- Tsaone Segaetsho
Absa Group has once again been certified as a Top Employer for 2026 by the Top Employers Institute (TEI), marking the fifth consecutive year in which the Group has received this accolade. The recognition follows an independent and rigorous assessment of Absa’s people practices across Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Zambia and Mauritius.
While Absa Ghana secured the number one Top Employer ranking in its market, Absa Botswana stood out for recording the largest year-on-year improvement, increasing its score by 5.53 percentage points. At Group level, Absa achieved an overall score of 93.66%, up from 90.15% in 2025 and well above the global benchmark of 85.9%. All participating markets recorded overall scores in excess of 87%.
Further notable gains were registered in Kenya and South Africa, each improving by 4.94 percentage points. In Zambia, Absa Bank Zambia improved its score by more than four percentage points, a result the bank attributes to its sustained focus on people-centred policies and processes.
In a statement, Absa Botswana said the certification across all six markets underscores the effectiveness of the Group’s human capital management approach within Africa’s financial services sector, as measured against international standards.
“The way people think about work is fundamentally changing, and this shift is redefining the relationship between employers and employees. Organisations must be clear and deliberate about the value they offer, ranging from purpose and culture to growth and flexibility, while being equally transparent about the standards, accountability and performance they expect in return. This clarity is essential to building trust, attracting top talent and creating workplaces where people can truly thrive,” said Absa Group Chief Human Capital Officer, Jeanett Modise.
Modise noted that Absa has sharpened how it defines and communicates its employee value proposition to better reflect how people want to work and build their careers today.
“Being recognised as a Top Employer for the fifth consecutive year provides independent validation that this approach is resonating with our people and is being applied consistently across our markets,” she said.
Group Executive for Africa Regions, Charles Russon, described the growing number of Absa markets achieving Top Employer certification as a strong endorsement of the Group’s people-first strategy.
“The continued growth in the number of Absa markets achieving Top Employer certification is a powerful endorsement of our people-first strategy and our commitment to building workplaces where excellence, inclusion and high performance can thrive,” Russon said.
According to Absa Botswana, a key outcome of the assessment was the Group’s achievement of perfect scores of 100% in Business Strategy, Leadership and Performance, demonstrating a high level of consistency in translating strategy into leadership practice and organisational outcomes.
“Strong results were also recorded in Ethics and Integrity, with Absa achieving a score of 99.49%, outperforming the global benchmark by 1.45% and the industry benchmark by nearly 2%. The Work Environment score rose to 98.41%, positioning Absa more than 10% above the global benchmark and almost 8% above the industry benchmark,” the statement said.
TEI, a global authority on recognising excellence in human capital practices, reported that the largest year-on-year improvements were recorded in offboarding (+18%), diversity, equity and inclusion (+11.34%), rewards and recognition (+8.78%), sustainability (+7.35%) and employer branding (+5.28%).
Through its globally recognised Certification Programme, TEI uses data-driven insights to support organisations in advancing their talent attraction, development, engagement and retention strategies.
Absa Botswana said the Group’s continued investment in leadership development, supported by refreshed frameworks and coaching approaches, has strengthened consistency in how strategy is led and executed. At the same time, Absa has advanced initiatives in inclusion, skills development and data-driven retention to ensure that critical capabilities are built and sustained over time. Collectively, these actions underpinned the broad-based improvements recorded across markets and supported the Group’s strong overall performance in the assessment.
“Being recognised for the fifth consecutive year gives us a clear line of sight into how our culture and people practices have evolved over time. Aligned to our Group strategy, we continue to strive to be customer-obsessed, equipping our employees to deliver excellence for our customers. Over this period, we have been deliberate in strengthening our employee value proposition, focusing on the quality of work people do, how they are led, how they learn and grow, and how we support their wellbeing,” Modise said.
