Overview

Click here to view the full case study, Standard Bank's workplace policy, its CEO call to action and other supporting documents.

Standard Bank employs 30,000 people across operations in 18 African countries and 21 countries in other continents. Standard Bank offers a range of retail, commercial, corporate, investment banking and insurance services. In 2002, Standard Bank generated US$ 2.2 billion in revenues and US$ 526 million in net income. Standard Bank South Africa employed 27,500 people and approximately 3,000 contractors in 2003.

The Business Case

The Standard Bank Group has identified HIV/AIDS as an environmental variable that could, and would in the future, have a significant impact on its business, staff, and the communities within which it operates in South Africa and other countries in Africa.

• In May 2002 Deloitte & Touche completed an actuarial study examining the potential impact HIV/AIDS could have on Standard Bank’s South African revenues and employees. The employee-focused report estimated that Standard Bank’s staff in South Africa would have a 2003 HIV prevalence of 7%.
• In March 2002, the bank conducted a Knowledge Attitudes, Perceptions and Behaviour (KAPB) study on employees in its South African business. The KAPB identified knowledge gaps and high-risk behaviours. This allowed the company to focus its workplace programme activities and communications to meet employee needs.
• In August 2003, the bank conducted a questionnaire-based KAPB study in 13 African countries, including 700 South African staff members.
• Standard Bank has offered a compulsory funeral benefits scheme for all staff in South Africa since 1998. Trends in benefits payouts indicate that the HIV epidemic is starting to have an impact on employees and their families.
• Standard Bank’s 2003 workplace HIV/AIDS budget was US$ 200,000, which corresponds to approximately US$ 6 per employee per year.

Programme Description

Standard Bank’s programme is built on an integrated communications strategy designed to address the staff needs identified in the KAPB study. It includes a management-endorsed policy, education and prevention, as well as confidential counselling support and medically appropriate treatment.

• Standard Bank’s board approved a life threatening disease policy for employees in South Africa in late 2001. It was extended to all of its other operations in Africa in June 2003.
• Standard Bank’s education and prevention programme is based on using multiple internal channels, including a strong focus on volunteer employee champions and condom distribution to increase awareness and to effect behavioural change.
• Standard Bank launched its “Know Your Status” (VCT) campaign in August 2003 to build on the heightened awareness created during the banking sector prevalence survey, which was run from June to September 2003. Standard Bank used its external employee wellbeing service provider, Independent Counselling and Advisory Services (ICAS), to ensure confidentiality and uptake. A quick poll conducted during August using Standard Bank’s intranet reflected that approximately 54% of the respondents were ‘aware of their HIV status.’
• Employee medical benefits, including medically appropriate access to anti-AIDS drugs, were made available separately through the bank's medical aid, Bankmed. Bankmed launched an HIV/AIDS Managed Care programme in 2000. Around 300 employees and dependants from Standard Bank have enrolled in the programme since it was launched.
• In March 2002, the bank contracted Independent Counselling and Advisory Services (ICAS) to provide professional confidential counselling support on a broad range of topics, including HIV/AIDS. Current usage rates indicate that 16% of employees will access the service each year, of which 2% discuss health and HIV/AIDS-related issues.

Programme Evaluation

The project is run by a project manager from the bank’s human resources department, and is guided by an executive committee made up of the bank's Chief Economist, the Director of Human Resources, and the Director of Social Strategy. The group regularly tracks and reports on: programme metrics including VCT uptake and HIV treatment enrolment; outputs including prevalence and employee knowledge, attitudes, practices and behaviours; and business impact studies.

In the future, Standard Bank will continue the above activities and: use the data from the recently completed banking sector prevalence survey to refine its impact assessments; extend and adapt its HIV/AIDS initiatives to cover its operations in other countries in Africa; use its networks and associations to assist others with their HIV/AIDS workplace initiatives.

Case study taken from the World Economic Forum’s Global Health Initiative case study library.