By maintaining positive relationships with our PACs, we gain a better understanding of their legitimate needs and concerns. This, in turn, supports our ability to address these needs and facilitate the creation of shared value. In so doing, we secure our licence to operate. 

The feedback we receive from our engagement with our PACs is carefully considered in setting our CSI strategy and is taken into consideration in our decision-making processes. We endeavour to respond to the views and comments we receive quickly and appropriately. We have appointed suitably qualified and trained staff to continue with the transparent communications between the operations and their respective PACs.

For more information on how we create value for our PACs, see our social section.

We strive to create value for our PACs while demonstrating respect for the traditions and cultures of the communities in which we operate. Our operations have a framework for stakeholder consultation in place to ensure that regular, meaningful engagement occurs. We integrate the feedback from these engagements in our decision-making at operational and Group level.

At Letšeng, PACs have elected community representatives who communicate with the Corporate Social Investment (CSI) department to create a sustainable and culturally effective link between communities and the mine. The community representatives sit on the CSI sub-committee of the Board, which meets quarterly. These meetings include discussions on the employment of PAC members and the effectiveness of current CSI projects. During 2020, a community needs analysis will be conducted to inform our approach to current and future community development projects. 

A community liaison officer (CLO) from Letšeng regularly visits and engages with local communities, government officials and community leaders. The CLO remains involved with our community projects, adjusting his level of involvement based on the maturity of the project. Furthermore, community representatives sit on the Letšeng CSI Sub-Committee of the Board, which meets once a quarter, to ensure community matters have a platform to be heard and addressed.

Our recently signed mining lease agreement with the Lesotho government for the Lestšeng mine stipulates a minimum amount – L5 million – to be spent on CSI activities each year from 2020. Taking this into consideration, we have decided to adopt rolling five-year CSI cycles, beginning with a full needs analysis to be conducted in 2020. This will require extensive consultation with communities and community leaders to ensure that their priorities and Gem's initiatives are aligned.

The Letšeng mine's engagement strategies, described above, are more advanced than those at Ghaghoo. This is partly as a result of the maturity of the Letšeng mine, which has been in operation for many years. The level of community engagement has also, however, been impacted by the decision to place the Ghaghoo mine on care and maintenance, which resulted in a significant scaling back of all investments connected with the mine.  During 2019, however, we continued to engage meaningfully with the PACs surrounding the Ghaghoo mine with regard to community-related issues through on-site employees. 

Our organisation's strength lies in the quality of the people we employ. To attract and retain top talent, we must understand and address their needs.

Through continual engagement, we ensure that our employees feel heard and that any legitimate concern can be addressed. This supports a culture where individuals feel that they are valued, thus adding to job satisfaction and the creation of a high-performance culture.

See our employees section for our approach to employee matters during 2019.

We engage with our staff informally on a daily basis. One example is our behaviour-based campaign that encourages employees to approach any individual to discuss important matters.

Visible felt leadership visits are also used as a means of engagement with employees. Line management visits one site per week. During these visits, management engages with employees at their place of work. These visits provide an opportunity for workers to express their concerns to the management team.

In a more formal capacity, we use our toolbox talks and other employee engagement forums to encourage open engagement. All issues raised are communicated to management through human resource officers or health and safety representatives.

Our organisational health index survey is yet another means of engagement that enables us to understand our employees' needs and meet them through targeted initiatives.

We understand that positive and mutually beneficial relationships with host country governments play a vital role in securing our licence to mine.

Through ongoing engagement, we are better placed to align with our host countries' goals and, therefore, ensure ongoing positive relations with this important stakeholder group. The tangible outcome of continued positive relationships with government was the renewal of our mining lease at Letšeng during 2019.

We engage with our host country governments regularly, working with local government and community leaders and consulting with government departments on various elements of the business, ranging from local procurement to community projects.

Our clients consist of diamonteers and other high-end buyers of rough and polished diamonds. Our clients are an important part of our value chain, and we need to understand their needs and views to better market our brand and products to meet these requirements.

Continuous interaction with our clients provides us with personalised feedback, which allows us to respond to their needs, suggestions and recommendations and to secure recurring business for the Group.

See our governance and ethics section for information on our approach to client relationships.

Engagement starts at the very beginning of our relationships with our clients. All Gem Diamonds' clients undergo a screening process and trade with us is by invitation only.

During the screening process, potential clients are vetted using internal anti-money laundering protocols and 'know your client' reviews to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.

Thereafter, we continue to engage with our clients through one-on-one engagement, website communication and press releases.

Providers of capital are critical to our business model, enabling us to fund our business growth. Our providers of capital include a variety of investors and funders. Understanding their diverse needs is essential in order for us to obtain the capital we require.

Through our ongoing relationships with our providers of capital, we can grow our business while they are given the opportunity to generate a sustainable financial return on their investment.

We engage with our funders through one-on-one engagements, website communication and press releases. Our Annual Reports, our Sustainable Development Reports, as well as our Annual General Meeting are all ways to engage regularly with our providers of capital.