Case Study: South African Sugar Research Institute strengthens succession planning with SHL

SASRI uses SHL to identify and develop the most promising talent amongst the its entire workforce

South African Sugar Research Institute (SASRI), a leading sugarcane agricultural research institute in Africa, faced a succession gap in its science and research function as several world-class scientists were due to retire within the next 2–3 years. SASRI needed a better understanding of its research scientist talent pool, including strengths, gaps, and bench strength for future planning. SHL supported this succession planning initiative with talent assessment and job profiling services.

SHL worked with SASRI to conduct a talent review, build future success job profiles for junior, mid-level, and senior researchers, and assess employees’ fit, potential, and development needs. The project also included manager ratings, gap analysis, and motivator analysis to support recruitment and retention decisions. The results showed that SASRI’s top 15 researchers were typically rated higher by managers, with Creativity and Innovation emerging as the strongest predictor of top performance, helping SASRI improve quality of hire, development planning, and retention of emerging STEM talent.

South African Sugar Research Institute

Catherine Botes

HR Manager