CHRO of the Year

WELLNESS AT WORK

Paul Norman fell into the role of head of HR at MTN almost accidentally, when the mobile telecommunications industry was only three years old, and the company only employed 400 people. Today, MTN has over 250 million subscribers and employs 19,000 people, and Paul is going strong as the Group CHRO. As the 2019 CFO of the Year, he shares his views on growth, organisational culture and how Covid-19 has created a whole new construct for what “wellness” means.

BY GEORGINA GUEDES

Twenty-three years ago, a young counselling psychologist was called in to see the management of a burgeoning telecommunications company. The psychologist, Paul Norman, had conducted assessments of potential heads of HR for the company. They had assigned the task of finding the right candidate to a headhunter, and the headhunter had sent a shortlist of four people to Paul for assessment.

When the then-CEO, Bob Chaphe received Paul’s report, he asked some questions of the headhunter, who didn’t have the answers, so the headhunter asked Paul to come in and make a recommendation. “Out of the reports, I recommended one person, and went into the detail of why, matching their skills to the requirements of the role.” The CEO listened, then said, “You sound like you know what you’re talking about. Why don’t you take the job?’” Very surprised, Paul went away and considered the offer. He thought, “Why not?” and accepted. “I thought I would stay for only three or four years. I thought the business would have a relatively limited market, like car phones. But it’s been such a journey. I bought the dream, and here I am today.”

Today Paul is the MTN Group CHRO, and in 2019 was declared the CHRO of the Year at the inaugural CHRO Awards. He also scooped the Talent Management and Learning & Development awards.

He says that one of the things that’s kept him engaged and enthusiastic has been participating in the growth of a truly African brand. When he joined MTN in 1997, the mobile industry was only three years old. “We operated only in South Africa, with less than one million subscribers, and only 400 people working here. By contrast, today we are in 21 countries in Africa and the Middle East with over 250 million subscribers, and employing roughly 19,000 people.”

The evolution of MTN

The expansion into Africa takes place either by bidding for a greenfield licence in a country, and starting a mobile network from scratch, or by buying or partnering with incumbent operators. “All this activity has a lot to do with people – how you integrate the culture. A lot of mergers and acquisitions fail because the organisations involved don’t realise the synergies that were built into the business case for doing the deal. So we do a lot of work in understanding how you bring these companies together – how you make one plus one equal three. I spend a lot of my time on that.”

In addition to expanding, the telecommunications industry has evolved while Paul has been on people duty. “At first, 100 percent of revenues came from voice calls. Then of course data started to come in, and where that has ended is with MTN basically positioning itself as a digital operator. We don’t see ourselves as a telco or purely a mobile operator; we talk about being an evolving telco on the one end, with data and voice services, and a digital operator on the other, in the sense of fintech, digital services." While repositioning the company into these streams, Paul is contemplating and acting on the people perspective. “We have to think about organising skills in a different way, evolving our culture to be meaningful, how do we build agility to our advantage, how do we make it easy for the employee, who is our customer in this space, how can we remain future relevant? We have 19,000 people who are moving into a fast-paced digitised world, so all of that is transitioning. In the same light the business won’t survive if we don’t have the right culture and skills to support it.” He adds that the organisation is now competing for scarce skills including data science and emerging technology specialisations against global organisations which operate in more sought-after locations, so MTN has to work on its Employer of Choice differentiators. “They can choose New York, San Francisco or London rather than Joburg or Lagos. So as a company, we have to position ourselves to be the most attractive. That’s not a pay thing purely – people want to work for companies that are purpose led or meaningful. They want to make a difference.” To support this, two years ago, Paul and his team redesigned the HR operating model, modelled on building experiences for employees and business alike. “It’s a single view, like what happens with customers in the digital space today. If you are on Amazon, if you make a purchase, it will zoom in on who you are, recommend other books you might like. So we are using that lens on the people who are working with us – looking at what they prefer, how they could work better, and how we can help them realise their true potential. We use data analytics through an HR data analytics unit populated with data scientists finance professionals and business architects. We have a central experience unit which comprises customer experience, telco business and experience design professionals. With all of this, close to 60 percent of the department is made up of non-traditional skills – which is not to say that HR skills are not valuable, we up the game when we compliment it with a wider breadth of skills.” In this HR empire, Paul says he operates like he’s the CEO, thinking of it as a business with a balance sheet statement, focusing on how they can grow their assets and improve profitability. “I have a single view of how I create and make us profitable. We produce products and services that help our employees to do their jobs better. If you are a customer of MTN, we run studies quarterly looking at several dimensions around the network, the product and our pricing, and you can vote on whether you think MTN is better than other operators. That’s how we understand our customers.

Paul Norman

Group CHRO, MTN

Work: Paul Norman has been with MTN for 23 years of its 23-year history. He is a qualified psychologist and an MBA graduate with corporate experience spanning more than two decades. Paul oversees people strategy, reputation management, media and stakeholder management and sustainability. He is also a member of the Group Executive Committee and an active steering committee member of key projects, such as moving the company from a mobile operator to a digital services company, centralising the back-office functions of HR, finance and supply chain, and designing a future-fit company through new operating and business-model initiatives. Education: EMBA, Business Administration and Management (General, IMD Business School), MA, Psychology (Rhodes University)

I do that internally with our employees. I measure the detractors and promoter experiences, because we want our people to recommend this as a place where people want to work.”

Self-reflection

Because Paul didn’t anticipate staying at MTN for the long haul, he requested that his contract state he be allowed to continue to practise privately as a psychologist. He acknowledges that he can’t consider himself a psychologist anymore. However, he has found application for his early profession at MTN. “In many ways, a lot of those principles apply to organisations and so my learnings haven’t gone to waste. HR has evolved so that it’s much more integral to the business, and central to ensuring that the business succeeds. At the moment, it’s the most exciting time for the HR people who get this new agenda.” One aspect of this is understanding how HR operates in the digital space, with all the issues of displacement that the Fourth Industrial Revolution and more recently the new social norms of work that the Covid-19 global pandemic brings. Paul says he is focusing on how to create people who are relevant for tomorrow, with increasing competition and customer sophistication. MTN, he says, also has a part to play in the digital evolution of the countries in which it operates, and in the transformation of South Africa.

“HR professionals have a role to play in bringing humaneness into work. If you can get diversity and inclusion right – addressing race and gender in South Africa – we will be extremely relevant. We just have to do it. That’s why I am saying it’s an exciting time. I can’t think of a better time for HR, but we have to own that space.” At MTN, the Diversity and Inclusion agenda sits within the gamut of Paul’s portfolio. As a custodian, he has instituted a comprehensive framework coupled with a strong philosophy that establishes the company’s D&I agenda. Through this, a host of initiatives have been put in place across the HR value chain ranging from a network of Inclusion-Champions in the markets for cultural focus, bias-free mechanisms in the recruitment and performance lifecycles, unconscious bias learning curriculums for professionals, gender balanced leadership programmes and other such initiatives, which are underway. Paul is clearly focused on and enriched by his work, but he does find time for personal pursuits. He says he likes people, food, good wine, art and culture, and travel. “I don’t think I’ve understood a city or a place if I haven’t been to its art galleries and listened to its music. And I must go to restaurants. I travel for food. If there’s a restaurant in a country of the calibre of having gained Michelin Stars, I will always go if I have the time. But I will also hit the bistros and buy the street food. I also love architecture and design – so I appreciate all of that in my leisure time, but then I bring all of that back into how I work.”

He says his kitchen at home has been designed especially for him, supporting his love of sharing good food. His signature dishes are curries and French cuisine. “I love slow cooking. I do a lamb dish that takes 12 hours in a slow-roasting oven. You don’t have to carve it. It just falls apart.” He says that his wife Tracy creates a beautiful table and that he’s happiest sitting with friends, over good food and wine, with great conversation. This causes him to reflect on work once more, saying that the one thing that he doesn’t tolerate in his job is insincerity. “I have to make a lot of hard calls and I don’t sugar-coat things. I tell it as it is, and then see how I can help you from there.” With further personal insight, he says that he is restless and suffers from 'FOMO', which is what keeps him going. “I love knowledge and always want to know more. I never feel like I have arrived. The team says, ‘let’s take 10 minutes to celebrate what we did,’ but I am always thinking, ‘what’s next?’ That’s what drives me."

He says that in his later life, he would like to one day be able to watch the CNN weather report and tick off all the cities that he’s been to without missing any. “I love Paris, London, New York and Bangkok. I always say that Africa is amazing. I have a real heart for Africa – I’m an Afro-optimist. I think that ‘Africa rising’ is still coming. I think that we will be a place that people look to in the future. A lot of innovation is going to come out of this continent. MTN is driving a lot of that, and it’s a story that’s still going to be written.” 

“I measure the detractors and promoter experiences, because we want our people to recommend this as a place where people want to work.”

Covid calling

Although telecommunications are an essential service, when Covid-19 struck, MTN re-organised its working structures to protect its employees. Paul explains that MTN has grouped employees based on various criteria for readiness to return to the work environment. Employees who were at risk would not be required to come into work even after the lockdown is lifted. “This is in addition to everything we are already doing to adhere to and at times even go beyond the mandated requirements for hygiene, sanitisation and social distancing. We also instituted an incident response people-care toolkit for our own HR, risk and medical teams so that we have an early estimate of the outbreak and know exactly what is going to happen at all levels of the organisation, in the event of an employee testing positive for the virus.” With a large portion of the workforce now working from home, Paul has consciously shifted the definition of professional interaction. “The one thing that we did very quickly – because you are basically in people's homes now – is that we welcome your home, life and loved ones into our virtual work space. Our philosophy is simple: your life at home, whether it’s your children, pets or family members, are a part of what makes each individual who they are. They are more than welcome to go about their normal day around you, while we continue on with work. This concept completely changes the rhetoric and helps people ease themselves from the psychological stress of being disturbed or even having to ‘hide’ their home realities. This is, after all, what the new normal is about.” “For instance, we told our people from the onset, that 'if your kids come by during the meeting, introduce them to us and involve them in our conversation. Tell them what we're working on and let us talk to them about how home school is going,’” says Paul. Covid-19 has also renewed the spotlight on wellness, another key dimension that Paul has been actively driving within the organisation. He believes that the need for a more expansive strategy around wellness is essential, given the sudden paradigm shift in work styles. “Until Covid-19, our strategies around wellness operated on the premise of ‘work as usual’. The new reality has created a whole new construct for what wellness means in light of the many changes we are experiencing the world over today. The implications of health anxiety from the pandemic, stress and coping pressures from the work-life convergence, emotional disconnection due to remote working, anxiety from being overwhelmed by technology and communication are beyond what we comprehended in the past. The effects can have a long-term impact on the well-being of our people. This is a problem that keeps me up at night. To this end, one of the most important things we did was to realise that our engagement and experience strategies need to be centered around mental, emotional, physical and social wellness.” Paul says that this quick adaptive response strategy changed the way HR showed up for MTN employees, in a short span of six weeks across MTN’s 21 markets. Whether this is the way HR manages and cares for the emotional needs of people who are experiencing a volley of transformational societal and workspace changes in such a short span, is where HRs truly differentiates itself. “Whether it’s with daily global health monitor surveys, specialised-care interventions for potentially affected employees, work-from-home support groups, global ‘time-out’ hour, flexible working, leadership and managerial toolkits for empathy and crisis management or fun-with-wellness live broadcast shows, we have taken a holistic and inclusive approach to wellness in everything we do across our markets.”

Eldos girl goes (SUN) INTERNATIONAL

HR boss Verna Robson’s determination and solutionoriented approach to life got her to where she is.

Coming from a tough neighbourhood like Eldorado Park in the South of Johannesburg, where the streets can be rough and crime is a daily concern, can either crush you or sharpen your wits. Fortunately for Sun International group HR director Verna Robson, BY PUSELETSO MOMPEI it was the latter. Growing up in this cut-throat environment honed her drive to succeed. It created in her a tenacity that, over time, became her ticket to success.

“I had to be streetwise, confident, and fearless. These traits have served me very well. I often get asked whether anything scares me and my answer is always that I never think about fear. I concentrate on the solution and how I am going to achieve it," says Verna. It was this confidence and boldness that led her to be the head of HR at a major hotel group with a diverse profile of assets including world-class five-star hotels, casinos and resorts.

Verna started her career in a general legal environment working for Rand Water directly after finishing her final exams for her legal degree, even prior to receiving her results. “As a graduate, I was privileged, through hard work and determination, to be the CE management representative on many forums.”

In a serendipitous instance of being in the right place at the right time, her maiden career opportunity presented itself just after 1994, when the new Employment Equity Act and other legislation came into effect. She says, “I suppose the fact that I studied in the field of law was a great advantage. In my first year of work, I was part of the team tasked with amending the parastatal’s shift schedule and was first exposed to negotiating with the unions.” This came at a time when South Africa was undergoing massive political transition and the system where the exploitation of workers had been in place for decades had to be overturned.

Lover of the law

“My passion for labour law and fair processes developed when I began handling the legal aspects for the core business, being engineering and construction. This stretched from the labour matters to normal legal matters.”

She joined Sun International as group HR manager of employee relations in 2011. She was and still is, the lead negotiator for the company on all matters pertaining to the labour workforce and involving the unions in everything from wages and benefits to business model changes. If it impacts employees, Verna gets involved directly.

Her foray into leadership started at a very early age. “I was very much a tomboy in my youth and loved to play in the streets with all the neighbourhood kids until late at night,” she says. Being the eldest daughter in the family meant she became accountable for her younger siblings’ safety, a responsibility which taught and prepared her for leadership so well, she could already cook dinner when she was in Grade Four and had household chores from as early as Grade One. “Both my parents worked to support the family and I recall

“In my first year of work, I was part of the team tasked with amending the parastatal’s shift schedule and was first exposed to negotiating with the unions.”

when I started Grade One, my mom tied the house key around my neck so that I did not lose it and to ensure that I was able to unlock the door and enter the house after school."

Working at Sun International, with its reach and scope, has allowed Verna to take up her place as a leader. For instance, when Sun International reported that it would sell off a portion of its interests in its African assets to a foreign subsidiary, Verna was part of the team that handled the change of business model, a move that impacted all of the properties across South Africa. At the time, the company directly employed over 10,000 people with over 50,000 indirect jobs and Verna managed the labour part of the project. “It has been, and still is, an exciting journey,” she says.

Award-winning focus

For Verna, choosing to show up powerfully while being constructive, honest and fair has resulted in her being regarded as a trusted manager, leader and credible communicator. This is evidenced by how keen stakeholders, as well as individual employees, are to have her take on various issues.

Verna has been recognised by her peers for her impact and expertise, having won the CHRO Employee Value Proposition Award in 2019 and landing on the Employee Engagement Awards 2019 list. During her tenure, Sun International's reputation for employee wellness has soared, with a programme that gives employees free access to social workers, debt counsellors, financial advisors, lawyers, nurses, dieticians and biokineticists.

Her go-getting attitude informs her approach to challenges. “I don’t like it when a situation or project takes too long. The reason being that there are so many other challenges to attend to and if one is left too long it has a chain reaction and your entire work situation becomes extremely challenging. When I have developed a solution, I pursue it. The hard part is when it takes too long to reach that solution as I am a quick reactor and quick action kind of person," Verna says.

However, being driven comes with its drawbacks and she admits that she isn't quite able to maintain a work-life balance due to the love for her job and commitment to ensuring that every challenging project is a success.

"As a result," she says, "I create this imbalance, which is evident by the late-night work. I want to be more disciplined in my personal life to health and wellness as I am no longer as young as my mind may make me believe.”

Supportive partners make all the difference

Her most meaningful relationships are with her spouse and sons. “I consider the one with my spouse as being particularly significant because he has created the environment for me to succeed. He takes on many of the domestic chores and attends to the boys and makes sure they are seen to. As a determined female in the world of work, this is critical if you want to succeed in your career. I think one only realises the significance of this relationship when you reflect on it. He is a treasure to me and my strongest support to achieving and succeeding.”

She acknowledges that while she is passionate about her family, her busy weekday schedule might give them a different viewpoint.

“I ensure that I spend weekends with them, take leave when they are around and do the simple things, like just going to movies or driving around for that unique T-shirt and pair of takkies.”

Her faith is also an important pillar in her life. Many people who perceive her tough, determined, and firm in her decisions, would be surprised to hear she teaches the importance of receiving first holy confirmation to kids aged 11 and upwards within the Anglican denomination. She says, "I have been doing it for about five years. This requires patience and understanding and I love doing it.”

Success follows when you add value

Verna’s definition of success is being able to create value for others – no matter who they may be or the size of the value-add to them. “It's possible that this is the reason why I chose law as my field of

“This country is bleeding jobs and we as HR must assist in helping employees to further strengthen their core skills and gain in-demand skills related to their roles."

Verna Robson

Group HR Director, Sun International

Work: Verna Robson has been an HR executive since 2008 when she became the HR business partner at Absa Wealth. She was the employee relations manager at Sun international for six-and-a-half years before taking on her current role in 2015. Education: B.Proc, Law, University of the Witwatersrand

study and later transitioned into human resources.” Verna is passionate about transformation and empowerment and has assisted in driving Sun International to a Level 1 B-BBEE for the past three years. She has worked to digitise the HR processes with the IT department and is currently introducing an e-learning platform.

She explains that as the workplace continues to evolve with new technologies and new innovations, “I aspire to ensure our workforce keeps up with the rapid changes, by creating an environment that ensures our people have the skills needed for the future of work. This country is bleeding jobs and we as HR must assist in helping employees to further strengthen their core skills and gain in-demand skills related to their roles, along with connecting them with opportunities to build their leadership skills.”

For Verna, it’s not always about big gestures, but making a difference where you are. “I believe that any little change is a big change in the world. Many little changes eventually add up to big changes. I also challenge myself to be understanding to people and find solutions that improve the lives of others positively. I apply this both professionally and personally," she says. 

CHRO South Africa hosts first online summit

With national lockdown preventing public gathering, the CHRO SA community came together online for a discussion on lockdown leadership in times of social isolation.

BY SUNGULA NKABINDE

With Covid-19 having South African businesses on high alert, CHRO SA hosted an online summit in which more than 50 CHROs and HRDs from across the country came together to engage in dialogue around the impact of Covid-19 on both business and the socio-economic landscape.

fact that ongoing business performance remained paramount. Ian Russell, speaker, author, independent freelance business advisor and professional non-executive director, delivered the keynote address for the historic digital gathering in which he highlighted a number of issues that business leaders in general, and HR executives in particular, are having to grapple with. It was clear from the onset that concerns around The most important thing, he said, was to be the virus are very real, with each individual promindful that the eyes of the country are on every viding a glimpse into organisation. He said conthe actions that they were taking both within “Authenticity and sumers, employees, and society at large are watchtheir families and their organisations. integrity in the way ing how businesses are responding to the crisis The principal partner for the event was Workday we lead and make and that their response will shape the way those organisations are perand associate partners for the summit and future decisions are what will ceived going forward. events were Skillogical, SAP Concur, Sanlam, be remembered.” “Authenticity and integ rity in the way we lead ClarkHouse Human and make decisions are Capital, Momentum what will be remembered, Consultants and Actuaries and Compliance Online. and these outweigh certainty. People will remember how you behaved and not necessarily what you The common thread throughout the engagement did,” said Ian. “In the UK, there were two businesses was that HR had to take the lead as the voice of that were singled out for irresponsible comments, reason. While business leaders worry about the one of which was pub chain J D Wetherspoon, impact on their business and employees worry whose CEO stated publicly that he didn’t underabout their health and job security, the HR leadstand why people couldn’t go out drinking ers felt responsible for responding to the pandemic anymore. That business will now be associated with with empathy while also being mindful of the those irresponsible comments for a long time.”

Ian Russell, author and independent business advisor

“Consumers, employees, and society at large are watching how businesses are responding to the crisis and that their response will shape the way those organisations are perceived going forward.”

Ian said that this was not the time to be thinking about profitability. If anything, companies should focus exclusively on survival during this period. To do that, they should establish what their priorities are. Priorities in times of war may differ from those in times of peace but the fact is, Ian said, “there’s no doubt that we are currently at war.” He added: “In these times, your first priority must be your employees. Your second is your consumers. Third, are your shareholders. And, unfortunately, suppliers come after that…You need to pay as many people as you can for as long as possible. But that doesn’t mean paying them the same amount or even paying them in the same way.”

BC & AC

Ian pointed out to attendees that the world as they knew it has changed for good. Covid-19 has accelerated the need to adapt and companies no longer have the luxury of pondering how best to engage in the age of disruption, or how to effect a digital transformation strategy. The time for strategy is gone. Businesses will die if they do not act now. There is no turning back. “Just as the business will change, so will your customers. This is the same for consumers of your products and services just as it is for HR’s customers – your employees will change too.” Ian said the world will now be separated into ‘BC’ and ‘AC’ to signify the difference between challenges faced before and after the coronavirus. As an example, he referred to the business performance of the company behind Zoom, which incidentally was the platform that was used for the online summit.

“Zoom’s market capitalisation has doubled in a couple of months to $40 billion. Meanwhile, the combined market cap of the top three airlines in the US has dropped from $80 billion to $43 billion. Which means Zoom almost has the same market cap as that of the top three airlines in the US,” he said, adding, even though markets would eventually correct when the crisis was over, things would never go back to normal.

Lockdown leadership

Following Ian’s presentation, HR leaders went into breakout ‘rooms’ in which they shared their ideas around ‘lockdown leadership’ and what that term meant for them. They each spoke about how the lockdown was impacting their businesses and employees. Beiersdorf HR director Russell Coleman said they were ramping up their Employee Assistance Programme to help employees whose mental health was undoubtedly being tested by the forced isolation period. In response to how leaders could help employees manage worries around job security and financial distress, Ian said it would be helpful to give employees something meaningful and important to do for the business because “you tend to worry less when you are busy.” There is also the matter of what companies are going to do when this is all over, because, as Ian said, there is no chance of things going back to normal. Life after Covid-19 is bound to come with its own surprises and companies need to be prepared for that. Ian presented those in attendance with some harsh realities and challenged them to find solutions for these – some of which will involve collaboration with other businesses and even competitors. HR managers spoke about how they were preparing for that uncertain future, with Royal Bafokeng Platinum HR executive Vicky Thlabanelo saying they had already set up teams to put together a post-Covid-19 HR strategy to be implemented once everyone was back at work. Redefine Properties group HR manager Renske Coetzee had the perfect analogy for the situation, saying the lockdown was like being stuck in the rapid while white-water rafting: “Don’t look up – look down, work hard, focus and get out.” Among all attendees, there was clear conviction that many of the lessons and resulting changes from this “war” would be positive. The hosting of an online summit for more than 50 HR executives is a case in point. Such a thing would not have taken place without Covid-19 making it necessary, and yet, once it was in motion, the learning, sharing and support offered to the community was valuable, and hugely significant during this challenging time faced by all. CHRO South Africa MD Joël Roerig moderated the session, explaining that these were indeed trying times, particularly for a business whose purpose it is to bring people together. That said, he added that if there was ever a time that the executive commu-

“Life after Covid-19 is bound to come with its own surprises and companies need to be prepared for that.”

nity needed to come together to share ideas and lessons for overcoming challenges, this was it.

“Never has the community been more important than in this time of social distancing, fear and uncertainty. The CFO South Africa and CHRO South Africa communities are stepping up in the coming weeks and months to be there in times that connections, support, perspective, consolation and fresh ideas are needed most,” Joël said.

“As long as the Covid-19 restrictions are in place, we will host online CFO and CHRO sessions every week. We will try out various formats and invite the community to participate and grow together. Some of the rescheduled events will also take place on the initial date: online, with participation from the originally scheduled speakers and panelists and including focused online breakaway sessions.” Just as scientists are getting together to create an agile approach to developing the vaccine for the virus, it was clear from the summit that the HR community needs to continue sharing expertise and experiences in doing what is right, not just for the organisations they represent but also for society. 

Vicky Thlabanelo, Royal Bafokeng Platinum HR executive