Stakeholder engagement

We actively engage with our key stakeholders and value constructive feedback. We encourage all shareholders to voice legitimate concerns, comments and suggestions through the various communication channels that we make available.

Key stakeholders

Communities form an integral part of our operating environment as they provide our social licence to operate. It is imperative to create shared value for these communities to sustain our operations.

Our livelihood depends on our guests, as they have a direct impact on our financial sustainability. We constantly need to innovate and create memorable experiences to remain relevant and attract and retain our guests.

Employees are the heart of our business. They are the primary interface with our guests and the custodians of the memorable experience we strive to offer our guests.

Equity partners, shareholders and debt funders provide us with the financial resources to deliver on our strategic objectives and create shareholder value.

Gambling boards provide our legal licence to operate and guide the group on how best to create shared value for the communities where we operate. They also provide oversight on the game industry to ensure a fair and responsible industry.

Partners provide support to ensure we do not operate in isolation, which could potentially impact our value creation. Suppliers provide the necessary supplies, services and systems to enable the group to carry out its business activities and improve the overall guest experience.

Regulators provide guidance on how we are required to operate, and industry bodies provide a platform to influence policy and legislation. This continues to create value for all stakeholders within the confines of the law.

STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT APPROACH

Every aspect of our business interacts with stakeholders, and our relationships with them directly and indirectly on our business and its reputation. Our reputation, or social and relationship capital, has a direct impact on our financial capital, as it influences whether consumers decide to become our guests; whether suppliers want to be vendors; whether employees want to work for us; and whether government believes that we comply with regulations, give back to communities and drive economic development.

Achieving our five strategic objectives depends on our ability to engage with and respond to our stakeholders. Our various methods of engagement include, among others, face-to-face interactions, formal and informal communication platforms, results presentations, reports and our annual general meetings. We also engage through our marketing campaigns, advertising, electronic media, newsletters and roadshows. We regularly conduct surveys among our guests and employees with the aim of continually improving service delivery, guest experience and employee satisfaction. We obtain positive and constructive feedback and respond to it appropriately.

ENGAGEMENT PROCESS

Through the group’s stakeholder engagement process, we annually assess our stakeholder universe based on their influence on the group, and the group’s influence on stakeholders. We identify any material concerns and opportunities that may exist, and purposefully engage to resolve and build on these matters and develop a better understanding of our stakeholders’ needs. The risk and social and ethics committees provide oversight of the group’s stakeholder engagement and are responsible for keeping the board abreast of material matters arising.

Focused engagement within the communities in which we operate is particularly important, as most of our properties are situated within or close to surrounding communities. Cultivating relationships with stakeholders such as community leaders, NGOs, NPOs and PBOs ensures that Sun International offers shared value and sustainable SED opportunities. During 2018, communities (particularly in the North West) raised concerns around the lack of local procurement opportunities which, in return, create job opportunities and provide socio-economic upliftment in these communities.

To ensure that we stay abreast of community needs and concerns, the group’s community engagement methodology is being updated as part of a new stakeholder engagement management system. This will ensure that all engagement and interventions are aligned with the group’s sustainable business strategy and, more broadly, with provincial and national growth and development plans. This revised engagement methodology involves the identification and classification of our relevant communities and stakeholders. This is followed by assessing various social aspects related to the wellbeing of these communities, as well as identifying the collective needs of these communities. Based on these assessments, possible interventions are identified and discussed with the affected stakeholders. It is anticipated that the new engagement methodology will be rolled out to all South African units in 2019.