Interfront 2023 Annual Report

28 INTERFRONT ANNUAL REPORT 2023 Many external factors have resulted in an increased demand for IT resources worldwide, whereas limitations on international work opportunities have decreased over the past two years as remote working has become the norm for companies across the globe. Interfront, as a highly skilled information technology company, has to compete for these limited, highly sought-after resources, which increases the difficulty of staff retention. The overall pressure on the fiscus has an indirect impact on Interfront, since its main customer at present – its Shareholder, SARS – receives 100% of its funding from the government. The performance measures decided on by Interfront are those under its control, which will, over time, result in the achievement of success for Interfront as a whole. Organisational Environment Since Interfront operates in a highly skilled environment and IT skills are in short supply, the target of staff retention and developing a skilled, diverse and engaged workforce remains a challenge. The 2022/2023 financial year saw an improvement in both staff retention and recruitment, with an annual staff turnover rate of 14.12%, against a target of 14%, as compared with 17.48% at the end of the 2021/2022 financial year. The target of maintaining the staff complement at 150 was achieved when Interfront ended the 2022/2023 financial year with 155 employees. In the first five months of the 2022/2023 financial year, Interfront reported a staff turnover of 6.69%, compared with 9.76% for the same period in the previous financial year. However, the full year’s turnover projected at the time was well above the target, at 16.06%. The staff complement was reported at 139 employees against an annual target of 150. The proactive measures implemented by management contributed significantly to the retention of valuable intellectual capital, also effectively attracting additional resources. The Board approved a 5% annual increase and a 5% performance bonus pool at its September 2022 meeting. The increases and bonuses were allocated to employees based on their performance. Additionally, Interfront reintroduced its annual market positioning exercise in 2021, and the Board approved a positioning pool of 1% of Interfront’s annual cost to company (CTC) at its meeting in November 2022. For more information on initiatives undertaken by Interfront in its efforts to retain staff and its Employee Value Proposition, see  Part D: Human Capital Management  . Key Policy Developments and Legislative Changes No major changes were made to policies or legislation that affected Interfront’s operations. However, Interfront’s mandate and operational environment were changed at the beginning of the 2022/2023 financial year, with the on-boarding of the eFiling team responsible for the development, enhancement, modification and support of SARS eFiling and MobiApp solutions, as well as the e@syFile team on 1 January 2023.