAAB) • Contribution towards the National Skills Development • Health and safety training	• 427 employees trained (232 – black; 195 – white; 218 – male; 209 – female) • R6,5 million (including operational costs) invested in learning and development activities with direct expenditure of R2,7 million spent on black employees and R2,0 million spent on white employees • On average, our employees received six hours on training interventions • R202 000 spent on the development of unemployed learners • On the job training and mentorship programme for the unemployed learners • Accreditation of designated managers and employees for successful completion of the EAAB qualifications • Executive coaching for senior management • Roll-out of the performance management system • Launching of the change integration process for the office sector • Launching of ABET (Adult Basic Education Training) • 78 employees attended OHS training courses
		Retention: • Consistent development of managers and leaders “Good leaders develop and retain top talent” • Maintain competitive total rewards	• Coaching of key senior leaders • Team development of Exco • Enhanced risk benefits • Implemented Retention Scheme for key talent
	To foster and entrench a culture of high performance	• Implementation of an integrated performance management system • Clear link between performance and rewards • 95% completion of performance contracts and reviews • Consistent training of staff and managers on effective performance discussions	• Performance Development System implemented • Salary increases and bonus linked to performance rating • 98% completion rate of year-end performance reviews • Effective performance discussion workshops held with managers
	To drive and build our employee value proposition and brand	• Maintain a strong presence at top universities • Participate in key employer branding initiatives; Deloitte Best Company to Work for & Top Employer • Produce total rewards statements for all staff “Articulating full investment in staff”	• Attended Wits University Built Environment Career Day for the School of Construction Economic & Management • Total rewards statement project kicked off in partnership with PwC
Information Technology	To support the South African sectors of the businesses across all geographic regions by providing information technology services and support	• Effective utilisation of outsourced operations and internal focus on enhancing IT values to the business • Optimisation of the performance of the IT infrastructure and the deployment of human resources • Identification, assessment, mitigation and monitoring of IT risks • Securing the IT environment and reduction of vulnerabilities impacting on operations and the business • Compliance with King III IT governance principles • Successful disaster recovery testing • Value of IT spend	• Further consolidation and upgrade of the internet resulting in reduced cost and increased bandwidth • Additional implementation of Cloud Based Hosted IP Telephony systems • Continued optimisation of Wide Area Network (WAN) infrastructure for retail centres • Online portal for the electronic submission of supplier invoices implemented • Development of online property management dashboard • Development of CRM solution for the office sector and Corporate Marketing and Communication division • Upgrade of Microsoft infrastructure for measurement and monitoring of performance • Efficient utilisation of IT resources using cloud based infrastructure as a service. • Ongoing development of a new property and financial management system
Legal	To support the South African sectors of the businesses across all geographic regions, as well as the Group Services divisions, by providing legal services and support	• Effecting the timely and successful transfer of properties with regard to both acquisitions and disposal • Timely and appropriate response for legal support • Employees kept abreast of new legislation and amendments to existing legislation	• Managing the successful Acucap/Sycom Competition Commission and Tribunal merger approval • Managing the joint venture suite of agreements and negotiations with regard to the Samrand acquisition – Growthpoint’s largest land acquisition to date • Initiation of recording, monitoring and reporting of conveyancers’ performance • Initiation and collaboration on a Workflow and Document Generation System aimed at improving workflow and service delivery • Hosting of legal boot camps for employees
Investor Relations	• Creating awareness and understanding of Growthpoint amongst the investment community, to enable Growthpoint to gain access to capital, achieve liquidity and a fair valuation of its shares • Ensuring that the investment story is convincing and consistent over the long term • Attracting a diversified shareholder base in terms of investor type, investment style and geography	• Further geographical diversification of the shareholder base • Attraction of large prestigious international investors to the shareholder register • Implementation of a formal Investor Relations strategy • Investor Relations calendar to be planned a year ahead • Disclosure policy to be refined • Analysis and understanding of our shareholder base • Targeting of specifically identified investors • Upgrading of Investor Relations section of the website	• Increased exposure to foreign investors • Roadshow for RSA investors to GOZ

We undertook several initiatives in our service divisions to improve the quality of service