You do more than just show up; you show us all how it should be done!”
This is an employee appreciation quote for hard work.
Organisations nowadays seek for employees who do more than just show up.
Such employees take responsibility for their work and go above their job description as they feel valued, respected, and appreciated and this will have a favourable impact on all members of the organisation.
This dovetails with the diversified manufacturer and distributor of spreads, preserves and snack canned fruits, puree and paste, Associated Foods Zimbabwe (AFZ), new campaign titled: “I AM ASSOCIATED FOODS ZIMBABWE” which Dr Emmanuel Katsvamutima, AFZ Managing Director believes shall be vital as it shall foster a culture of excellence and participation.
Where employees go beyond their job descriptions, is often described as employee citizenship behaviour, also known as Organizational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB).
“AFZ’s ability to elicit employee behavior that goes above and beyond the call of duty can be a key asset and one that is difficult for competitors to imitate. I AM ASSOCIATED FOODS ZIMBABWE campaign through promotion of AFZ value system influences and fosters actions or behaviours to employees to engage beyond their recommended role requirements,” said Dr Katsvamutima.
“Citizenship inside AFZ shall be vital because it shall foster a culture of excellence and participation. When AFZ employees have the autonomy to take responsibility for their work and go above their job description, they feel valued, respected, and appreciated. This has a favourable impact on all members of AFZ, including employees, customers, and other stakeholders,” he added.
The I AM ASSOCIATED FOODS ZIMBABWE campaign is running under the theme “It’s either I win or we win together”.
Globally, corporates have embraced employee citizenship behaviour although the concept is not that popular in Zimbabwe.
AFZ, through its Environmental Sustainability and Governance (ESG) initiatives and farmer out-grower program, is promoting employment creation and strengthening social infrastructure.
The leading spreads producers believes this concept would assist in mainstreaming women and youth participation in the economy in line with the objectives of NDS1.
“AFZ initiated ESG programmes aimed at sustainability value creation and achieving economic transformation through the creation of a thriving capacity building out-grower-sector, open and competitive economy, and a business friendly environment for our employees, suppliers and other stakeholders,” Dr Katsvamutima added.
“The campaign is coming with a series of ESG initiatives such as community impact engagement and capacity building, CSR, employee recognition such as Long Service Awards and gender balance perspective initiatives targeting women impacting communities and the environment,” said Dr Katsvamutima.
Managing Consultant of Industrial Psychology Consultants (Pvt) Memory Nguwi said employee citizenship encompasses voluntary actions and behaviors that are not explicitly required by job descriptions or formal policies but have a positive impact on the workplace environment, colleagues, customers, and the organization as a whole.
“These behaviors are discretionary and reflect an employee’s willingness to go above and beyond their basic job requirements. Mainly impact the organization’s brand and reputation if extended beyond the organization. It’s not a popular concept in Zimbabwe although heavily studied in Psychology,” said Nguwi.
Dr Katsvamutima said AFZ views the I AM ASSOCIATED FOODS ZIMBABWE campaign as a critical management tool aimed at fostering a culture of citizen service in employees and to encourage the value of teamwork.
“I AM ASSOCIATED FOODS ZIMBABWE culture is anything that AFZ employees do, out of their own free will, that supports their colleagues, communities as a social responsibility and benefits the organization as a whole. It is taking responsibility, ownership of the brand, business or environment.”
