IT'S ALL ABOUT THE POWER DYNAMIC S

Njabulo attributes her success to a deep and rich career where she has honed her craft at a variety of companies and industries, all of which have shaped and moulded her.

“I have had the opportunity to work for organisations with different levels of commitment to HR, and I think that these experiences have helped me learn what works well and what doesn't work well across a variety of environments,” she explains.

In places where HR was well established, she says, it was an opportunity to learn from others' experience. Alternately, in companies where there was no established HR department or it was purely transactional, it was up to her to create that department and make it more strategic and transformational by developing her own skills.

“My career has been a mix of those two types of experiences, being exposed to different types of work environments and being responsible for creating my own career path beyond just pure HR,” she adds.

Despite Njabulo’s success, her foray into HR was accidental: she initially intended to study journalism. However, switching to psychology –specifically industrial psychology – was a good choice, she enjoyed it and quickly excelled. One of her proudest moments was becoming an HR director at the young age of 30.

Her previous roles include director of human resources at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and chief director: human resources, and head of talent management at the National Treasury of South Africa. She also had a successful stint in the Netherlands, where she had been on assignment as a talent management lead in the Africa, Middle East and Eastern Europe (AMEE) region, having previously held the role of Heineken’s human resources director for southern Africa.

Meaningful EVPs

Having been in HR for over two decades, Njabulo has observed various changes over the years, but most recently, what stands out to her is the power dynamic between employers and employees.

“I think that in the past, employers had more control over employees, but now that has shifted. Nowadays, employees have more say in how they want to work and what kind of workplace environment they want to be in. In addition, because the job market is so competitive, employers are doing everything they can to make themselves attractive to potential candidates by offering flexible work schedules or other perks and benefits,” Njabulo explains.

She notes that even though the power dynamic has shifted towards employees and talent, people still have a victim mindset. It’s a point of view that sees the system as the most powerful player. She says the best outcome is achieved when there can be ownership on both parts.

“We have to be flexible as employers but for talented employees, they have to decide how they own their destiny much more.”

She says now, employee experience matters more than ever before. “So in the same way that companies have traditionally given attention to customer experience and investing in understanding what the customer wants, the same needs to happen on the employee experience front.”

For HR leaders, this means “going beyond a generic EVP and being creative and innovative about what you offer”.

Njabulo says that lip service is no longer going to cut it, the EVP must be meaningful. “At Vodacom, we have a saying: Further together. It applies to everybody, for example people with digital and technology skills sometimes require a different kind of flexibility or a proposition to appeal to them. And then for companies like us in the ICT space, we still don't have enough women, particularly in the right levels, so what is our proposition then?”

Truly inclusive

She says another big topic that needs to go beyond slogans and platitudes is the issue of diversity and inclusion. This issue includes race, gender, disability and sexual orientation.

“Sometimes, South Africa tends to be very racially charged and sometimes we talk about gender, but diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) is about so much more. Everybody has a role to play, not just the person who's affected.”

The level of ownership among Vodacom employees when it comes to disability issues has been amazing, Njabulo highlights, adding that that in other organisations, she has had to drag people into participating in forums and discussions, but at Vodacom it's the other way around: people are really pushing forward with their own agendas.

The Disability Network and LGBT plus community are examples of this; they have an agenda and they're writing articles, collaborating with marketing on how advertising represents people.

“I think the conversations have been eye opening and have resulted in so much growth and appreciating differences. It has also made what could be theoretical, practical and tangible in real life. For example, I think that the broad definition of allyship has crystallised. Allyship is really important to me because then we understand that we all have some privilege, and when you look at it from a different perspective, how do we use that to be an ally to try to support other people in the organisation?”

One of the things the charismatic HR leader has learnt is that no one person has all the answers. “As a leader, what is more important is how you build a support structure or networks so that people are more than willing to solve problems and get involved in issues that affect them.”

One of the key outcomes of the pandemic was removing the stigma and the shame around issues of mental health, burnout and stress.

"I think we need to continue with the spotlight that we've now put on mental health. But to now drive it a level deeper in a way, it has to be much more holistic in terms of what wellness, health and burnout mean for employees. And I think to an extent even still dealing with long Covid. We don't always label it that but long Covid manifests in different ways that we are still learning about."

“I think that in the past, employers had more control over employees, but now that has shifted. Nowadays, employees have more say in how they want to work and what kind of workplace environment they want to be in."

Conversations about how we work

As a leading HR professional in the country, Njabulo is at the centre of conversations about unprecedented issues that will have an impact for years to come. She points to the discussions around the four-day workweek as one hot button topic on the agenda.

“The way we work is evolving, and these conversations are part of that. For us at Vodacom, it's about being able to balance what the workforce would like –what would benefit them – with productivity. That is the big debate right now: would a four-day workweek make people less productive? Would it help if people were more rested?”

Vodacom and Vodafone, as one company, have taken an experimental approach to the four-day workweek. "I don't think we're at the point where we've made a conclusion about it. Where we are is that we're curious about it and learning more about it and are still in the process of determining which set of people or skills groups could benefit from this type of schedule."

The company's current approach is similar to the one taken with hybrid working. "We have a hybrid model from a remote working policy point of view, but it doesn’t apply across the board with everybody because there's still some customer-facing clients or other employees who have to be available and they can't enjoy that privilege."

More than HR

As a director, Njabulo’s remit goes beyond people issues and she is involved in a variety of complex operational matters as well. One of the biggest headaches the company, like other businesses in South Africa is grappling with, is power outages.

"We've been very badly affected by load shedding, to the point that we basically run the network on backup power. And the current impact for us is quite extreme because in terms of costs, our diesel costs have gone up to be able to keep the network running. We also have some networks roaming on our network when it's load shedding.

“Fortunately, we do have the backup capability to carry the other networks but again, nobody has ever planned for this level of load shedding so it's deteriorating the network; it is making it sometimes difficult to even carry other networks."

The impact on employees has also been taken into consideration. “Because we use a lot of backup power and also recently installed a huge solar system for our campuses, we use that leverage to negotiate benefits for employees so that they can have reduced solar and generator backup. We are also working with Vodalink, which is part of Vodacom's financial services business, to access funding for employee benefits. We are definitely having big conversations around power supply, both in the business but also how we can try to support employees.”

Giving back

Since winning the CHRO of the Year Award last year, Njabulo has received even more requests for mentorship than she normally does. And, although she is passionate about mentoring and coaching, her schedule does not allow for all that she would like to do.

However, she knows there is a deep need for people to get help and advice from those who have succeeded in the field. “I am considering starting mentoring circles or groups that meet regularly to discuss issues related to their work. Such groups may be particularly useful for young people entering the field, and also for more experienced professionals who want to keep up with current developments in their fields.”

Now at a point where she holds board responsibilities, Njabulo can look back on her career thus far with a sense of pride.

And, if she could offer advice to her younger self, it would be to trust herself and believe in herself. “In those early days, I remember seeing all these HR managers and executives and wondering how they just seem to know things instinctively. But now I know that comes with knowledge, experience and exposure. So as I've grown, another key piece of advice would be to trust your own judgment, because as your career evolves it's about learning and the experience but then at a certain point, it becomes about translating that knowledge and experience to be able to discern and judge.”

Some downtime

One of Njabulo’s goals this year is to spend more time with family, including her extended family. “I recently lost my mom and that was a big loss. So now I am trying to spend more time with my daughter who is 17 years old; even though it can be hard to have the time together that we both wish for, because of my busy schedule.”

In fact, during her acceptance speech at the 2022 CHRO

Awards, Njabulo dedicated her win to the memory of her mother.

She also reads a lot. “I’m reading books on all kinds of subjects, including some work-related material, but also fiction and nonfiction books.”

Last year Njabulo participated in a ladies' golf clinic. “As a result, I've started playing more often. One of the most interesting things about golf is that nobody tells you they play golf until they see you playing. It was only once I posted a few pictures golfing that I've discovered that I have many friends who play golf and have been invited to go golfing since then. In addition to golfing, hiking has become another popular activity with friends.”