In June 2010, Mthente was commissioned by Yardstick to carry out in-depth interviews and focus groups workshops with Eskom managers and employees to underpin the development and implementation of an internal communication strategy. The communication strategy needs to be informed by the key quality issues and needs of Eskom.

The objectives of the research were therefore to:

• Gain insights from executive managers and understand their perspectives regarding quality management;
• Explore and uncover underlying attitudes, perceptions and beliefs of departmental managers and operational staff in the different divisions regarding quality management matters.

The focus groups and in-depth interviews were held in Cape Town, Durban, East London, Witbank and at Megawatt Park.

Mthente has previously conducted research for Yardstick to inform Eskom’s Energy Losses Management Programme. This research involved focus group workshops, one-on-one interviews and three national quantitative surveys.