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We are already in the last half of the year and as predicted it
has been a very busy year for everyone with an economy that seems
to be opposite to the rest of the world. At the moment we are very
busy with Employment Equity and Skills development requirements,
which appear to have had a new lease on life because of the
current emphasis on BEE. News in the press indicates that the
government is looking at ways to simplify the legislation that
small and medium enterprises are required to comply with. We are
not holding our breath as every indication is that it won’t change
much.
The update is intended to remind you of the focus for this quarter
and to introduce you to areas of HR interest.
1. Skills Development
The National Skills strategy was revealed 31 March 2005 and the
Seta’s are in the process of releasing their strategies for the
next 5 years. Training Reports for the 2004/05 training year are
currently being submitted, but, with the exception of MAPP Seta
all Workplace Skills Plans must be submitted in September 2005.
This is for the Training year beginning on 1 April 2005 and ending
on 31 March 2006.
The National Skills Development Strategy focused on the following:
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Funding for learners at all levels to obtain skills which their
sector has determined as being scarce skills, e.g. Teachers of
Mathematics and Science, Engineers, artisans etc.
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Funding the development of a guide to occupational trends for
use by guidance counselors
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ABET (Adult Basic Education and Training). The aim is for 700
000 learners to have reached ABET level 4 by the year 2010.
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Learnership grants, bursary grants and internship grants for
scarce skills as determined by the sector.
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Work experience grants for unemployed people to gain work
experience.
There was a clear indication that skills development should be
linked to BEE targets and to training of previously disadvantaged
individuals. Quotas are likely to be introduced by the SETA’s from
next year which will require company’s to spend up to 85% of their
training budget on PDI’s.
The BEE scorecard indicates that by the year 2015 we should be
spending 3% of our payroll on training each year.
Anyone who would like to apply for discretionary funding or
implement learnerships in their workplace should contact Jane
Alevizos at our offices.
2. The Case for Corporate involvement with employee health
There is an increasing concern within industry towards the social
responsibility of Companies to provide wellness for their
workforce. The other side of this is an equally valid concern
about the cost of providing that care. The exact nature of what
constitutes wellness for the employees is unclear, although
occupational health, primary health and an HIV program have been
acknowledged as key aspects. Indeed, the law imposes an obligation
onto an employer in terms of Health & Safety and occupational
health.
Aside from the business risk associated with breaking the law,
various studies have been prepared that clearly recognise a
business case for the provision of certain health services. The
financial benefits of such health interventions extend to include
direct employee morale and job satisfaction, reduced absenteeism,
lower staff turnover and increased overall productivity. These
savings can significantly impact on the firm’s bottom line.
Despite the business case for corporate involvement with health,
less than 30% of companies have any kind of strategy in this
regard. With specific regard to HIV, most South African employers
are sticking their heads into the sand and ignoring the impending
storm. With one of the highest incidence rates of HIV in the
world, this failure to react borders on the insane. Not only will
HIV involve the workforce of every organisation, but with so many
people dependant upon each employed persons salary, the knock on
effect on the economy is set to be huge. We are not talking of a
minor “couple of percentage points” shrinking of the economy, we
are talking instead of going backwards in economic growth.
Possibly as much as twenty years.
Both the direct and indirect costs of doing business are going to
increase dramatically over the next five years. Whether we like it
or not someone has to pay the price.
We are finding increasing levels of absenteeism in the workplace
and companies are experiencing difficulty in managing sick leave,
family responsibility leave and unpaid leave levels and are
working with HIVCare an organisation which aims to be the leader
in holistic service delivery of HIV/AIDS management in Southern
Africa and which specialises in the development and implementation
of HIV/AIDS programmes tailored to specific industry sectors and
individual businesses. For more information, contact Lynette at
our offices:
3. Tax Issues
We have all just provided the Receiver of Revenue with our returns
for the 2004/05 tax year (hopefully). However, employees should be
reminded that all employees who earn more than R60 000-00 per year
in the 2005/06 tax year or who receive any allowances which are
determined to be fringe benefits, are required to complete a tax
return. If they have received a tax return they must complete it.
Please ensure that your staff of aware of this liability and apply
for tax numbers accordingly.
We are all looking forward to the demise of the RSC levy which is
destined to disappear next year.
4. Training and Development
We have been very pleased with the response to our public
Leadership Development Programme. The first group will be
completing their course at the end of August and will receive
their assessments in September. There are a further three groups
who began the programme during June, two in Johannesburg and one
in Durban and a fourth group will be starting in August 2005.
The programme is designed to be very practical and to provide
skills in dealing with the complexities of managing a modern
workplace and working our way through the HR legislation which
confronts us.
We have received accreditation for the Life Skills programme which
is aimed at employees who are finding it difficult to navigate our
complicated world. Topics covered include:
We believe the programme has value at all levels, but particularly
for employees whose literacy level makes it difficult for them to
read the fine print on that HP contract or who find that they are
battling to cope with their garnishees.
5. Know Yourself
Your business success is more dependent on relationships with
investors, staff, customers and suppliers, than on business
transactions. We know that the difference between your business
and your competitor is your people.
Research confirms that in order to improve relationships, we need
to better understand ourselves as leaders and then get to better
understand the strengths and aspirations and motivations of the
people we work with.
We need to find effective ways to develop the strengths of our
staff and motivate them towards achieving business objectives,
both as individuals and team members and to work more effectively
together.
The Personal Profile Analysis (PPA) can assist you in this task.
By referencing to their personal profiles, individuals learn about
themselves, and leaders can build on the identified strengths and
channel them towards improved business success.
Team profiles are also useful to establish an awareness of team
synergies, strengths and development needs, etc and to accurately
diagnose the stresses that exist in the workplace.
6. The Secret of your Success
The secret of your success is you, your business ideas and the
extent to which you can get people to support and align with you
to reach and exceed the goals that you set.
You need to provide direction, vision, commitment and passion to
model the behaviours which individuals and teams must follow.
Whether conscious or not, this requires influencing people to
share common goals, values and behaviours which work effectively
towards achieving objectives set.
This needs to be supported by reinforcing the values and
behaviours expected of employees in written policies and
procedures. These provide the guidelines as to how things are to
be done in the business. Staff must be also be clear on what is
expected of them in terms job requirements.
With these guidelines in place, staff can be developed and
corrected as necessary and can be instrumental in building a
positive organization culture. In addition, they provide a
framework for compliance, which protects the employer and the
organization against disruptive, disloyal and counter productive
behaviour.
This forms the basis of Corporate Governance. While ‘Corporate
Governance’ may sound like a mouthful but its pretty basic stuff.
7. Effective Recruiting
With regards to recruitment, we are now proud to be partnered with
CareerJunction, which is an online e-recruitment solution. This
ensures new levels of speed, ease and efficiency from the time a
full job specification is received to the successful placement of
a candidate. Some of the benefits are as follows:
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One job advertisement can be placed for a period of 30 days for
the same cost as a once off advertisement in the workplace
classifieds. If needed for longer than 30 days the cost of the
advertisement will be reduced on a sliding scale.
-
Once a job advertisement is placed, it is also advertised on the
career pages of other partner sites, at no extra cost. These
include The Sunday Times, Business Day, Financial Mail etc.
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There are approximately 200,000 searchable resumes on the
database to screen from.
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As soon as a new resume is entered onto the database that
matches specific job criteria we will be alerted and can contact
the candidate immediately.
-
Reports can be extracted that will determine the success of the
job advertisement by monitoring the number of views and
applications that the job attracts.
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On-line competency profiling with Prof!ler. This facilitates the
profiling of positions in terms of cognitive dimensions,
competency dimensions (behavioural & functional) and motivational
drivers, the combination of which represents the “inputs” required
for success in any job. This is a system for measuring and
assessing skills that employees have against the positions within
quantifiable, consistent, scientifically verified and legally
compliant framework.
Please contact Pleia Alberts, our Recruitment Consultant, on (011)
452-0146 hr@connold.co.za with regards to all your recruitment
needs, about placing your advertisements online, and for more
information regarding the benefits of CareerJunction.
8. Section 197 Transfers
Recent Labour Court decisions have determined that the definition
of a business for the purposes of section 197 of the Labour
Relations Act includes services such as cleaning, gardening etc.
This means that if a company is contemplating outsourcing their
cleaners to a contract cleaning provider or their gardener to a
gardening service, they need to follow the provisions of Section
197 of the act and effectively transfer their employees to the new
service provider.
This is obviously not such a simple exercise and the main reason
for outsourcing is to have a cheaper more effective service. If
you are required to transfer your employees on the same or similar
conditions to those they enjoy in your employ, a cheaper service
is unlikely.
When contemplating purchasing a business, it is important that a
proper HR due diligence is carried out and that the sale agreement
concluded spells out the provisions made for any payments due to
employees, particularly leave pay, severance packages and any
share provisions. It is also important to determine if there are
any outstanding CCMA or Labour Court cases as these will be
transferred to the new business owner. As with all labour law, the
process is as important as the result. Consultation is essential.
9. Practical Guide to Human Resource Management
This guide, which is being published by Fleet Street Publications,
is due to be published at the end of July. We are very proud to
have contributed to the writing of this very useful manual, which
will provide information on a wide variety of topics. The
intention is that the guide will be updated every 6 – 8 weeks so
the information will always be up to date and current.
10. Conclusion
The South African Board of Personnel Practitioners has submitted
legislation to Parliament, which will result in a registration
process becoming necessary if you wish to practice as a Human
Resource Professional (similar to those in place for Chartered
Accountants and the Legal Fraternity). All H R professionals are
urged to investigate registration as once the legislation is
passed you will have to pass the required examinations.
If you would like any information on how to approach this and any
of the above issues please contact us for more information. |
