VRA’s People Strategy

The Volta River Authority is a public sector organisation that exists to power economies and the living standards of the people of Ghana and West Africa by supplying electricity and related services in a safe, reliable, and environmentally friendly manner. 

They do this by developing, implementing, and maintaining systems and policies to recruit, develop, and retain the right number of committed and multi-skilled employees thriving within a harmonious work environment. VRA’s Employee Value Proposition (EVP) over the years has been to: Offer Competitive Remuneration, promote a Conducive Work Environment, Offer Opportunities for Career Progression, Provide Opportunities for Training and Development and finally, to ensure Work – Life Balance for all employees.

As an organisation functioning in the public sector, VRA’s Human Resource Leadership team has worked to keep employees as priority, using competitive remuneration, diversity and inclusion, promotion of holistic wellbeing and a safety culture as well as career development as tools forattraction and retention. In a bid to ensure learning and growing, they set growth expectations that are outlined in a Scheme of Service that defines the Knowledge Skills and Abilities (KSAs) that every employee needs to climb up the Career Ladder. There is also a number of growth opportunities including stretch assignments, special projects, intra and inter departmental rotations and sponsorships for courses, webinars, workshops, conferences, certification programmes, for its employees.

The VRA people’s culture is one that is built on shared values, beliefs and attitudes that guide the Authority and reflects in the way they treat their Shareholders, Stakeholders, Customers and Employees. These values include: Accountability, Commitment, Trust, Integrity, and Teamwork (ACT-IT). The people of VRA believe in performance excellence. Their aim is to be a Model of Excellence for power utilities in sub-Saharan Africa. With sixty years’ experience in Power Generation and related activities, the staff of VRA plan, develop and execute and operate the power systems and other subsidiaries. At VRA, there is a can-do spirit that makes them work not only as a team, but also as a family.

Speaking to the HR Team at VRA, their culture is “built through the actions and behaviour of their leaders, by adherence to a well-defined organisational structure, policies and procedures, civility, communication, and actively maintaining a conducive industrial atmosphere.”

VRA’s COVID-19 story

Management of VRA has been on top of the fight against the ravaging virus. Right from the onset of the pandemic, Management of VRA put in place across-board measures that have helped to protect employees’ safety and health. They ensured effective communication of Management’s strategy to battle the disease, they instituted COVID-19 Health and Safety protocols such as: depopulation of space and social distancing and finally, they leveraged on information technology to conduct meetings, training programmes, etc.

Beyond donating GHS2,000,000 to the National COVID Fund, VRA also provided free facemasks and hand sanitizers to staff in 2020, embarked on a mission to sensitize people on the disease in all VRA’s locations in Accra, Akosombo, Akuse and Aboadze, as well as in their impacted communities

Further, to encourage work-life balance in the organization, VRA insists on compulsory annual leave, free Annual medical examinations which is part of performance management, provision of Gyms at work locations for VRA staff, among many others.

As an HR team of an organisation in the public sector, the HR team secures management’s buy-in by engaging in a number of strategies such as: developing a well-researched SHR Policy aligned to business goals and addressing specific business needs, consulting internal stakeholders often to solicit their views and inputs, and tracking performance with key indicators that yield business focused feedback.

VRA’s HR team has worked diligently towards ensuring there is a “New VRA” that is viable, resilient and responsible. One key way they intend to do this is to train their public sector staff with a private sector mindset. By this, the staff to ensure that they take ownership of their work, even as they embrace flexibility and are receptive to new ideas by being innovative and tech savy.

Over the next few years, the HR Leadership team at VRA hope to harness the knowledge, skills, and energies of employees towards attaining the Authority’s objective of becoming a Holding Company with Multiple Business Interests comprising Subsidiaries and Affiliates.

VRA, believes their business is about their people. Their vision is becoming a model of Excellence for Power Utilities in Africa. Through their culture, they work hard to ensure that their employees feel truly valued.