CREATING LONG TERM VALUE
In a competitive market, nothing is more valuable than reputation. With companies across different sectors rising and falling overnight, the responsibility of shareholders and employees to sustain and grow value for the long term, in partnership with clients, is more important than ever.
This is especially so at AMSOL, where management and employees own 33% of the company – and are invested together with other shareholders in co-creating value not only for the company’s current clients and industry stakeholders, but also for future employees, shareholders and clients. As a leading employer of seafarers and the only company of its size in the maritime industry that is majority black South African owned, the responsibility to protect and build reputation and create value into the future is a priority. Particularly as the company focuses on securing growth in Africa.
AMSOL’s Managing Director Paul Maclons explains that value creation is multi-dimensional: “Value is not just about the financial strength and profitability of the company – although they are both very important factors. Creating long term value is about considering our impact on all parties that have an interest in AMSOL and that AMSOL impacts, and includes various elements such as the strength of our brand and reputation, continuity of our skills and competence, risk management and mitigation, systems and processes that support international standards in management of Safety, Health, Environmental Protection and Quality (SHEQ), corporate governance and compliance, as well as contracts secured and future growth prospects. Balanced together, these elements contribute to value creation in our business.”
AMSOL’s clients from both the private and public sector agree. Recent feedback from an annual client engagement process highlighted that it is the company’s technical expertise, skills and competence, international accreditations, certifications and memberships and ability to solve problems professionally that add value. And its proactive commitment to driving SHEQ standards.
A continued commitment to transformation of the sector is recognised by clients as one of AMSOL’s key competitive advantages – driving the company’s talent pipeline, diversifying its supply chain and facilitating strategic partnerships that promote this objective.
According to Paul Maclons, integrating all of these priorities into a business management model that is relevant and flexible is important – but so too is the role that employees play. “It is important that employees focus on ensuring that our clients (inside the business and outside the business) are happy and that we deliver a safe and efficient service to them. We need to prevent waste and optimise costs, take care of our assets and equipment, and display the AMSOL company values in all our interactions with colleagues or outside parties such as clients, suppliers or service providers.”