CULTIVATE A LISTENING STRATEGY THAT MAKES EMPLOYEES FEEL SAFE

Elanie Kruger, Group CHRO of Tsebo Solutions and 2020 CHRO Awards nominee, explains how technology and innovation can help when dealing with a geographically dispersed workforce with a large number of deskless employees.

BY RONDA NAIDU

Q: Tsebo’s workforce is widely distributed geographically with the majority being deskless employees. How, within this context, have you harnessed innovation and technology from an HR perspective?

A: Tsebo is all about people. Our purpose statement confirms that, as we develop people, to serve people, to uplift society. We commenced with a digitisation strategy a few years back and identified the needs of our employees, clients and the business.

Covid-19 accelerated the need to prioritise our digitisation journey. It was clear that we needed to change the way we do things, and challenge ourselves to work more inno- vatively and more efficiently. We knew we couldn’t make these changes overnight, and steadily progressed on our journey. We mapped the end-to-end employee lifecycle and identified where the use of technology would enhance the employee and client experience across the group.

Q: What are some of the challenges you faced during this process?

A: People in general embrace new ideas, but are not that open to change itself. Change management is very important, and it takes time to convince people of the benefits of doing things differently and adopting the discipline that comes with making the changes successful.

I also realised that too many changes at once can be overwhelming for the business. As such, timing and user adoption are very important. But, there is always that one manager or team that embraces change and is willing to pilot a new system. That energy and enthusiasm has a way of propelling change where more people want to be part of the journey.

Q: What are some of the benefits you are most proud of?

A: Tsebo was certified as a Top Employer for 2023 and digitisation and the use of technology are key criteria for certification.

This accolade is directly related to the benefits which were:

• Our careers platform has grown substantially to over 500,000 candidates in less than five years.

• Our HRIS has been rolled out to all employees who can access leave, personal details and payslips via employee self-service (ESS). Employee time and attendance are fully integrated with our HRIS.

• We have achieved a 98 percent payroll accuracy with an additional payroll query functionality on the ESS Mobi-platform.

• We have a knowledge portal TseboNet.

• Our LMS (Learner Management System) is accessible to all employees with more than 50 percent utilisation and helps us bridge the digital divide by making training modules accessible offline.

• We had a 50 percent participation in our bi-annual employee experience survey that has been digitised and we use technology to conduct culture checks.

• We have created several dashboards assisting us to monitor trends, and empowers us to make more informed business decisions.

Q: What were some of the lessons learnt?

A: There were a few, including:

• Don’t try to make too many changes all at once: rather make incremental changes.

• Focus on the projects that will give you the biggest return. You need a success story and build from there.

• Success lies in proper planning prior to any execution.

• Get your change ambassadors to lead and pilot changes. Very soon, everyone wants to share in the success and adopt it.

• Position the changes as business enhancement tools, not HR tools.

• Be mindful of the technological literacy of employees, as it will be different across generations and levels.

Q: There seems to be disparate views within the HR discipline around the value of HR metrics. What are your thoughts on this? If relevant, please provide an example of how you have employed HR metrics to improve employee satisfaction.

A: HR metrics are important figures and information that allow our business to track our employees’ value and measure our initiatives' effectiveness. The data enables Tsebo to see what is working, what needs to be improved, and what to expect from our workforce. This, in turn, empowers businesses to create a well-organised and comprehensive people strategy.

In rolling out our Employee Experience survey, we identified specific sites where our digitised survey enabled us to conduct a follow-up employee pulse survey with associated focus groups.

This allowed employees to raise their concerns, resulting in a positive outcome and improved employee engagement scores. We could also use the results of our survey to compare it with our Customer Satisfaction Scores, enabling us to address areas of concern and to benchmark best-performing sites and learn from the results.

Q: What advice can you offer fellow practitioners who are facing challenges with employee wellbeing amidst a challenging socio-economic environment?

A: Employee wellbeing has many facets. Traditionally our focus has been on physical, emotional and financial wellness. Through our engagement with our employees, we have realised the importance of a Tsebo Listening Strategy and providing various avenues for employees to share and engage in a safe work environment. Not all employees want to share their personal issues with their employer, but we need to create an environment where we practise compassion and understanding.

Most employee wellbeing programmes have less than 10 percent uptake. Often it is not about the offering but about creating that safe space to share and to enable employees through self-awareness and upskilling to manage and take ownership of their wellbeing.

We also include intellectual wellbeing in our offering. Intellectual wellness means striving for good mental health, continued intellectual growth, and creativity in life. We believe that given our emphasis on employee development and how we leverage talent, this is a key area where we can empower employees.

Q: What do you believe are some of the key focus areas for HR this year?

A: There are quite a few focus areas we have identified. These include:

• ESG and sustainability;

• Transformation and leadership;

• Continuing our digitisation journey to create a workplace that works for the employee and making the way we do things easier;

• Onboarding: Using systems and enhanced processes to improve the quality and retention of new employees;

• Employee Experience: Rolling out our 2023 EE Survey across the continent;

• Continuous Learning and Development; and

• Wellness.

Q: What are some of your personal goals for the year

A: I choose to be happy. I love the life I live and want to make time for myself, those I care about deeply and be present. I want to make time to appreciate people and be compassionate. 

With organisations facing compounding crises due to the pandemic and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, what should business executives be prepared for in 2023, given the rapidly changing business landscape?

BY ZWILE NKOSI, ASSOCIATE: CAREER, MERCER

ust as the world was emerging from two years of the COVID-19 global pandemic, characterised by enforced new ways of working and accelerated employee wellbeing programmes, organisations had to navigate an inflationary environment – high inflation, rising cost of living and persistent interest hikes in 2022.

According to the 2023 Global Risks Report released by Marsh McLennan in partnership with Zurich Insurance Group and the World Economic Forum (WEF), over 13,000 voices from 124 countries around the world highlighted the cost of living, economic downturn, geoeconomic warfare, climate action hiatus and societal polarisation as the most pressing concerns for the next two years.

At the same time, business leaders acknowledge that the energy supply crisis, cost of living, rising inflation, and food supply continue to present immediate risks, which are felt globally.

What is keeping Africa’s c-suite awake at night?

Even though the continent is affected by the overall global context, African business leaders’ views vary slightly. Their biggest concerns are the cost of living crisis, debt crisis, rapid and/or sustained inflation, employment and livelihood crises, and a lack of widespread digital services and digital inequality.

An even closer look at two of Africa’s leading economies, Nigeria and South Africa, business risks vary notably, with South Africa more exposed to societal risks than Nigeria. Nigeria, on the other hand, is facing more economic threats this year.