A project whereby adumo Payouts integrated its card-based incentive payout solution with the client’s in-house app has seen Kumba Iron Ore’s Kolomela Mine, in the Northern Cape win a prestigious International 2024 Gold Quill Award of Excellence for Digital Media Communications on the implementation of an online voucher office, using their internal employee application called Engage. Organised by the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), the premier awards programme has celebrated strategic communication globally for over 40 years.
Kolomela uses a ‘voucher’ system to recognise and reward employees for achieving safety and production targets. The value of the voucher is uploaded on the cash card from adumo Payouts, which the employees can use to make purchases at any retailer in South Africa or to withdraw cash.
Previously, if there was a query on the card or employees wanted to determine their balance, they had to visit the physical voucher office to be assisted. The result was long waiting times and production losses, especially as truck operators did not have time to queue.
The communications team decided to leverage the mine’s employee engagement app, designed to facilitate communication, to address the issue. The Engage app is free to all employees and contractors and, allows employees to get information, stay in contact and connected.
“We conducted impromptu interviews at the mine to determine what we should focus on. The insights gained enabled us to develop a questionnaire that we shared on the App with our employees and contractors, three months before we launched our ‘Voucher Office in Your Pocket’ campaign. Our goal was to reimagine how our employees engage with the voucher office without impacting production,” explains Janine Botes, at Anglo American.
Wyzetalk created the backend required for the Engage app, whilst adumo Payouts developed the integration for the employee’s cash cards, and the ‘Voucher Office in Your Pocket’ campaign was launched on 3 March 2023. Guidelines were provided on accessing the app and within a week, 800 employees (49%) opted in to use the Engage app to access their voucher information.
In terms of workplace safety and employee engagement, “this is a great example of how innovative thinking was used with technology in a practical way to solve real business challenges, with the outcome being measurable increased safety and improved productivity, thus benefiting all parties in the ecosystem,” comments Steve Mallaby, CEO of adumo Payouts.
By using a modern incentive payout solution, earned incentives are able to reward workers based on tangible results tied to specific tasks and milestones. This method aligns incentives with desired outcomes and empowers workers by providing a transparent compensation framework.
As mining companies face increased scrutiny over Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices, prioritising employee well-being and promoting financial inclusion can position them as responsible corporate citizens, attracting investors and fostering sustainable growth.
